Ilya Burlak

United States of America \ Member since January 2017

#319 179 37 5

I only started prioritizing visiting World Heritage sites a few years ago, and with my limited US-based corporate-warrior time-off allocation and family obligations, I can only add a handful to a dozen in any given year. I look forward to visiting them all after I retire...

Check out my website: Burlaki.com

Recent Visits
  • 0
    1
    July 11, 2025
    Greece: Ancient Towers of the Aegean Sea
  • 2
    5
    Dec. 4, 2024
    Hungary: Caves of the Buda Thermal Karst System, Hollókö, Le Chateau-fort médieval d'Esztergom ...
  • 5
    1
    May 14, 2024
    Peru: Arequipa, Cuzco, Lima ...
Completed Countries

About Ilya Burlak

Member since
January 2017
Country of Origin
United States of America
Visits
Rank
#319
WHS
179
Tentative Sites
37
Website Participation
Reviews
123
Ratings

Ratings

World Heritage Sites
Tentative Sites
179 37
Locations
0
Zones
0
Reserved for members.

Reviews by Ilya Burlak

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Pienza by Ilya Burlak

Pienza (Inscribed)

Pienza

The historic center of the Pienza is inscribed on UNESCO List because it occupies a seminal position in the development of the concept of the planned “ideal town”, but you …

Reims by Ilya Burlak

Reims (Inscribed)

Reims

My visit to Reims took place nearly a decade ago, but the buildings recognized on this site's inscription have stood for centuries, so I expect that my impressions remain relevant.

Tarraco by Ilya Burlak

Tarraco (Inscribed)

Tarraco

An attractive city to the south-west of Barcelona, Tarragona’s claim to UNESCO recognition revolves around its Roman past, as evidenced by a significant number of architectural remains in and around …

Minoan Palatial Centres by Ilya Burlak

Minoan Palatial Centres (Inscribed)

Minoan Palatial Centres

During a stay on Crete in the summer of 2018 I visited two of the properties of this serial site. One of them, Knossos Palace is the most visited tourist …

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy by Ilya Burlak

Residences of the Royal House… (Inscribed)

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy

While in Turin for a single day in November of 2018, I managed to see Palazzo Madama, walked around Zona di Commando, and stopped by Palazzo Reale and Palazzo Carignano …

The city of Bergamo by Ilya Burlak

The city of Bergamo (Removed from tentat…)

The city of Bergamo

Bergamo is a kind of town that invariably leaves a positive impression on any visitor without tipping the scales on the exceptional side. I visited it in November of 2018. …

Venetian Works of Defence by Ilya Burlak

Venetian Works of Defence (Inscribed)

Venetian Works of Defence

I visited Bergamo in November of 2018 and Zadar and Kotor in July of 2019, each time focusing on the respective city as a whole. I frequently profess my admiration …

Santa Maria delle Grazie by Ilya Burlak

Santa Maria delle Grazie (Inscribed)

Santa Maria delle Grazie

The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is a curious specimen on the World Heritage list. It is not altogether unremarkable, but also not in any sense surpassing to warrant …

Kyiv Cathedral and Lavra by Ilya Burlak

Kyiv Cathedral and Lavra (Inscribed)

Kyiv Cathedral and Lavra

I have been to Kiev many times in my childhood, but those visits never included any sightseeing. Decades later, I found myself in Kiev on a business trip. It was …

Assisi by Ilya Burlak

Assisi (Inscribed)

Assisi

I visited Assisi in the summer of 2014. At that point, the town easily vaulted towards the top of my personal list of the most impressive day-trip destinations, having hosted …

Mycenae and Tiryns by Ilya Burlak

Mycenae and Tiryns (Inscribed)

Mycenae and Tiryns

I visited Mycenae in July 2018. The city was the center of the Late Bronze Age civilization that was the main precursor to the classical Ancient Greek culture. Mycenaeans’ period …

Archaeological Site of Delphi by Ilya Burlak

Archaeological Site of Delphi (Inscribed)

Archaeological Site of Delphi

Delphi was the sacred center of the world for the Ancient Greeks and undoubtedly a remarkable achievement of purposeful architecture, a sanctuary built into the challenging landscape to inspire awe …

Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios by Ilya Burlak

Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea… (Inscribed)

Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios

Of the three geographically dispersed monasteries inscribed together as this WH site, we could only fit one into our Greek itinerary in July of 2018, and our choice fell on …

Acropolis by Ilya Burlak

Acropolis (Inscribed)

Acropolis

I always find myself awed by grandiose edifices. Beholding the Parthenon up close, unfailingly grandiose despite its ruined state blended with a construction site, made the visit to Acropolis instantly …

Delos by Ilya Burlak

Delos (Inscribed)

Delos

Delos archaeological site is vast and is among the most impressive of its kind. Ancient ruins everywhere require a non-trivial application of imagination to see beyond the piles of stones …

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier by Ilya Burlak

The Architectural Work of Le … (Inscribed)

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier

I saw Villa Savoye in June of 2018. The villa is considered a prime example of Le Corbusier's architectural manifesto with all five principles on display: pilotis, free façade …

Vézère Valley by Ilya Burlak

Vézère Valley (Inscribed)

Vézère Valley

If you are spending time in the department of Dordogne, it is possible with the right planning to see 3-to-5 locations of this WH site in one day. 

My …

Works of Antoni Gaudí by Ilya Burlak

Works of Antoni Gaudí (Inscribed)

Works of Antoni Gaudí

I have made multiple visits to the five accessible Gaudí properties in Barcelona over the course of the last 15 years. They are all worth visiting. My personal ranking order …

Canal du Midi by Ilya Burlak

Canal du Midi (Inscribed)

Canal du Midi

One could argue that you can do Canal du Midi justice only by renting a boat to navigate a portion of it. On the other hand, the canal itself is …

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France by Ilya Burlak

Routes of Santiago de Compost… (Inscribed)

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France

I visited two properties that are part of this serial site in August of 2017 and three more in June of 2018.

In an otherwise nondescript Rabastens, Notre-Dame-du-Bourg may …

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