According to the UK Foreign Office, a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites are dangerous to visit. The office recommends tourists not go around 66 places on the planet situated in Egypt, Libya, Mali, Tunisia and others. Here are the most interesting sites on this list.

Sabratha

This Phoenician trading settlement was established in Libya in the VI - VII centuries BC. The Roman theater, the temples of the Hellenistic Egyptian god Seraphis and goddess Isis, the Christian basilica of Emperor Justinian times which survived until our times are quite impressing.

Krak des Chevaliers

This fortress which belonged to the Hospitallers is one of the best preserved in the world. It is situated on top of a 650 meters cliff, 65 kilometers to the east of the city of Homs in Syria. Earthquakes damaged some of the buildings, and the fortress had to be restored. Two years ago, the civil war in Syria caused harm to Krak des Chevaliers.

Timbuktu

The Tuareg people founded this town in the central part of Mali approximately in 1100. Overall, Timbuktu is a very poor town. UNESCO protects clay adobe buildings of the Sahel style. Among them there are the Djingareyber Great Mosque built in 1327, the Sankore madrassa (built in the early XV century), terraced gardens and a water tower.

Baalbek

This city is located 80 kilometers to the north-east of Beirut. The first notice about it is dated by the IV century BC. Baalbek was recognized as a major religious center; it was a place of worship of Baal and Dionysus. Such ancient temples as Jupiter, Bacchus, Mercury, Venus are situated in this town. Blocks of some buildings weigh 800 - 1000 tonnes, and scientists around the world still argue about methods of their transportation.

Amphitheatre of El Jem

This building located in Tunisian Tisdre is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The building accommodated about 30 thousand people and was the third largest in the Roman Empire after the Colosseum and the Capua amphitheater. The amphitheater was built in 232-238 years, and has withstood the ravages of time.

Shibam

Shibam, located in Yemen, can be called the city of skyscrapers or Manhattan in a desert due to its unusual architecture. The city buildings were constructed in the XVI century mostly, and were made of mud bricks and had from five to eleven floors. One family owned one floor. Shibam buildings are up to 30 meters in height. Floods often damaged the city, the last one occurred in 2008.