After I had visited the excellent Gebel Barkal , I wondered if Meroë could surpass it. Well, it did. I do not hesitate to compare this collection of 4 archaeological sites in the heart of Sudan with Jordan's Petra . Meroë is testimony to the period when the Black Pharoahs of Nubia found their own style: less Egyptian and more African, with far-reaching trade connections. The focal point of the nomination is the pyramid field of the Meroë Necropolis, where about 100 structures are clustered. It lies within sight of the busy tarmacked road between Khartoum and Atbara, with mainly trucks and buses plying the route to Port Sudan. The pyramids here have been uncovered since the early 20th century. The reconstruction of their characteristic pylon gateways or votive chapels often dates to as recent as the 1990s. Fresh sand covers the entrances to these chapels every day, making it still adventurous to tread and explore. Most are empty inside, but some have carvings or paintings so it's worth to just check them out one by one to see what you find.

A few kilometres away, on the other side …

Sudan recently has gained some popularity as a destination for the more adventurous traveller. I know of three Dutch tour companies running scheduled group tours there, with at least two of them having guaranteed departures in the coming months. I will be leaving for Khartoum myself on one of them later this week. Below I want to share what I learned so far about visiting Sudan's (T)WHS.

WHS of Meroë and Gebel Barkal

Reaching the WHS of Meroë and Gebel Barkal is pretty easy, at least if you're prepared to throw some money at it. There's the costly visum to Sudan (90 EUR for a letter of invitation + 100 US dollar for the visum itself), and an array of permissions and entry fees have to be arranged and paid for. Both WHS lie in the "safeish" Nile region north of the capital Khartoum: nothing bad has ever happened to tourists there, but given Sudan's recent history it would not be a total surprise if something did.

The following companies are among those that offer group tours to Sudan: Italtour Sudan , Lendi Travel , Undiscovered Destinations , Wild Frontiers , Explore , B.C. Archaelogy , Koning Aap , Rosetta …

There's a rather grand transboundary nomination in the making called Great Spas of Europe . 16 Spa Towns scattered through Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, France, UK and Belgium are preparing a serial nomination on 19th century European spa culture. The final selection will hold less sites (maybe as little as 7 or 8). Bath, Spa, the West Bohemian Spa Triangle, Baden-Baden and Vichy seem to be the most likely ones to make the cut. ¹ .

Last weekend I visited the Belgian town of Spa, a safe bet as it is considered the "original" spa after which the other 19th century resorts were named. The site was on Belgium's Tentative List on its own merits between 2008 and 2014, but now is caught up in what might become a cumbersome and messy pan-European nomination process. The failed attempts of the global Corbusier sites come to my mind when I think of the logistics. The nomination date for the Great Spas of Europe has already been postponed from 2015 to 2017.

I did not expect too much from my visit to Spa: the Dutch language Wikipedia-page on …

Hagi Castle Town is one of the 23 components that make up Japan's "Modern Industrial Heritage Sites in Kyushu and Yamaguchi"-nomination for 2015. Together they aim to represent the first successful transfer of industrialization from the West to a non-Western nation. The old town of Hagi is not exactly the most representative location among the 23: the others are industrial sites related to shipbuilding, iron and steel industries and coal mining. According to the Nomination Dossier, "the highly regulated structure of its feudal urban layout" supposedly is a sign "of the inherent capacity of the well-organized Japanese society to rapidly embrace and implement technological change".

Hagi housed the feudal lords of the Kyushu-Yamaguchi region, ending with Lord Takachika Mori (1819-71) who is associated with the proto-industrial trials around Hagi. The site includes the ruins of Hagi castle and many original buildings and streets in the well-preserved town , which has avoided the natural disasters that Japan is so prone to.

I visited Hagi on my first trip to Japan, in the year 2000. I did so on a day trip from Hiroshima. Hagi was (and probably still is) …

It's always annoying when a new WHS just "pops up" in an area that you thought covered already long ago. Corvey lies quite close to the WHS of Hildesheim , Fagus Factory and Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe . Sites that I not need to return to. And the description of Corvey isn't that appealing either - I was surprised that it made the List earlier this year. However the warmest November day ever got me into action, and I drove out there for a day trip. The site has a large (free) parking lot, where some 20 cars were already parked when I arrived. From there you enter the main gate of the baroque monastery complex. While reading the nomination dossier, I found the distinction between the (inscribed) medieval remains and the "modern" monastery puzzling at times. The difference is easy to see in their architectural style however, and I was attracted to the massive Westwerk immediately. It has a separate entrance: the church behind it is still in use as a parish church, and you pay only 0,80 EUR to get inside this way.

But I hadn't driven for hours just …

Kyoto-resident John Dougill travelled around Japan for over 4 months in 2012. On the way he visited all its 18 WHS, including their separate locations. Ancient Kyoto alone already comprises 17 of these serial spots, such as the magic hall dedicated to Buddha's mother at Kiyomizu-Dera:

"Those looking for closure might want to seek out the intriguing Zuiguido Hall ... where for Y100 you can enter pitch blackness and feel your way around a basement symbolising the womb".

His journey resulted in this good size publication: it is fairly comprehensive at 192 pages, though without the weight of a coffee table book. It has an attractive "clean" layout which does both the text and the many photos justice. The pages are further enhanced with custom maps showing the locations of the sites and site parts. Opening hours and directions are also covered.

Separate entries for serial locations

Dougill did well in grasping the often confusing concept of World Heritage sites, core zones and separate locations. This is a refreshing surprise, as we have seen so many WHS books over the years with lots of factual errors. All three zones of the Kii Mountain Range …

2014 marks 100 years since the start of the First World War. We have identified eight WHS that have been Damaged in WWI . I wondered what exactly happened to them between 1914 and 1918.

Belgium and France

In Dendermonde (one of the Flemish Béguinages ), the entrance gate, several houses and the Beguine church were burned down by the Germans in 1914. All beguines had already left when the war broke out ¹ .

Several of the Belfries of Belgium and France were located right in the middle of the battle front between the Allies and the Germans: - The clockwork of the Sint-Romboutstoren in Mechelen was damaged by a German canon in 1914. - The Belfry of Ypres was burned down early in 1914, the Cloth Hall was reduced to rubble during the 4 year siege of the town by the Germans. - The Belfry of Arras was destroyed in October 1915. - The Belfry of Amiens lasted until the Battle of Amiens in August 1918.

The nearby Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin had been cut in two by the Front, and the Germans flooded the eastern section. "The final …

The year was 1997. The sky was the limit in the IT Industry, and I (someone with a History degree who never understood anything about mathematics) was hired to become a Test Engineer. I did not know what being a Test Engineer involved, but the company offered me a permanent contract, a company car and a reasonable pay. I was happy. AND they gave me something else that was to fundamentally change the way I spent my spare time: a space to develop my own website!

The Baby Steps

The Internet then wasn't as widespread as it is now. People just created their own "homepage", a little spot for themselves and their hobbies. The Under Construction sign was a common sight. I knew right away what the theme of my website should become: all those faraway places that I longed to travel to. Already as a child, growing up in the Dutch countryside, I dreamt of sites such as Easter Island and Nan Madol. After finishing elementary school and being asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I firmly answered 'Explorer'. Maybe I had just read too many books by Thor Heyerdahl .

Back …