World Heritage Sites

In January 2020 Iran and the United States came into direct conflict, and the US president issued a threat to destroy Iranian cultural sites. This led Tim to seek out the list (presented below) of UNESCO World Heritage sites in each country.

By quite an odd coincidence, as of January 2020 each country has exactly the same number of sites listed. UNESCO categorizes sites as either Cultural or Natural. All but two of the Iranian sites are Cultural; the two exceptions of the Lut Desert and the Hyrcanaian Forests. The United States’ sites are almost evenly divided between the two categories. One of the US sites, Papahānaumokuākea, is classified is Mixed between cultural and natural.

On our trip to Iran we visited six of the sites listed below: Meidan Emam, Esfahan; Persepolis; the Persian Garden, specifically Fin Garden in Kashan; the Masjed-e Jāmé of Esfahan; Golestan Palace; and the Historic City of Yazd.

Flag of Iran   Iran

Flag of United States  United States

  1. Meidan Emam, Esfahan
  2. Persepolis
  3. Tchogha Zanbil
  4. Takht-e Soleyman
  5. Bam and its Cultural Landscape
  6. Pasargadae
  7. Soltaniyeh
  8. Bisotun
  9. Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran
  10. Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
  11. Sheikh Safi al-din Khānegāh and Shrine Ensemble in Ardabil
  12. Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex
  13. The Persian Garden
  14. Gonbad-e Qābus
  15. Masjed-e Jāmé of Isfahan
  16. Golestan Palace
  17. Shahr-i Sokhta
  18. Cultural Landscape of Maymand
  19. Susa
  20. Lut Desert
  21. The Persian Qanat
  22. Historic City of Yazd
  23. Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region
  24. Hyrcanian Forests
  1. Mesa Verde National Park
  2. Yellowstone National Park
  3. Everglades National Park
  4. Grand Canyon National Park
  5. Independence Hall
  6. Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek 
  7. Redwood National and State Parks
  8. Mammoth Cave National Park
  9. Olympic National Park
  10. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
  11. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
  12. La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico
  13. Statue of Liberty
  14. Yosemite National Park 
  15. Chaco Culture
  16. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park 
  17. Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville
  18. Taos Pueblo
  19. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
  20. Waterton Glacier International Peace Park 
  21. Papahānaumokuākea
  22. Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point
  23. San Antonio Missions
  24. The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright