The island of Djerba, off the southern coast of Tunisia, has been added to the UN cultural agency’s much-coveted world heritage list.
Gaining Unesco recognition often boosts tourism and can make it easier to secure funds for the preservation of cultural sites.
Visitors already flock to the picturesque island famed for its white-washed villages and the yearly pilgrimage to Ghriba Synagogue. Djerba is believed to be among the first Jewish settlements in Africa.
Star Wars movies have also been filmed on Djerba, and it was said to be the home of “lotus-eaters” in Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem The Odyssey.