United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization

This year's excavations have begun in the ancient city of Kaunos in the western province of Mu?la's Köyce?iz district. 

The head of the excavations, Professor Cengiz I??k, said work would continue in the city until October. 

An Istanbul court has annulled a large number of reconstruction project plans for multiple places in Istanbul's centuries-old historical peninsula, stating that the projects will ease modern city life, but damage the peninsula's original fabric.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikolaos Kotzias held a joint press conference in Pristina on Tuesday with his counterpart, Hashim Thaci, in what is seen as a landmark in relations between the two.

Greece has yet to recognize Kosovo's independence, proclaimed in 2008.

Work has been initiated for the ancient Ani ruins, which date back thousands of years, in the eastern province of Kars to receive the status of a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Kars Culture and Tourism Director Hakan Do?anay said in the case of its acceptance, Ani would be Turkey's 16th world heritage site on the UNESCO list. 

A bomb explosion in a tunnel near Aleppo Citadel in Syria on July 12 damaged a wall of the fortress that is part of the UNESCO-listed Old City, state media and a monitor reported.

Algeria was mobilising the army on July 9 after 22 people were killed in the worst ethnic clashes between Berbers and Arabs in years, as more details emerged of the violence.

At least 22 people have died in fighting between Berbers and Arabs in southern Algeria, the bloodiest toll in two years of frequent clashes between the communities, national news agency APS reported on July 8.

Some 700,000 tourists visited Pamukkale, a "white haven" in the western province of Denizli, in the first six months of the year, a decrease of around 1 percent from the same period of the previous year, according to officials. The actual decrease may, however, be higher, according to private sector representatives. 

A recent article on Bulgaria on the Insider Monkey website has listed seven "best places to visit" in the country.

The Srebarna Nature Reserve, the resort of Sunny Beach, the northeastern town of Ruse, the Seven Rila Lakes (glacial lakes in the Rila Mountains in the southwest), the Ledenika cave, the Iskar river, and the capital Sofia, according to the website's own rankings.  

A project to restore 14 historic mausoleums destroyed in Timbuktu three years ago by hardline Islamists is due to finish at the end of July, the Art Newspaper has reported. The news was announced in Bonn, Germany, at the 39th session of UNESCO?s World Heritage Committee, which is scheduled to end today.