Morocco: Second African Country with Most World Heritage Sites

Rabat – Morocco has ranked second in the list of African countries with the most world heritage sites registered by UNESCO.

“Although UNESCO does not allow the registration of more than one heritage [site] per year, our country ranks second in Africa,” Morocco’s Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Sports tweeted on Monday.

Morocco has nine cultural heritage sites on UNESCO’s list putting it in joint second place in Africa alongside Ethiopia.

The Moroccan sites on the list include the old medinas of Essaouira, Fez, Marrakech, and Tetouan, as well as the archeological site of Volubilis.

South Africa tops the list with 10 properties inscribed on the world heritage list ahead of Tunisia with 8 sites and Algeria with 7 sites, according to the UNESCO website.

“The Directorate of Heritage has been working for years to include Moroccan heritage in the UNESCO World Heritage List, which constitutes global recognition,” added the ministry.

The ministry further tweeted that Morocco ranks first in Africa among countries with intangible heritage classified by UNESCO with 12 entries since 2008.

In 2021 alone, UNESCO’s committee for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage inscribed Arabic calligraphy, falconry, and tbourida as intangible heritage present and practiced in Morocco.

Intangible heritage includes “traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants” such as oral traditions, knowledge, and practices.

In 2006, UNESCO’s convention for the safeguarding of intangible heritage entered into force. The convention sought to promote the protection, preservation, and transmission of culture, heritage, and history.

The convention further lays out how the Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage can provide member states with advice on maintaining, preserving, and promoting intangible heritage.

In March, Morocco was elected to chair the committee, a few days before the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Rabat as a world heritage site.

In 1991, UNESCO opened its Maghreb office in Rabat, covering Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, and Libya.

Since then, Morocco and UNESCO have partnered in the launch and implementation of numerous programs in the education, cultural, and heritage sectors.