Solivagant

Member since December 2005

#8 854 328

I am now retired but have been "travelling" for a "hobby" since I was 15 (1957!) whilst pursuing otherwise normal mundane career and "home" things in UK - thus being limited by "annual leave" allowances. During that time I have visited 164 "independent countries" - defined by me as the 193 full UN members plus (somewhat illogically, but they are generally accepted as "sovereign") Taiwan and Holy See (but am not pursuing "193"!). Unfortunately quite a few relatively easily accessible current WHS got "missed" along the way. If only I had known they would get chosen - they are not all obvious choices! Despite the weaknesses in the list and the politics involved in the selection and voting mechanism they provide a quick means of grasping the highlights of many countries and sometimes lead down interesting knowledge and research "avenues" which would otherwise have remain unexplored. 
Proposal for a new WHS:- Roca Agostino Neto Cocoa Plantation Sao Tome.
There are just too many European WHS relative to the rest. Little Sao Tome became the world's greatest producer of cocoa under the Portuguese. So poor were the social conditions that Cadbury boycotted Cocoa from there in early 20C. At Roca Agostinho (and other crumbling colonial sites on Sao Tome) you might just get a feeling for the economic system which created it and "fed" Europe with a raw material so often taken for granted - a really atmospheric place. But it isn't even on the "Tentative list"!

My most impressive site: Machu Picchu. I would like to choose somewhere

My proposal for a new site: See under

Recent Visits
  • 11
    0
    July 28, 2024
    Beijing Central Axis, Funerary and memory sites of the First World War, Gedi , Hegmataneh, …
  • 0
    4
    Jan. 1, 2020
    City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Dunhuang Yardangs, The Lijiang River Scenic Zone …
  • 0
    5
    Jan. 1, 2020
    Ancient cities of Upper Myanmar, Bago, Inle Lake, Shwedagon Pagoda, Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period
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About Solivagant

First name
Solivagant
Member since
December 2005
Country of Origin
None
Visits
Rank
#8
WHS
854
Tentative Sites
328
Website Participation
Reviews
442
Ratings

Ratings

World Heritage Sites
855 0
Photos
N/A
Locations
N/A
Zones
N/A

Reviews by Solivagant

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Tchogha Zanbil by Solivagant

Tchogha Zanbil (Inscribed)

Tchogha Zanbil

I note that Tchogha Zanbil’s (TZ) only previous review on this site relates to a visit as far back as 1999! So, an update from our visit in Apr 2016 …

The Historical Village of Abyaneh by Solivagant

The Historical Village of Aby… (On tentative list)

The Historical Village of Abyaneh

Iran’s T List contains a number of “Villages” (sometimes titled “Cities”!) whose claimed OUV lies significantly in their vernacular architecture. Abyaneh is among them (along with Masouleh and Uramanat). It …

Bisotun by Solivagant

Bisotun (Inscribed)

Bisotun

I note that the previous reviewer managed to climb up to the main bas-relief (in 2012). I fear that such access is unlikely ever to become the “norm” again. When …

Pasargadae by Solivagant

Pasargadae (Inscribed)

Pasargadae

Before investigating this WHS in advance of our trip in Apr 2016, I had always assumed that it consisted solely of the Tomb of Cyrus – that famous “profile” consisting …

Maymand by Solivagant

Maymand (Inscribed)

Maymand

Our visit to Maymand was certainly less traumatic than that of the previous reviewer! It was interesting and pleasant enough but, on reflection, we didn’t perhaps really get to see …

Sassanid Archaeological Landscape by Solivagant

Sassanid Archaeological Lands… (Inscribed)

Sassanid Archaeological Landscape

If ever nominated, this site would cover archaeological remains of the last pre-Islamic Iranian dynasty – the “Sassanids” (AD 224-651) whose empire stretched to the Levant, Central Asia, E Arabia …

Tabriz Bazaar by Solivagant

Tabriz Bazaar (Inscribed)

Tabriz Bazaar

A few comments additional to Els’s thorough review

a. We visited first in the late afternoon and then again briefly the next morning to catch up on some areas which …

Armenian Monastic Ensembles by Solivagant

Armenian Monastic Ensembles (Inscribed)

Armenian Monastic Ensembles

As Els has recently reviewed the St Thaddeus Church part of this WHS, I will concentrate on its second “ensemble” (the word used by UNESCO) - around St Stepanos Monastery. …

Shushtar by Solivagant

Shushtar (Inscribed)

Shushtar

Despite reading the documents for this WHS prior to our visit in Apr 2016 I still didn’t feel that I had gained a good understanding of what it really was …

The Persian Qanat by Solivagant

The Persian Qanat (Inscribed)

The Persian Qanat

Before our Iran trip in Apr/May 2016 we had gained access via this Website to the “Executive Summary” for Iran’s nomination of “The Persian Qanat” (Its consideration by the 2016 …

Lut Desert by Solivagant

Lut Desert (Inscribed)

Lut Desert

Two problems with trying to get “ahead of the game” by visiting T List sites before they are inscribed are that they might fail and also that any inscribed boundaries …

Gonbad-e Qâbus by Solivagant

Gonbad-e Qâbus (Inscribed)

Gonbad-e Qâbus

A quick look at the map of Iran will indicate why Gonbad-e Qabus might not yet have been reviewed on this web site and indeed had only 5 recorded visits …

Serra de Tramuntana by Solivagant

Serra de Tramuntana (Inscribed)

Serra de Tramuntana

Mallorca’s “Sierra de Tramuntana” consists of a limestone range around 90kms long, 15kms wide and up to c1450m high, running along the north of the island. We found that it …

Ibiza by Solivagant

Ibiza (Inscribed)

Ibiza

Q - “So, where are you off to this time?”. A- (somewhat diffidently!) “Oh, just to Ibiza!”. Response - “Not your normal sort of destination?

Garajonay by Solivagant

Garajonay (Inscribed)

Garajonay

A few suggestions / experiences for anyone considering a visit to Garajonay National Park (NP) -

a. We gave La Gomera island 2 days/1 overnight in early Dec 2015 – …

Minoan Palatial Centres by Solivagant

Minoan Palatial Centres (Nominated)

Minoan Palatial Centres

Knossos was placed 5th in our list of “Top 50 Missing” and was among my personal selected 20 so, when we visited it in Oct 2015, it was with particular …

Coa Valley and Siega Verde by Solivagant

Coa Valley and Siega Verde (Inscribed)

Coa Valley and Siega Verde

As some of the previous reviewers have commented, the Coa Valley Rock carvings are situated at the end of some pretty winding Portuguese roads. The extension in 2010 to include …

Atapuerca by Solivagant

Atapuerca (Inscribed)

Atapuerca

As the previous reviews indicate, visiting Atapuerca can be an unsatisfactory experience both because of the nature of the site itself and also because of all the usual difficulties about …

Heritage of Mercury by Solivagant

Heritage of Mercury (Inscribed)

Heritage of Mercury

The map in my 1998 (!!) version of Michelin Spain has an enormous area bounded by Toledo, Merida and Cordoba, totally devoid of any sites deemed as being of interest …

Funerary and memory sites of the First World War by Solivagant

Funerary and memory sites of … (Inscribed)

Funerary and memory sites of the First World War

Our failure ever to visit the WWI sites of the Western Front had long been an “annoying” gap in our travel portfolio – especially as I had voted them for …

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