Bam goes on heritage list
A ceremony is to be held in the destroyed Iranian city of Bam to mark the earthquake that struck there one year ago and celebrate the city’s inclusion on Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites.
The UN cultural organisation said the ceremony was due to take place on Monday.
The historic city on the ancient silk route was turned to rubble by a deadly quake on 26 December 2003 that killed almost 31,000 people and left 75,000 homeless.
Unesco said the ceremony would be attended by its deputy
director-general for culture, Munir Bushenaki, and by Iranian Vice-President Hussain Marashi.
It said that, as the organisation spearheading international
efforts for the cultural survival of Bam, Unesco would use the occasion to stress the need for international solidarity.
Meanwhile, it said an international conference would be held in collaboration with the Italian government in the second half of next year to mobilise support for the restoration of the city.
In Paris, officials said a Franco-Iranian committee set up in
the wake of the disaster to channel aid has raised more than 2.8 million euros ($3.8 million), most of which will be spent on re-equipping the city’s hospital.
Some of the money will also be spent on creating a mobile
seismic detection network and creating a detailed digital map of Bam to help in reconstruction.