Tomb of Askia - Mali

The dramatic 17-m pyramidal structure of the Tomb of Askia was built by Askia Mohamed, the Emperor of Songhai, in 1495 in his capital Gao. 

It bears testimony to the power and riches of the empire that flourished in the 15th and 16th centuries through its control of the trans-Saharan trade, notably in salt and gold. 

It is also a fine example of the monumental mud-building traditions of the West African Sahel. 

The complex, including the pyramidal tomb, two flat-roofed mosque buildings, the mosque cemetery and the open-air assembly ground, was built when Gao became the capital of the Songhai Empire and after Askia Mohamed had returned from Mecca and made Islam the official religion of the empire.

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Cathedrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur

Diocese of Carcassonne and Narbonne Cathedral is the prestigious structure in the center of the southern French city of Narbonne, in the department of Aude. 

Construction of the Gothic cathedral started in 1272, and with some interruptions, construction was halted in the 14th century. 

The building is a ruin.

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Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range - Japan

Set in the dense forests of the Kii Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, three sacred sites – Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, Koyasan – linked by pilgrimage routes to the ancient capital cities of Nara and Kyoto, reflect the fusion of Shinto, rooted in the ancient tradition of nature worship in Japan, and Buddhism, which was introduced from China and the Korean Peninsula. 

The sites (506.4 ha) and their surrounding forest landscape reflect a persistent and extraordinarily well-documented tradition of sacred mountains over 1,200 years. 

The area, with its abundance of streams, rivers and waterfalls, is still part of the living culture of Japan and is much visited for ritual purposes and hiking, with up to 15 million visitors annually. 

Each of the three sites contains shrines, some of which were founded as early as the 9th century.

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Virovitica-Podravina

Virovitica-Podravina is a county in Croatia, located in northern Slavonia. 

The administrative center is Virovitica and the area around the river Drava also belongs to the province, hence the name Podravina. 

Another important city is Slatina.

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Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens - Australia

The Royal Exhibition Building and its surrounding Carlton Gardens were designed for the great international exhibitions of 1880 and 1888 in Melbourne. 

The building and grounds were designed by Joseph Reed. 

The building is constructed of brick and timber, steel and slate. 

It combines elements from the Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and Italian Renaissance styles. 

The property is typical of the international exhibition movement which saw over 50 exhibitions staged between 1851 and 1915 in venues including Paris, New York, Vienna, Calcutta, Kingston (Jamaica) and Santiago (Chile). 

All shared a common theme and aims: to chart material and moral progress through displays of industry from all nations.

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Ningxia

Ningxia is an autonomous region in China for the Hui. 

The full name is Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. 

Ningxia borders Shaanxi, Gansu and Inner Mongolia.

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Mazagan (El Jadida) - Morocco

The Portuguese fortification of Mazagan, now part of the city of El Jadida, 90-km southwest of Casablanca, was built as a fortified colony on the Atlantic coast in the early 16th century. 

It was taken over by the Moroccans in 1769. 

The fortification with its bastions and ramparts is an early example of Renaissance military design. 

The surviving Portuguese buildings include the cistern and the Church of the Assumption, built in the Manueline style of late Gothic architecture. 

The Portuguese City of Mazagan - one of the early settlements of the Portuguese explorers in West Africa on the route to India - is an outstanding example of the interchange of influences between European and Moroccan cultures, well reflected in architecture, technology, and town planning.

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Atacama

Atacama is one of the sixteen regions of Chile and its region number is Roman number III. 

The capital of the region is Copiapó. 

The Atacama region has 286,168 inhabitants and is located in the Atacama desert region.

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Pitons Management Area - Saint Lucia

The 2,909-ha site near the town of Soufriere includes the Pitons, two volcanic spires rising side by side from the sea (770 m and 743 m high respectively), linked by the Piton Mitan ridge. 

The volcanic complex includes a geothermal field with sulphurous fumeroles and hot springs. 

Coral reefs cover almost 60% of the site’s marine area. 

A survey has revealed 168 species of finfish, 60 species of cnidaria, including corals, eight molluscs, 14 sponges, 11 echinoderms, 15 arthropods and eight annelid worms. 

The dominant terrestrial vegetation is tropical moist forest grading to subtropical wet forest, with small areas of dry forest and wet elfin woodland on the summits. 

At least 148 plant species have been recorded on Gros Piton, 97 on Petit Piton and the intervening ridge, among them eight rare tree species. 

The Gros Piton is home to some 27 bird species (five of them endemic), three indigenous rodents, one opossum, three bats, eight reptiles and three amphibians.

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Ural rex

The Ural rex is a cat breed that originated in the Ural region of Russia. 

The special thing about this cat is its curly double coat. 

There is a short hair and a long hair variant.

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