World Heritage Identification Number: 1333
World Heritage since: 2011
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
Continent: Africa
UNESCO World Region: Africa
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Konso Cultural Landscape: A Living Testimony to Ethiopian Traditions
The Konso Cultural Landscape, located in the highlands of Ethiopia's Konso Zone, is a remarkable testament to the resilience and ingenuity of human culture. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, this arid region showcases the enduring legacy of a community that has thrived in a challenging environment for over four centuries.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Konso Cultural Landscape is an arid property of stone walled terraces and fortified settlements in the Konso highlands of Ethiopia. It constitutes a spectacular example of a living cultural tradition stretching back 21 generations (more than 400 years) adapted to its dry hostile environment. The landscape demonstrates the shared values, social cohesion and engineering knowledge of its communities. The site also features anthropomorphic wooden statues - grouped to represent respected members of their communities and particularly heroic events - which are an exceptional living testimony to funerary traditions that are on the verge of disappearing. Stone steles in the towns express a complex system of marking the passing of generations of leaders.
Encyclopedia Record: Karati
Karat is a town in south-western Ethiopia and the capital of the Konso Zone in the new South Ethiopia Regional State. Situated 20 km north of the Sagan River at an elevation of 1,650 metres (5,410 ft), it is also called Pakawle by some of the neighboring inhabitants. The town and the surrounding villages were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011 as a cultural landscape for its unique cultural traditions and importance for the Konso people.Additional Site Details
Area: 23,000 hectares
(v) — Outstanding example of traditional human settlement
Coordinates: 5.3 , 37.4
Image
© Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
