People often ask me what my favourite WHS is. Of course it is hard to choose – depending on my mood of the day I might say Angkor or Machu Picchu, or a lesser known natural site such as Manu National Park where I "learned" to love nature. But generally I opt for the Kathmandu Valley . Maybe not an obvious choice, but it’s a place that I keep coming back to and where there’s always something left to explore. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of April 25, I think it is right to put the spotlight on the Kathmandu Valley.

Boudhanath Stupa

I have visited the Valley four times: in 1993, 2001, 2007 and 2011. The WHS covers 7 locations, spread out over 4 different towns. I’ve been to all separate sites, most of them more than once. During these trips, I have never skipped the short commute to the outskirts of Kathmandu for Boudhanath Stupa. This is the religious symbol of the Tibetan diaspora in Nepal and probably the greatest Tibetan Buddhist site in the world. It is surrounded nowadays by …

In 2011 I started taking courses towards a Bachelor degree in General Cultural Sciences at the Open University. This involves a mixture of Literature, Philosophy, Cultural History and Art History. It’s now almost four years later and I have nearly reached my goal: only my bachelor thesis is left to do. Part of the programme was that I “had to” attend an in-depth, 8 day study trip to Florence . A great excuse for a proper revisit of this rich WHS! We were 20 mature students, and each of us had to deliver a 30 minute lecture about (and in front of) a Renaissance art or architecture object in Florence. We had been preparing this through literature study beforehand.

Tomb of Carlo Marsuppini (Santa Croce Church)

Florence seemed to be in good shape when we visited in April 2015, nothing like the decay you hear about regarding Rome or elsewhere in Italy. A few sights are being restored at the moment, such as the Baptisterium. But there’s plenty left: even a packed 8-day schedule will not cover all worthwhile sights. We did spend much time …

Carthage is one of those famous names on the WH List that we all know about. It got already inscribed in 1979, part of the second batch of sites that also included the Pyramids, Dubrovnik and the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately I never got around to visiting Tunisia so far, but I am surely interested in doing so in the near future. The Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden currently holds a large exhibition on Carthage. Pieces from the Bardo Museum in Tunis, the Louvre and the British Museum are on show until May 10, 2015.

Punic god Baal-Hammon recognizable in his Roman alter ego Saturnus Africanus

The exhibition covers 2 floors of this canalside museum. The first floor is dedicated to Punic Carthage: the city was founded by Phoenicians from the area around Tyre (nowadays in Lebanon). They brought their gods and goddesses with them and created a city-state with a far-reaching trade network and huge military power. Especially this period is a unique piece of North African history, which often is overshadowed by Roman Carthage.

From the reviews on our website, …

In December 2014 Mongolia submitted a new Tentative List. It holds 13 sites, of which several such as the Gobi desert, the Desert fossil sites, Amarbayasgalant Monastery and a group of Sacred Mountains have appeared under different aliases on earlier lists. This renewal might be the start of intensified Mongolian WH activity during the coming years. Now awarded with only 3 WHS, this vast and unique country certainly has potential for more.

Cover of a booklet that I bought in Mongolia in 2002, before it had any WHS

I could not find a schedule of the proposed nominations, but what we do know is that Mongolia is up for 2 new WHS in 2015! First there's the natural site " Landscapes of Dauria ", a transboundary nomination with Russia. This steppe is already a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar Site. It's the breeding ground for the white-naped cranes, ranked as "vulnerable" by IUCN. Unless local authorities start to dig for oil, build a pipeline or a dam in this area I see no reason why it would be rejected.

The other one is "Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and its surrounding sacred landscape". Strangely this isn't on the T List …