A global recognition. Six centuries-old medinas of the Comoros, which serve as testaments to Swahili architecture and the ancient sultanates of the Indian Ocean archipelago, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list on Saturday. This recognition is expected to promote the preservation of these city-states, some of which were built as early as the 12th century along the Indian Ocean trade routes. The medinas include defensive walls, palaces, mosques, and public squares, all integrated into a network of narrow alleys.
“This classification is not a finish line, but a starting point,” reacted Saïd Mohamed Ali Saïd, the Comorian Minister of Culture, who is part of a large government delegation that traveled to Busan, South Korea, where the 196 member states of the UN organization are gathered. These medinas “are not just historical sites for us. They are living cities, where people continue to pray, trade, and celebrate the great moments of life exactly as our ancestors did,” he added, expressing “immense pride.”
These six medinas, four of which are located on the island of Grande Comore and two on Anjouan, are the first sites in the Comoros to join the UNESCO World Heritage list, which includes more than 1,200 cultural and natural properties of “outstanding universal value… as part of the heritage of all humanity.” “This heritage is fragile, and in some places, in real danger. The classification changes the game: it obliges us, but it also opens doors for us,” declared the Comorian Minister of Culture.
Captured & Published at: 2026-07-25 11:08:59 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://2424.mg/culture-six-medinas-seculaires-des-comores-inscrites-au-patrimoine-mondial-de-lunesco/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=culture-six-medinas-seculaires-des-comores-inscrites-au-patrimoine-mondial-de-lunesco