Babylon designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site

HUSSEIN FALEH / AFP

The ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon is now a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The 4,000-year-old site was added to the United Nations list along with five other locations. 

It comes after the Iraqi government lobbied for nearly four decades to have it designated as a World Heritage Site.

Babylon is well known for being home to the Hanging Gardens, which was part of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Here are the five other sites that are now officially on the list:

  • Ancient Ferrous Metallurgy Sites of Burkina Faso
  • Paraty and Ilha Grande, Brazil
  • Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland
  • French Austral Lands and Seas, France
  • Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region, Albania

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