Yeah. First one to be inscribed: Thimlich Ohinga Archaeological Site. I wonder whether anyone of our community has been there (very remote)

First site inscribed! :-)

Don't worry - there will be hours and hours of "diplomatic" niceties during which everybody gives and receives thanks and congratulations. Only the "problematic" nominations really offer much hope of interesting "unmissable" events.

Madam chairperson requests none of those during the meeting but 70% of the comments are still mainly "congratulations and good work". If they would only have important things to stay the entire session might be done in an hour ;)

Qalhat is next. Can be interesting - can they get it inscribed?

No worries about the congratulations -- the volume should die down as more sites are inscribed. It's like the firstborn kids who get their own photo albums from their parents (but woe to kid #5).

Bahrain has prepared an amendment to help Oman to get it inscribed now.

Well, it looks like there is much support to inscribe rather than refer, particularly since Oman has already started addressing some of the ICOMOS concerns.

The ICOMOS points seemed pretty minimal, nit-picking and capable of being easily satisfied - one might have thought that such matters could have been sorted out and agreed before the meeting.

You didn't go Els during your recent visit?? Back in 2005 we stayed overnight in the nearby town of Sur (a mere 20 kms away) but the road out to Qalhat was 4 x 4 only in those days - we tried it in our saloon but had to give up. Lovely new highway now as we have heard from the ICOMOS concerns about it! Will remain a "near miss" for us unfortunately as we won't be going back to Sur just for that!! If we had known that it would get inscribed we might have tried harder!!

I did have a look at it from the highway. A bit dubious, but I will count it. I did not try to enter it because Martina & Ivan had been just a week or so before and were barred from entering. I preferred to use the cool time of the day to go on to the Wadi Al Shab.
Will share pics and a story

P.S. Omani guy speaking seems to confirm that it is closed to visitors at the moment, but it will reopen

First ICOMOS recommendation overturned!

Qalhat inscribed. Now on to Al-Ahsa Oasis in Saudi Arabia.

I know the feeling!!!!

No way this ICOMOS recommendation on Al Ahsa will be accepted. Its arguments about "Continuing Cultural landscapes" are pretty esoteric.
Note the "threat" - if you don't inscribe it we will take oil from it
Also the "You evaluators know nothing about living in this sort of landscape and just don't value it properly" - that cultural mismatch again between developed "West" and other views of the World which has surfaced quite frequently during this WHC.
I will be VERY interested to see where China places its support - will be critical I feel!!!!

Kuwait pleads to inscribe