UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has a list of 911 sites around the world that they feel are extra special and should be protected. Some of these sites are man-made, some are natural, but all of them teach us something about our history and our Earth.
I have been very lucky in my trip to have visited several world heritage sites (like the pyramids) and I have just visited another, the Basilica of Bom Jesus, in Old Goa.
Bom Jesus is not just special because it is an old building (over 400 years old), it is special because is houses the remains of St. Francis Xavier. To Christians St. Francis Xavier is a very important person as he was one of the people who helped further the spread of Christianity around the world by starting a group called the Jesuits. His body is kept in a silver casket in the church, and every 10 years it is taken down from where it is kept and people come from all over to see St. Francis Xavier up close.
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| The silver casket that contains the body of St. Francis Xavier. |
Bom Jesus is a very fancy church, decorated with lots of gold and marble. It is fun looking at all the little details in the carvings and trying to figure out what story the artist was trying to tell with their work. I think Bom Jesus should be a world heritage site based on the beautiful artwork inside alone!
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| Everything inside Bom Jesus is so fancy, it almost looks like a palace. |
Take a look at the
list of all 911 world heritage sites. How many of them have you been to?
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