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I visited Spinalonga the first Friday of November 2021. The website from the Greek Ministry of Culture indicated that the site is closed from 1st of November but it was open anyway.

I took a bus from Chersonissos to Elounda which required a change in Agios Nikolaos. I tried to do this the day before but then the bus from Heraklion was late and therefore I missed the connection and I chose another destination. On Friday I gave it another try and then it worked out fine.

On arrival one boat was selling tickets for the trip. Only two other people were already waiting and after some vague promises, a bit more waiting and some complaining from the other two passengers, we departed. It was a beautiful sunny day and the boat trip through the lagoon was very enjoyable. On the island, we had 1 hour and 10 minutes which was just enough, but I would not have minded to stay another hour or so.

There are also boats from Plaka but it is not served by bus after 1st of November. Plaka is closer to Spinalonga, so one would miss out on the pleasant boat ride (or save a bit of time and money, depending on preference and perspective). We were by no means alone on the island, there were several tour groups milling about, who arrive in tour boats, probably from Plaka. Between 1st of November and 31st of March the entrance fees are reduced …

I visited this WHS in Spring 2021 as an early day trip from Pamukkale. Unlike some other WHS and tWHS with a few or no intact remains, Aphrodisias has many monumental remains that are more or less intact and in very good condition. Even the huge amount of statues in the museum are in very good condition when compared to those in other museums which usually are missing some of their body parts.

Aphrodisias is quite a large WHS and even if you opt for a quick visit you'll surely need a couple of hours to cover the main sites and the excellent museum well. Ever since the tetrapylon of Palmyra was destroyed, I set my eyes on visiting the tetrapylon of Aphrodisias. The best time for photograpy is in the early morning when the sunlight shines on the intricate details of the remaining decoration of the tetrapylon. The monumental gateway built around 200 AD stands at the end of an ancient road that leads from the main north-south street of the town into a large forecourt in front of the Sanctuary or Temple of Aphrodite. The character of the temple building was altered when it became a Christian basilica. This temple was a focal point of the town. The Aphrodisian sculptors became renowned and benefited from a plentiful supply of marble. Many full-length statues were discovered in the region of the agora, and trial and unfinished pieces pointing to a true school are in evidence near the site …

Before the conclusion of my second 3-month stay in Golden Sands, Bulgaria (and on the occasion of a Robert Wilson production of The Tempest by Shakespeare at the National Theater in Sofia), I decided to visit the 3 TWHSs in the north western corner of Bulgaria in mid-November 2021.

In fact, back in 2010, one year before the nomination of this site, I tried to get to Belogradchik but failed. My train from Sofia stopped at the nearest train station Oreshets, but with no bus or taxi in sight I didn't know how to move from the station to Belogradchik. So I got back on train and headed to Vidin and onto Felix Romuliana in Serbia.

This time I found one direct bus a day from Sofia's central bus station to Belogradchik. So it is not so difficult to get there. It departs at 16:30 and arrives at 20:00.

I explored the site in the following morning. The photos of the site that I had seen were stunning, and in actuality it was stunning!

This is due to the combination of the rocks and a fortress, and without either one of them it would not be so special. This shape of rocks is not so unusual in Europe, especially in Czechia (though geologically different). The fortress was originally built by the Romans in the 1st AD and later enlarged by Bulgarians and Turks, but the remaining fortress does not look so unusual. 

This site reminded …

I visited this tWHS in Spring 2021 as a side trip on my way back from Aphrodisias WHS. It lies very close to Akhan Caravanserai and the Pamukkale-Hierapolis mixed WHS.

The archaeological site of Laodikeia is practically the remains of a whole ancient city built on the river Lycus (Çürüksu). It was located in the Hellenistic regions of Caria and Lydia, which later became the Roman Province of Phrygia Pacatiana. Apart from the usual colonnaded street, the western theatre, agoras, etc., the highlight for me were the restored fragments (actually a whole jigsaw puzzle of them!) of painted hallways at the far end of the colonnaded street with pigments and motifs very similar to those of the Villa Oplontis in Campania, Italy. Moreover, there are also the remains of one of the seven churches (early Christianity) of Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

Visiting in the late afternoon (ideal to avoid the scorching heat on a sunny day even in Spring!), I had the ancient city to myself and several little owlets that were attentively following me from one column to the next. There seems to be a lot left to be excavated before this site aims for inscription but I wouldn't be surprised if it were to make it on the WH list just like other classical WHS in Turkey. When I visited it was possible to buy a combined ticket to visit Laodikeia and Hierapolis-Pamukkale.

