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Comparison of the Silk Roads component property:
A) Within the State Party:
Khurmuzfarra caravanserai is very original in architectural respect and does not resemble the Middle Eastern caravanserais of that time. This was an inn for caravans passed to Khorezm through the desert, a large trading station where enterprising merchants had often made wholesale dealings. Therefore, it has a little number of living khujras and many sheds for animals and packages. Before the XI c. the functions of caravanserais were implemented by an ordinary dwelling keshk, surrounded by with well-defended yard. Caravanserai in Khurmuzfarra shows a different lay out scheme of inn which was finally formed in Khorasan by the end of the XI c. The plan of these rectangular or square but almost
Justification de la Valeur Universelle Exceptionelle
The Silk Roads are routes of integration, exchange and dialogue between East and West that have contributed greatly to the common prosperity of humankind for almost 2 millennia. The whole of the route is more than the sum of its constituent parts.
Flourishing in particular between the 2nd century BC and end of the 16th century AD, this network of routes, started initially from Chang'an (present-day Xi'an)and ultimately stretching from East Asia to the Mediterranean in the west, and down into the Indian subcontinent, facilitated and generated a two-way intercontinental trade in a dazzling array of trading goods. Of these, Chinese silk was among the most valuable, but it included materials such as precious metals and stones, ceramics, perfumes, ornamental woods, and spices in return for cotton and wool textiles, glass, wine, amber, carpets and the celebrated horses. This trade connected various civilizations, persisted over centuries and was sustained by a system of caravanserais, commercial settlements, trade cities and forts along its entire length of more than 10,000 km, which makes it arguably the longest cultural route in the history of humanity.
But much more than trading goods was transported over the network of Silk Roads. Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Nestorian, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Manichaeanism spread over the Silk Roads, Scientific and technological developments were also diffused by these routes, for example from China, paper, printing, gunpowder, cast iron, the crossbow, the magnetic compass, and porcelain, whilst engineering developments (particularly bridge building), the cultivation and working of cotton, tapestry weaving, calendrial sciences, vine cultivation, as well as certain glazing and metal working techniques spread from Central Asia, Middle East, Mediterranean and the west. There was also a substantial two-way exchange of medical knowledge and medicines, as well as of what are now seen as universal fruit and other food crops.
As such, the Silk Roads generated outstanding manifestations of global significance in the realms of economy, society, culture and the environment. The types of monuments, sites and cultural landscapes found along the Silk Roads can be categorized under:
1) Infrastructure (facilitating trade and transportation);
2) Production (of trading goods); and
3) Outcomes (such as cities, art, knowledge as a result of contact and exchange).
The property includes outstanding examples of types of heritage under these categories.
Attributes include:
- Topographical and natural features
- Urban patterns and architectural designs
- Socio-economic development
- Political events
- Religious and spiritual values
- Achievements in science and technology
- Achievements in the arts (sculpture, painting, carving, etc.)
- Intangible heritage
Under Category 1 Infrastructure, the sites among others, comprises caravanserais and inns; military posts, garrison stations and fortifications; bridges; irrigation systems; natural and cultural landmarks.
Under Category 2 Production the sites reflect mining, metal working, manufacturing and handicrafts, and other industrial and production sites.
Under Category 3 Outcomes the sites include trade cities, urban centres and settlements; religious, spiritual and ceremonial sites (including shrines, caves, tombs, sites of pilgrimage); and places of associations with political events, transfer of ideas, language, music, dance, poetry, etc.
Inscription of the Silk Roads Cultural Route property is justified under:
- criterion (ii): as the Silk Roads property exhibits preeminent interchanges of human values;
- criterion (iii): as the Silk Roads property is an outstanding example of the trade and dissemination of cultural traditions over long-distances;
- criterion (iv): as the Silk Roads property contains an outstanding example of urban, architectural and technological ensembles that was necessary to sustain this trade and exchange over almost two millennia;
- criterion (v): as the Silk Roads property bears an exceptional testimony to human interactions with the environment;
- criterion (vi): as the Silk Roads property is directly and tangibly associated with historic and living traditions, beliefs and value systems.
Satements of authenticity and/or integrity
Integrity
The integrity of the nominated Silk Roads Cultural Route serial property is related to the presence of all the attributes necessary to express its Outstanding Universal Value. The aim is to include in the overall property, after a number of extensions of the initial nomination, attributes that reflect fully the scope of the extensive cultural route, in particular its infrastructure, including caravansaries, forts, bridges, irrigation, agriculture and way markings, its production sites, related to the production of high value trade goods such a metal mining and metal working, and the outstanding outputs of the longdistance, profitable trade over almost two millennia, in particular cities, towns and sacred sites and their associations with the exchange of knowledge in the fields of science, technology, religion, and arts and architecture.
The boundaries of the nominated sites will adequately encompass their attributes.
The robust selection process will ensure that sites selected for nomination will not be threatened.
Authenticity
The authenticity of the Silk Roads Cultural Route serial property relates to the ability of the individual attributes to reflect fully their relationship to the outstanding universal value.
All the nominated sites will be well-researched and documented to demonstrate their relationship to the active period of the Silk Roads from between 2nd century BC and the end of 16th century AD and their outstanding contribution to its infrastructure, production or social and economic success.
All built remains, archaeological sites and landscapes are in good condition and where necessary are conserved or restored, or have on-going conservation programmes, using appropriate materials and methods in accordance with conservation and archaeological principles and guidelines adopted by the Coordinating Committee. There are no unacceptable reconstructions. Their links with the Silk Roads have not been compromised through inappropriate interventions since their period of activity and all sites have the ability to manifest clearly their associations.
Protection and management
All sites enjoy national protection and have adequate buffer zones. The overall management system for the extensive Silk Roads Cultural Route involves several layers, involving many authorities. The over-arching body is the intergovernmental Coordinating Committee, whose role is to set out the parameters within which nominations are put forward, and to develop guidelines, policies and monitoring mechanisms to be adopted by all participating State Parties on matters such as conservation, presentation and cultural tourism. Within each individual country, there is a national coordinating body that is responsible for coordination between sites. At local level, the management of sites varies to reflect different arrangements of ownership and of local or regional government. However all sites have an agreed management plan that sets out clearly how the attributes of the site contribute to the overall Silk Routes property, and that expresses how their interpretation and visitor management are coordinated with other sites.
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