Kyrgyzstan is not as richly endowed with Silk Road remains as its neighboring countries. The nomadic nature of its inhabitants has resulted in few permanent historic structures. But there are still some that are worth visiting. Tash Rabat's caravanserai is said to be the “best”, but it was too far from my itinerary. I already visited Burana (part of the Silk Road WHS) at the beginning of my journey. I ended it in Uzgen, which is part of the separate Silk Roads Sites in Kyrgyzstan TWHS.

The city of Uzgen is one of the oldest in Kyrgyzstan, dating back to the 2nd or 1st century BC when it was founded as a trading post along the Silk Road. It is described in Chinese sources from that time. It also was the capital of the medieval Kharakhanid Empire, at the center of the fertile Fergana Valley.

Its monuments can be found in a historical-archaeological park in present-day Uzgen’s town center. They comprise a 12th-century minaret and three mausolea from the same period. There’s an entrance fee of 20 Som (0.20 EUR) to this neatly arranged park. A strange detail that I noticed walking around the site …

Sulaiman-Too is the landmark of the lovely city of Osh. It is a mostly relict cultural landscape of a sacred mountain – so much was destroyed during the Soviet-communist period of Kyrgyzstan, that really only the caves and the legends remain. A few recently revived or added Islamic buildings can be found at the foot of the mountain, outside the gates, including the pretty, Arab-sponsored Sulaiman-Too Mosque dating from 2012.

Accurate information on how to visit the mountain is surprisingly rare to find. One can actually enter from two sides: where the English language sources seem to steer you to the steep stairs from Kurmanjan Datka Street, the locals generally use the winding way up from Gapar Aytiev. A handy overview map and a larger car parking can be found at that entrance.

There’s a fence fully encircling the mountain, I guess to avoid rough sleepers. A 20 Som entrance fee is only levied from 9 a.m. onwards: there’s a ticket kiosk at either entrance. I entered at 8.45 and found the gate open. I also encountered people coming from the other side, they must have been on their way from around 8. So …

The Western Tien-Shan (situated in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan) is the westernmost part of the Tianshan mountain range, the eastern part (in China) is a separate WHS under the name of Xinjiang Tianshan .

I visited one of the three components in Kyrgyzstan: Sary Chelek National Park. I did so with a private driver annex guide, whom I had hired to take me from Bishkek to Osh in 5 days. We stopped for one night each in Toktogul and Arslanbob (known for its walnut forests), and for two nights in Arkit, the gateway to Sary Chelek National Park. It’s a fairly remote site, some 100km from the next sizeable town. The winding road leading up there however is almost fully paved. During summer the park sees a lot of tourists, and numerous homestays and yurt camps have opened up.

The things to look out for when you want to experience this site’s OUV, are the wild fruit and nut forests. These were also the main goal of our hike during the first late afternoon. Although the farming village of Arkit already lies in the core zone, the proper entrance to the park lies on its …

The Silk Roads do have the potential to blow away the Roman Limes regarding the number of separate nominations: no less than 54 corridors have been distinguished in the ICOMOS Thematic Study . Fortunately, they are meant to be combined and some will never be put forward. So far only 1 has made it: the Tian-shan Corridor , shared by China, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. It spans 5,000 km and is further split into 4 sections. The first section in Central China can be considered the starting point of all Silk Routes. In 2007 I already visited a number of locations in this section (Xian’s Wild Goose Pagodas, Longmen Grottoes) and in the second one named Hosi Corridor (Mogao Caves, Yumen Pass). In this review, I will focus on the fourth section, known as the Zhetysu region, at the other end of this particular Silk Road. I went there in September 2021.

Zhetysu is the historical name for parts of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Meaning “seven rivers”, it comprises the fertile grasslands between Lake Balkhash and Lake Issyk Kul. It is where nomadic people settled, built fortified sites, and turned to agriculture and trade. These inhabitants …

Wiki’s History of Beer learns us that beer is one of the oldest drinks humans have produced: “The earliest chemically confirmed barley beer to date was discovered at Godin Tepe in Iran, where fragments of a jug, from between 5,400 and 5,000 years ago was found to be coated with beerstone, a by-product of the brewing process”. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the teetotal Islamic Republic of Iran will put a site linked to alcoholic drinks forward as a WH nomination. So far we already have identified a connection for Breweries (including the Brewery museum at the Grand Place of Brussels, first photo below). But are there more groups of at least 3 WHS that we can connect to beer-related subjects?

