Category Archives: Cultural and Landscape Heritage

Islamic countries in the Mediterranean and the Middle East have an outstanding natural, artistic and intangible heritage, associated to events and living traditions, ideas, beliefs and artistic and literary works of exceptional, universal significance. This wealth is, however, frequently not recognized internationally and not protected properly. Med-O-Med pretends to contribute to its recovery and re-evaluation.

Sowing heritage: Andalusi botany in the gardens of the Museo de Santa Cruz (Toledo)

The Centre for Studies on Islamic Toledo (Islamic Culture Foundation) continues collaborating with the Museo de [...]

02
Dec
“The garden against time: in search of a common paradise”

We offer an editorial preview of ‘The Garden Against Time’ (Capitán Swing), by Olivia Laing. [...]

24
Nov
A new impetus for the Med-O-Med Andalusian garden

Rabat’s Acclimatisation Garden The Rabat Acclimatisation Garden (Jardin d’Essais Botaniques, JEB) was inaugurated in 2013, [...]

24
Jul
The agricultural landscape of Al-Andalus

The period of Al-Andalus (8th-15th century) meant a great advance in the sciences of agronomy, [...]

08
May
For a regenerative landscaping, Med-O-Med seminar

On February16th, the Med-O-Med gardening school in Salé, Morocco, organised a seminar entitled “Towards regenerative [...]

26
Feb
A New Med-O-Med member, The Palace of Galiana

Including the Galiana Palace  (Toledo, Spain) into the cooperation platform “Med-O-Med, cultural landscapes of the [...]

27
Jan
The Islamic garden, a source of Norman identity in Palermo’s Conca d’oro

In the central part of the Mediterranean lies an island of about 25,711 km², whose [...]

27
May
The communication among trees

The forestry engineer Enrique García Gómez reveals in ‘The intelligence of forests’ surprising secrets of [...]

01
Apr
Climate change and Arabic ditches in the South of Spain

Cristina Armunia Berges On the southern face of Sierra Nevada, many of the irrigation ditches [...]

28
Nov
The Yemeni Island of Socotra: a unique refuge for the dragon tree

Tristan Semiond – FUNCI Some 370 kilometers south of Yemen, in the middle of the [...]

01
Sep
Umberto Pasti, an oneiric landscaper

In this interview, Umberto Pasti, one of the world’s most renowned and atypical writers and [...]

11
Aug
Cultural heritage and training for the sustainability of the M’Hamid Oasis

The NGDO Terrachidia is the latest addition to the Med-O-Med network, cultural landscapes of the [...]

26
Jul
May 10th, the new International Argania Day

The United Nations General Assembly, at the request of Morocco, has recognized May 10th as [...]

10
May
Urban oases to refresh cities

Yann Lagarde (France Culture) What if we put water fountains back in the centre of [...]

05
May
The Hima Well, a historical trade route

Tarq al-Thaqafi MAKKAH: Hima Well, one of the most ancient and significant stops along the [...]

26
Apr
The national arboretum of Tunis

In the framework of the inventory of Centers of Plant Diversity (IDV), developed as part [...]

29
Mar
The Valley of Ricote

Segundo Ríos Translation: Alfonso Casani – FUNCI The Valley of Ricote, also known as the [...]

27
Nov
‘The Invisible Monument’, a tribute to qanats

Review of ‘The Invisible Monument’, by Sara Kamalvand. When one thinks about the emergence of civilisations [...]

02
Aug
Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia’s Petra, and sustainable tourism

Hidden in the middle of the desert in Saudi Arabia, we find this wonder, the [...]

18
May
The real origin of European tulips

It is widely believed that tulips were introduced into Europe through Holland, a country which [...]

04
May
Faraján and its singular agrosystem

Not far away from Faraján urban centre (from the Arabic farhan, happy place), in Malaga [...]

12
Apr
The uniqueness of gardens in Ancient Egypt

The existence of gardens is as old as culture itself. We find it in early [...]

23
Mar
Restoration Works of the Historical Libraries of Chinguetti

Terrachidia is a Spanish company that has been working on different vernacular architecture, infrastructure and [...]

24
Jan
Mayday for the orchards of Valencia

Eva Iturbe – Med-O-Med Valencian orchards, in Spain, are a singularity. Made up of a [...]

12
Jan
The Great Iberian Acorn is set to create life

In Med-O-Med, we support this beautiful initiative launched by Bonqui R. Ibarrondo, member of Reforest-Acción, [...]

26
Nov
The letter of chief Seattle and the respect of nature

In 1854, during the Westward expansion in the US, president Franklin Pierce sent a letter [...]

21
Nov
The Agdal project at ICOMOS’ General Assembly 2019

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), in collaboration with the Committee on Morocco [...]

14
Oct
Participate in ICOMOS’ General Assembly and Symposium

ICOMOS (International Council for Monuments and Sites), in collaboration with ICOMOS Morocco, organizes the 19th [...]

19
Jul
The “Greenhouse of stoves” of the Retiro

The park of the Retiro is more than a public park. It is a spot [...]

27
Jun
The Cultural Landscape Association launches a new edition of “Taste Paradise”

The Cultural Landscape Association (CLA), member of the Med-O-Med network, is promoting a new on-site [...]

19
Feb