Cultural Heritage: UNESCO Award for Hunza fort

ISLAMABAD: The 900-year-old Altit Fort in Hunza has received the 2011 Unesco Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

According to a statement released by the Aga Khan Development Network, which undertook the conservation project, the old fort is an important tourist attraction in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Conservation works focused on mending structural defects, stabilising and repairing existing walls, replacing some roofs, treating wood decay and providing appropriate lighting.

The UNESCO Awards for Conservation present the awards with hopes that recognising private efforts to restore historic properties would encourage other property owners to undertake conservation projects within the community, either independently or by seeking public-private partnerships.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2011.

Correction: An earlier image carried with this story represented the Hunza fort, not the Altit fort.