UNESCO announced Monday it was adding the Tunisian resort island of Djerba to its list of World Heritage Sites because of its ancient ruins, whitewashed villages, mosques, churches and synagogues.

The United Nations cultural organization took the decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during its 45th world heritage committee meeting.

"The committee meeting of UNESCO member states has just approved the inscription on the World Heritage List of the island of Djerba," the organization's regional director for the Maghreb, Eric Falt, said.

Djerba covers an area of 514 square kilometers (198 square miles), and is the largest island off North Africa. It combines desert areas bordering the Mediterranean with agricultural land growing palm and olive trees.

UNESCO's website says "the distinctive human settlement of Djerba demonstrates the way local people adapted their lifestyle to the conditions of their water-scarce natural environment".

Djerba is considered to be the mythological island in Homer's "Odyssey" where Ulysses and his companions encounter the lotus eaters.

The Tunisian Ministry for Cultural Affairs welcomed this "final acceptance" of Djerba, saying the UNESCO decision "does justice to the joint efforts" of both the authorities and civil society.

UNESCO's Falt said there had been a "long and tortuous path" leading to Djerba's inscription as a World Heritage Site because of "seven areas of the island and 24 monuments".

The island has Carthaginian and Roman ruins and also traditional houses known as "houch", which have an interior courtyard and ingenious systems to collect rainwater.

Djerba is known for its religious diversity. It has churches, synagogues including the Ghriba, the oldest in Africa, and fortified mosques from the Ibadi school of Islam, some of which are underground.