50. That’s the number of sites declared World Heritage by UNESCO (as of 2023) located in the 5 countries where Mandala Tours operates: Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Israel. And since our branches work personalized with our clients, we can take you to any of them if you wish. Below, we list them, country by country.
Turkey: 19 sites
Turkey, in terms of size, history, and commitment to heritage conservation, is the country in our catalog with the most protected sites. Nearly twenty of them are distributed as follows:
- Goreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia
- Great Mosque and Hospital of Divrigi
- Historic Areas of Istanbul
- Hattusha
- Mount Nemrut
- Hierapolis-Pamukkale
- Xanthos-Letoon
- City of Safranbolu
- Archaeological Site of Troy
- Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex
- Neolithic Site of Catalhoyuk
- Bursa and Cumalikizik: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire
- Archaeological Site of Pergamon
- Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape
- Historic Areas of Istanbul
- Archaeological Site of Ani
- Aphrodisias
- Gobekli Tepe
- Neolithic Site of Gobekli Tepe
Morocco: 9 sites
A crossroads of cultures between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, between Europe and Africa, between the mountains and the desert… And this is reflected in the almost a dozen UNESCO World Heritage Sites granted to the country so far. These are:
- Medina of Fez
- Medina of Marrakech
- Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou
- Historic City of Meknes
- Archaeological Site of Volubilis
- Medina of Tetouan
- Medina of Essaouira (formerly Mogador)
- Portuguese City of Mazagan (El Jadida)
- Rabat: Historic City and Modern Capital
Israel: 9 sitios
A pesar de ser un país de fundación reciente (1948) y de tener una superficie bastante reducida, la densidad de sitios Patrimonio de la Humanidad en Israel es más que notable. Y el hecho de ser el corazón de las tres principales religiones monoteístas ha ayudado a ello:
- Masada
- Ciudad Vieja de Acre
- Ciudad Blanca de Tel-Aviv
- Tels Bíblicos: Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheba
- Desierto de Negev: Ruta del Incienso
- Lugares Sagrados en Bahá’i (Haifa y Galilea Occidental)
- Sitios de la Evolución Humana en el Monte Carmelo
- Cuevas de Maresha y Bet-Guvrin
- Necrópolis de Bet She’arim
Egypt: 7 sites
It may come as a surprise that Egypt currently has only 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. However, one reason is that some of these protected sites are so extensive that they could well be divided into two, three, or more smaller sites. Additionally, the fame, beauty, and history of some of them place them in the ranking of the most spectacular in the world. They are as follows:
- Abu Mena (en la lista roja de Patrimonio en Riesgo)
- Antigua Tebas y su Necrópolis
- El Cairo Histórico
- Menfis y su Necrópolis, desde Giza a Dahshur
- Monumentos Nubios, desde Abu Simbel a Filae
- Área de Santa Catalina
- Wadi Al-Hitan (Valle de las Ballenas)
Jordan: 6 sites
Being a relatively small country means that its number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites declared is also smaller. But their interest and beauty are second to none compared to the ones listed above. They are as follows:
- Petra
- Quseir Amra
- Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa’a)
- Wadi Rum Desert
- Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan”
- As-Salt
Of course, some of these UNESCO World Heritage Sites are more present than others in our travel packages. But if you are truly interested in traveling to any of them, you just need to contact our agency based in that country, and we will start working from that very moment to ensure you enjoy an unforgettable, high-quality experience.
