The Tunisian Island of Djerba has been designated as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Cultural Agency, UNESCO.
The Tunisian Culture Ministry, in a statement on Tuesday, said the resort island was voted to the list during the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital.
With this designation, Djerba joins nine other Tunisian sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list, which further enhances Tunisia’s cultural and historical contributions to the world, it said.
The list includes Tunisia’s Amphitheatre of El Jem, the Archaeological Site of Carthage, the Medina of Tunis, the Ichkeul National Park, the Punic Town of Kerkuane and its Necropolis, Kairouan, Medina of Sousse and the Dougga archeological site, which was the last to be added to the list in 1997.
The Djerba Island is known for its religious diversity, featuring ancient mosques, churches and synagogues, in addition to its natural landscape.
Djerba Island, situated in the Gulf of Gabes on the Mediterranean Sea, with a population of around 160,000, attracts hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists every year.
The Island is also a special destination for thousands of Jewish visitors every year who stop by the El Ghriba synagogue built 2,400 years ago for Jewish prayers and rituals.
Djerba was in the news in May when a police officer shot five people during the annual Jewish pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, but despite the tragic incident, Djerba remains a prominent tourist destination in Tunisia.