Mosques in Ivory Coast win World Heritage status

Eight mosques in northern Ivory Coast, whose style is believed to have originated in the Mali Empire seven centuries ago, have been granted Unesco World Heritage status.

The buildings are "highly important testimonies to the trans-Saharan trade" that continued to thrive as the region prospered, the UN heritage body says.

The mosques in the towns of Tengréla, Kouto, Sorobango, Samatiguila, M’Bengué, Kong and Kaouara "are the best conserved of 20 such edifices that remain in Ivory Coast, where hundreds existed early last century," Unesco says.

Their new status means they are considered to have universal cultural value that will grant them extra protection.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: @UNESCO/Twitter