Time of visit: August 2018

Duration of visit: 2 days

Mode of transportation: within the WHS - scenic flight, scuba diving, and kayaking; to get to Palau, from Honolulu, via the United Pacific Hopper flights, and then connecting through Guam

Review and experience

Palau is a tiny country by land size and population (albeit its EEZ is quite large), but its only WHS of Rock Islands is well deserving and certainly serves as the country's crown jewel by all means. I was in love with Palau the moment I was in the immigration queue (a rarity... since most immigration experiences are less than pleasant), but the Palau passport stamp was so unique, as stamp is a pledge to protect Palau's environment, signature and all.  

In total, I was fortunate to experience Rock Islands 3-ways. And as such, my highlights:

• Scuba diving: Day 1 of my time in Palau, I spent a full day scuba diving in the park. The sights were amazing, and highlights were 1) the beautiful coral reefs, 2) the many reef sharks that we spotted along the dives, and 3) the manta ray that graced our 2nd dive. If memory serves right, dive 1 was Blue Corner and dive 2 was German Channel; both are highly popular dive sites.
• Kayaking: On Day 2, I spent the morning solo kayaking in Nikko Bay. The same dive shop offered kayaks for a great price, so I took full advantage of it. …

I visited this WHS in Spring 2021. It truly is an excellent example of a mixed site and as such I feel it deserves my 4 star rating. That said, before visiting I had marked Pamukkale as one of my remaining top WHS to visit, but after visiting I can say that I had neglected the Hierapolis component and may have been overenthusiastic on visiting Pamukkale.

I decided on staying 3 nights in the area (2 in Pamukkale and 1 in the nearby Akhan Caravanserai) as my base for visiting Laodikeia tWHS and Aphrodisias WHS too. This turned out to be a good decision as Denizli can be very busy with traffic and starting early helps to beat the crowds. Even though usually Pamukkale is open from 06:30, unfortunately the COVID restrictions for locals meant that the opening hours changed to 8am. Our early start rewarded us with empty pools for the first 30 minutes or so and a better overall experience especially in Pamukkale.

Be warned that Pamukkale alone can be an absolute circus targeted especially for tour groups. Think bus loads of tourists after late breakfast (even during COVID times!), swan paddle boats just beneath the travertine pools, selfie sticks, paragliding and hot air balloons, people posing everywhere, live parrots for "photo opportunities", and a never ending queue of tourists heading mostly to the Cleopatra's Pool hot springs with replica remains. Add to that the metal pieces added to divert the water flow to the pools, …

Time of visit: November 2021

Duration of visit: 8 hours

Mode of transportation: rental car, day trip from San Miguel de Allende

Guanajuato is beautiful, colorful, and eclectic. Tourists were a-plenty in the historic center, but for a reason - it is such a captivating place, and frankly perhaps slightly underrated relative to the more frequented attractions in San Miguel de Allende and the pueblo magicos near Queretaro. 

The day started with a half hour drive from SMA for short visit at Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco (part of the San Miguel de Allende WHS, but more on that separately), and then another 1.5 hr drive from there to Guanajuato. Our first stop within Guanajuato was the Museo Ex-Hacienda San Gabriel de Barrera, which featured a beautiful set of gardens and a historic 17th-century hacienda residence. This was our first hacienda in Central Mexico, and somewhat to our surprise, the architecture was so similar to the several haciendas that we had previous visited in Yucatan. Absolutely beautiful and worth the ~15 minute de-tour to the western edge of town. 

We spent the rest of our day in the historic center. There is something about the consistent architecture of homes all around town that instantly called attention to Guanajuato's history as a mining town - likely a combination of the hilly environs, rectangular buildings, and the bright, eclectic colors.

Highlights within the WHS zone included: 

• Monumental al Pipila - beautiful viewpoint from …

I chose to approach the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve via the Muyil ruins. My initial plan was to visit the ruins and then walk the jungle boardwalk between the back of the ruins and the lagoon. That path is well marked on the OSM maps.

After a quick and easy drive from Tulum to Muyil, I arrived at the entrance of the Muyil ruins at 3.45pm only to discover they were closing at 4pm (November 2021). I went nevertheless. Arriving at the back of the ruins, I tried to explain to the guard at the back gate that my plan was to walk the jungle path to the lagoon and then walk back the dirt road to the parking. Without speaking Spanish, it was actually quite fun to explain and we both had some laughs. Unfortunately they were also closing the parking gate at 4pm, so that was not an option.

Therefore, change of plan, I took the car out of the ruins parking and started to drive the dirt road, next to the ruins, going to the lagoon. Half way there, there was a barrier and a guard. Waving at him, he just opened the barrier for me and showed me I could drive through. That allowed me to park at the lagoon. Retrospectively, it would have made more sense, in a biosphere reserve, to walk from the small parking to the lagoon.

