Unesco Facts

There is a real island in the Arabian Sea that looks like another planet. Socotra split from the supercontinent Gondwana about 20 million years ago and drifted into isolation, so its life evolved on its own. Of its 825 plant species, around a third grow nowhere else on Earth - including the dragon blood tree, whose mushroom-shaped canopy bleeds red resin. National Geographic calls it the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean.

Abu Simbel's colossal temples were carved by Ramesses II 3,200 years ago. When Egypt's Aswan Dam threatened to flood them, Egypt and 48 nations raised $40 million. Engineers sliced the temples into 1,000+ blocks - some weighing 30 tons - then rebuilt everything 65 meters higher. The solar alignment still works.