HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL MUSEUM-RESERVATION OF GARNI GETS UNESCO PRIZE
PanARMENIAN.Net
May 12, 2011 - 14:38 AMT
The Historical and Cultural Museum-Reservation of Garni (Armenia)
and the Palestinian cultural landscape of Battir are the winners of
this year's Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding
and Management of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO-Greece). The prize will
be awarded at a ceremony to be held at UNESCO Headquarters on May 24.
"In rewarding the management of Garni and Battir, UNESCO wishes
to raise awareness of these sites' beauty and importance, of their
tangible and symbolic values, so as to help avert threats to their
continued preservation," said the Director-General of UNESCO Irina
Bokova, endorsing the recommendation of an international jury.
The laureates will receive $US 15,000 each, UNESCO said on its
official website.
The Museum-Reservation of Garni covers a total area of 5.1 hectares in
and around Garni Village, some 28 km East of Yerevan in the volcanic
Armenia plateau of the Caucasus Mountains. It features a series of
historical and architectural vestiges and buildings from the Bronze
Age (Cyclopean walls), to Hellenic times (temples, bath-house),
as well as early Christian elements.
The site has been recognized for measures taken to preserve its
cultural vestiges, and the emphasis placed on efforts to interpret
and open the site for national and international visitors. The jury
also praised the integration of this work into the lives of local
communities, encouraging social and economic development. Part of the
site was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List as The Monastery
of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley in 2000.
From: A. Papazian
PanARMENIAN.Net
May 12, 2011 - 14:38 AMT
The Historical and Cultural Museum-Reservation of Garni (Armenia)
and the Palestinian cultural landscape of Battir are the winners of
this year's Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding
and Management of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO-Greece). The prize will
be awarded at a ceremony to be held at UNESCO Headquarters on May 24.
"In rewarding the management of Garni and Battir, UNESCO wishes
to raise awareness of these sites' beauty and importance, of their
tangible and symbolic values, so as to help avert threats to their
continued preservation," said the Director-General of UNESCO Irina
Bokova, endorsing the recommendation of an international jury.
The laureates will receive $US 15,000 each, UNESCO said on its
official website.
The Museum-Reservation of Garni covers a total area of 5.1 hectares in
and around Garni Village, some 28 km East of Yerevan in the volcanic
Armenia plateau of the Caucasus Mountains. It features a series of
historical and architectural vestiges and buildings from the Bronze
Age (Cyclopean walls), to Hellenic times (temples, bath-house),
as well as early Christian elements.
The site has been recognized for measures taken to preserve its
cultural vestiges, and the emphasis placed on efforts to interpret
and open the site for national and international visitors. The jury
also praised the integration of this work into the lives of local
communities, encouraging social and economic development. Part of the
site was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List as The Monastery
of Geghard and the Upper Azat Valley in 2000.
From: A. Papazian