Decision 38 COM 7B.16

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (Kazakhstan) (C 1103)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/7B.Add,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 7B.64, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Notes the efforts made by the State Party to respond to the issues raised concerning the architectural design of the Mosque for 2000 prayers and the inclusion of various stakeholders and national experts in the planning process;
4. Regrets that despite assurances provided by the State Party, the heights of the minarets have only been reduced to 33.1 metres, instead of 26 metres, and that the height of the dome has not been reduced at all, much less to the 28 metres recommended by the Advisory mission carried out in 2010;
5. Reiterates its request to the State Party to provide to the World Heritage Centre the following documents for review by the Advisory Bodies:
   1. an architectural perspective illustrating the visual relationship between the setting of the Mosque and the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, in order to judge whether the slight reduction in the height of the construction still poses a potential negative impact on the setting of the Mausoleum,
   2. an electronic and three printed copies of the revised management plan for the property, in accordance to the recommendations made in the technical review, as well as its summary in English,
   3. the revised map of the property’s buffer zone;
6. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 February 2015 an updated report, including a 1-page executive summary, on the state of conservation and the above mentioned documents, for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies.