A list of the top ten oldest cities in the world, purportedly compiled by UNESCO, is circulating on social media. This list features cities such as Damascus, Aleppo, and Raqqa, along with their corresponding age (here & here). In this article, we will fact-check the accuracy of this list.
Claim: List of the top ten oldest cities in the world compiled by UNESCO.
Fact: The viral list of the oldest cities was not compiled by UNESCO, as confirmed in our correspondence with them. However, most of the cities mentioned in the list are indeed ancient and have historical significance. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
Some of the cities listed in the viral post are indeed ancient with rich histories. However, the list was not compiled by UNESCO. A search on the UNESCO website provided no information about the top 10 oldest cities.
In our communication with UNESCO, they confirmed that they did not compile the viral list.
However, UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention, which aims to protect heritage sites worldwide, has compiled a list of cities and sites with significant historical heritage that need protection. Many of the cities mentioned in the viral list are included in this compilation.
While the other cities mentioned in the viral list also have historical significance (here & here), they are not included in the WHC list, possibly because they do not require protection like the other cities.
To sum up, UNESCO did not compile this List of the World’s Top Ten Oldest Cities.
