Libya has registered two historic sites on UNESCO’s tentative World Heritage List, the Libyan delegation to the organisation announced, as part of a broader effort to secure full inscription on the World Heritage List and strengthen the country’s cultural and tourism profile internationally, the Libya Observer reported.
The two sites are the Old Mosque in the city of Oujla and Qasr Al-Haj in the Nafusa Mountains.
Saleh Al-Oqab, head of the Libyan delegation to UNESCO, told Reuters that placement on the tentative list is a prerequisite for formal nomination to the World Heritage List, a process that requires sites to satisfy around ten criteria. Among those criteria are authenticity, urban fabric, site boundaries, and the designation of a core area for the site.
The Historic Cities Management Authority said the registration marks an important return for the Libyan file to the forefront of international efforts in cultural heritage protection.
Libya currently holds five inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the archaeological sites of Cyrene, Leptis Magna and Sabratha, the Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus, and the Old Town of Ghadames. The latest registrations bring the country’s tentative list to five sites, alongside the previously registered Archaeological Site of Ghirza, the Archaeological Site of Ptolemais, and the Haua Fteah Cave.
The move builds on a run of positive heritage developments for Libya. In July 2025, UNESCO removed Ghadames from its List of World Heritage in Danger, following extensive restoration work by local authorities and international partners. All five of Libya’s inscribed sites had been placed on the danger list in 2016 due to instability caused by the civil war.
Reuters noted that Libya had once drawn hundreds of thousands of tourists to its five UNESCO-listed sites before years of conflict disrupted the country’s tourism sector.