So here I am, finally at the boardwalk start going through a kind …

I visited this tWHS in Spring 2021 focusing mainly on Patara apart from the already inscribed Xanthos. My thumbs down is not for the quality of the proposed sites, but because ideally this would be an extension of the already inscribed Xanthos-Letoon.

Patara is a perfect site to combine with a day at the beach. Several turtles use this beach as their nesting ground at night so when I visited I could see several signs and numbered posts indicating the numerous places on the beach where turtles had already laid their eggs. I parked just before the beach and hiked leftwards from the car park behind the sand dunes covered with vegetation following Google Maps to the ancient Roman lighthouse remains. It was easier for us as there was a crane at the site since a huge reconstruction project was launched in 2020, nicknamed the Year of Patara. For the time being only the huge three stepped base and a few huge stones of the 2,500 original ones are in place. The rest have been numbered and sorted around the base. It was great to be able to look out for the ones with Latin inscriptions on them (bottom right photo). The ancient lighthouse was devastated in 1481 due to an earthquake in Rhodes and a subsequent tsunami in the Mediterranean. The reconstruction project will use artificial intelligence to determine the original placement of the original stones and reconstruct the structure. More information and a computer generated photo is …

We went to Hawaii in November 2021 and had to of course visit the Volcanoes National Park. There is plenty of competition for time on the Big Island, but this is well worth the visit. There had been eruptions ongoing for the past month inside the Kilauea Crater, so many people are at the viewing area but it was not too bad for crowds when we were there. We also went to the top of Mauna Kea with it's fourteen telescopes, a dormant volcano that at 13,800 feet is the highest point of the Hawaii Islands and second highest island peak in the World. 

As other reviewers have noted, the name of this site is somewhat misleading as there is no such thing as the ‘Pontcysyllte Canal’. Rather then Pontcysyllte Aqueduct forms part of the Llangollen Canal, which is itself just a branch of the much larger Shropshire Union Canal. It was constructed at the turn of the 18th Century to transport coal, iron, and other goods needed in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. This was to have been part of the grand Ellesmere Canal to connect the River Mersey in the north with the River Severn in the south, joining the great port cities of Bristol and the ex-WHS Liverpool, but the full canal was never realised. Today, the Llangollen Branch runs from the town of Llangollen (not much surprise there) in north Wales to the tiny rural village of Hurleston in Cheshire, England where it joins the Shropshire Union. From there, goods could be shipped north through Chester to Ellesmere Port and the Mersey, which was later connected to the mills of Lancashire by the huge Manchester Ship Canal. Alternatively, turning south the canal eventually joins the endless maze of canals in the Midlands providing access to the great industrial metropolis of Birmingham, which is one of several places referred to as the ‘Venice of the North’ although perhaps less seriously so than Bruges, Amsterdam, etc.

Returning to the actual inscribed area, the first 11 miles of the Llangollen Branch forms the core zone out of the total length …

Samarra is a true symbol of Iraq. The spiral minaret of the Great Mosque is perhaps the most famous monument in this country, more famous than the monuments of Babylon. Although Samarra is quite close to Baghdad, it has been virtually inaccessible for many years. The reason was primarily security concerns - Samarra is an extremely important place for Shi'ite Islam. Even now, in November 2021, Samarra is under special protection - when entering, at the checkpoint on the main road, we had to leave our passports and pick them up on the way back.

Samarra's UNESCO inscription contains many places, but there is no doubt that its focal point is the ruins of the 1,200-year-old Grand Mosque (once the largest in the world), which includes a wonderfully reconstructed spiral minaret. You can climb this minaret and admire the ruins of the Grand Mosque from above, just be careful not to fly down - there are no barriers (the top of the minaret has been destroyed), and the wind blows very hard! There is an entrance fee of IQD 25,000 (~USD 17) but it is worth paying - the site is quite well preserved. You can even buy a souvenir - a small replica of the spiral minaret.

Samarra was taken by the Islamic State, but for a very short time and these barbarians did not manage to seriously destroy anything - Shi'ite mosques were practically intact. In Samarra, we also visited another monument that cannot be missed …

I visited both locations of this WHS in Spring 2021. Of the two, Letoon seems to be the less visited. The original highlights of these two locations are now to be found mainly in museums: a whole hall in the British Museum for Xanthos and the Lycian trilingual (Lycian, Aramaic and Ancient Greek) stele in the Fethiye Museum.