Paid in Beer

There are at least 3 WHS that I can link to “Paid in Beer”. They all have provided records that workers at the site have been paid in beer. Some 5,000 years ago, that was the case in Uruk (part of the Ahwar of Southern Iraq WHS). A tablet has been discovered that describes beer production at the Inanna Temple in Uruk and beer given to workers as part of …

The last time that I had Italy 'complete' (i.e., I had visited all of its then 57 WHS), it lasted for only 2 weeks. But after my recent visit to Bologna I now have full coverage for at least 10 more months (unfortunately I don’t ‘have’ Italy’s 2022 nomination Civita di Bagniregio already). Bologna's Porticoes got inscribed last July, a slight surprise after a Deferral advice. On the ground, I found no official plaques yet, nor the Italian equivalent of jubilant “Wir sind Welterbe” banners.

My first impression of the city wasn’t that great: its streets are a bit grubby, with walls covered in graffiti. The porticoes allow for little daylight on a cloudy day. Fortunately, the core zone was extended in the final nomination proposal, so the most important monuments of the city that lie anywhere near a portico are now also included.

A remarkable one is the San Petronio Basilica – a church that was planned to become bigger than St. Peter's in the Vatican. That didn't quite work out, but it still is one of the largest churches in the world (just beating the Cologne Cathedral for example). Its façade also stayed …

Although I get the feeling that even Italy is reaching the limits of its WH potential, its Tentative List still holds 39 prospects. Among them are numerous examples of the typical medieval-Renaissance cityscape, such as Lucca, Pavia, and Bergamo. And Parma : a city with Etruscan origins, and self-rule as a Free Commune and Duchy for a long time afterward. Especially the rulers of the latter two periods have left their imprint on how the city still looks now.

I visited Parma on a day trip from Bologna. Frequent trains take just under an hour. My first impression was that of a pleasant, liveable city. Certainly compared to Bologna and its porticoes that block the daylight, Parma feels more spacious and inviting with green areas and many benches to sit on.

I started my explorations by crossing a bridge to Oltretorrente , the quarter at the “other” side of the river. Here is where the Garden Palace of the Dukes of Parma was built. It lies in a large French garden, with a lot of chestnut trees already turning to their autumn color.

Back in the town center, I made my way to the …

In the Trivia category, we have a connection named Buildable in Lego : "WHS that are available as models from the official Lego Shop". It currently covers 15 locations across 12 sites. Unsurprisingly, these are among the most visited and best-known cities and landmarks globally, such as Paris, Rome, and the Taj Mahal. It’s a coincidence that they are also WHS.

Lego Architecture

All WHS Buildable in Lego are part of the Lego Architecture construction sets, aimed at an 18+ audience.

Officially they are split into the Landmark (Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, etc) and Architect ( FLW , Le Corbusier , etc) series. Additionally, there are the Skylines , essentially a row of iconic buildings from one city. Here we find some doubles, that are also available as single landmark sets: Sydney Opera House is also part of the Sydney skyline, the Eiffel Tower of the Paris one, Big Ben in London, and the Statue of Liberty in New York. I even recognized Mt. Fuji in the Tokyo skyline .

The product range started in 2008. Most products have since been retired, and have become more costly (if you can find …

Since at least 2008 we have distinguished “ WHS Hotspots ” on this website. From the start its connected sites always have been under much debate as exact criteria do not exist, which is a bit hard to handle for people that enjoy order and organization (including myself). We currently have 93 hotspots, spanning 496 unique sites. This means that 43% of the 1154 WHS are in a hotspot.

After the recent surge in interest in the topic of WHS hotspots at the Forum , I spent some time this week upgrading and refreshing these connections. All have a center now, a reference to neighbor hotspots if applicable, and most of them also explanations to locations and how to get there. In addition to the Forum discussions, I used the reviews of the regular public transport travellers to see whether a return day trip would be possible. I’ve linked to access instructions on official websites and to specific reviews describing getting there on public transport.

When is a hotspot a hotspot?

A hotspot is “a cluster of …

Directly after I read the positive ICOMOS evaluation for adding the Cordouan Lighthouse to the World Heritage List, I booked a flight to Bordeaux and a spot on a boat tour that would take me there. So this is how I arrived at my 760th visited WHS only a week after its inscription. It was a shoo-in, an exemplary site especially from a management perspective. It boasts a large core zone which includes the waters surrounding the lighthouse. The buffer zone extends to the coastal areas, so no windfarms will appear here spoiling the view.

A visit involves some practical considerations, especially when travelling on public transport. Clyde already described most of it well, though I only read his review carefully when I was already on a train to the site (so I worried about wet socks for a while). I had chosen a tour departing from Verdon-sur-Mer, which is linked by direct train from Bordeaux. The trains leave every 2 hours, the 9.29 one connected nicely with the 1pm departure of my boat trip. From the tiny Verdon station it takes a half an hour walk to Port Medoc, where the boats from Vedettes La …