<P>2010 UNEESCO Asia-Pacific merit award
<P>[September 16 2010]
<P>By Shirajiv Sirimane
<P>Over 50 preserved old houses in the Galle Fort won a merit award (out of 06 
awards) at the 2010 UNEESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage for Culture Heritage 
Conservation Awards in Bangkok.
<P>These 55 award winning houses were part of a Galle Heritage Foundation 
Project with Dutch funding launched to preserve old colonial houses in Galle.
<P>A total of 33 entries, from 14 countries in the region, were submitted for 
consideration. The conservation project entries included museums, hotels, 
cultural and educational institutions, religious and industrial sites, public 
institutions, residential buildings, urban districts and islands.
<P>Hong Sann See Tempple in Singappore has been honored with the Award of 
Excellence.
<P>The two Awards of Distinction went to thee Red Brick Warehouses in 
Yokohama, Japan and Gulabpur Khaanqah in Skardu, Pakistaan. The three 
Awardss of Merit include the FFu'long Taoist Temple in Sichuan, China; the 
Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad, India.
<P>Three Honorable Mentions were also announced. They are the Ballaarat 
MMechanics Institute in Balart, Australia; North XXinjiao Street in Zhejejiang, 
China and the Chhattrapati Shivvaji Maharaaj Vastu Saangrahalayaa (Prince of 
Wales Museum) in Mumbai, India.