PH’s Fort Santiago among Asia’s Top 10 endangered architectural treasures, says Global Heritage Fund

Agence France-Presse (AFP), via Interaksyon.com, reports that the Philippines' Fort Santiago is among the 10 Asian architectural treasures that are "in danger of vanishing under a tide of economic expansion, war and tourism." The report said the Global Heritage Fund described the 10 as the most in danger of "irreparable loss and destruction." They are:

• Ayutthaya in Thailand, a former Siamese capital known as the "Venice of the East."
• Fort Santiago in the Philippines.
• Kashgar, one of the last preserved Silk Road cities in China.
• Mahasthangarh, one of South Asia’s earliest archeological sites in Bangladesh.
• Mes Aynak, an Afghan Buddhist monastery complex on the Silk Road.
• Myauk-U, capital of the first Arakanese kingdom in Myanmar.
• Plain of Jars, a mysterious megalithic site in Laos.
• Preah Vihear, a Khmer architectural masterpiece in Cambodia.
• Rakhigarhi, one of the biggest, ancient Indus civilization sites in India.
• Taxila, an ancient economic crossroads in Pakistan.

According to the report, Jeff Morgan, the fund's executive director, said these 10 sites "represent merely a fragment of the endangered treasures across Asia and the rest of the developing world." He added: "Heritage is being dramatically undervalued. Thus, the reinvestment and the focus on heritage is lacking today."



For more on this story, read the AFP story posted on Interaksyon.com.