At the Archaeological Site of Letoon, upon close inspection, you'll be able to spot some worthwhile details among the original remains (think Greek WHS remains) of what was once one of the most important religious centres in the region. The site is located south of the village of Kumluova and lies approximately four kilometres south of Xanthos along the Xanthos River. The foundations of three temples are clearly visible, with the Temple of Leto in the best condition, and an almost intact theatre. 

At the Archaeological Site of Xanthos, most highlights are replicas such as the impressive Harpy Tomb reliefs (which are in the British Museum). However there are still some other original highlights such as the amphitheatre, the Lycian Dancers' sarcophagus, and the Xanthian Obelisk, a trilingual monolith recording an older Anatolian language conventionally called Milyan, Lycian and Greek. For me, the trilingual stelae alone at both sites were absolute highlights and worth the visit. While Letoon was fenced off, Xanthos (at least most of it) wasn't and having arrived very early in the morning I could visit at leisure for free well ahead of the official opening time.

Regensburg is evaluated lukewarmly in our community. Maybe Regensburg really is a collection of monuments without OUV, but it belongs to few well-preserved German towns after WWII destruction. Well, I would not call it intact, because there are several modern constructions and re-constructions in the core, but still the town looks nice, the river with islands is very valuable addition to its appearance, and from the stone bridge, one can observe most of vertical monuments of the town including Cathedral and medieval tower-houses.

My evaluation is fairly positive for Regensburg. Maybe I am positively biased, because for Czechia, Regensburg, which is located not far from Czechia, is a fine example of features, which we do not have (Roman monuments) or which are already gone or almost disappeared (Tower houses, gothic houses facades, large early-medieval complexes). Furthermore, Regensburg has quite prominent place in the history of Czechia as the source of Western/Southern culture and religion.

I have visited the site already 3 times. Last time, I did a day trip from Prague by train (one way - 4 hours) in November 2021. Regensburg is a small version of Prague: it has river with an old stone bridge, a gothic cathedral, and picturesque squares. The stone bridge has been reconstructed a couple of years ago, but it looks quite sterile to me. Cathedral is pretty nice, but nothing exceptional taking into account that it is a result of extensive reconstructions to gothic style. I like St. Emmeram with its history …

The addition of the Nuragic monumets of Sardinia with 31 components to the TWHS list of Italy in November 2021 was no surprise. It can be taken as an extension of the Su Nuraxi di Barumini WHS, which was inscribed in 1997. Extensions, or better said very extensive extensions - in this case from 1 to 31, might be controversial and contra-productive. However, this is not the case, in my opinion. From the scientific point of view, the original single component has been inscribed under criteria i, iii, iv, while the serial TWHS was proposed under iii, iv, v. Thus, the OUV will be (slightly) changed. The justification is based on 20 years of new excavations and findings. Furthermore, the serial nomination has ambitions to encompass all the aspects of the bronze-age Nuragic culture of Sardinia. It means that the original OUV will be enriched after the possible extension.

I visited only one component of the series in October 2017: No.22 Nuraghe Arrubiu - Orroli, which is located on the mountainous plateau in the southern part of Sardinia. I have very nice memories to the visit. The site was recommended to us by the stuff of the visitor center of Pranu Muttedu (another TWHS) as one of the finest archeologicel site of Sardinia. Nuraghe Arrubiu is quite remote but beautiful place (we went by a rent car), however, parking lot and quite big visitor center is well prepared for tourists, but there were only few other visitors in October. …

I visited this tWHS in Spring 2021. It is quite close to Demre, the departure point for Kekova Island boat trips and could easily be fitted with a half day boat trip to Kekova tWHS if you have a rental car or taxi.

The exterior of this ancient East Roman basilica church is practically covered by a modern metal framework and canvas sheets so can only be admired in detail from up close. It was built in the ancient city of Myra above the burial place of St Nicholas, a 4th century Christian bishop of Myra, an important religious figure for Eastern Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics. St Nicholas is also believed to be the historical inspiration for Santa Claus. Its use dated from its 6th century construction for the state church of the Roman Empire by Justinian the Great.

This church is of particular notice for its remarkable wall frescos, its opus sectile decorations (bottom right photo) and its architectural and religious significance. Over time the church was flooded and filled with silt. In 1862 it was restored by Russian Emperor Nicholas I, who added a tower and made other changes to its Byzantine architecture. The church continued to function until its final abandonment by the Eastern Orthodox Church in 1923, when the remaining Greeks of Demre were required to leave by the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey.

Archaeological excavations in the church started as late as 1988. The work has revealed parts of the …

For a long time, I couldn't place Las Medulas. I had stumbled across the name repeatedly when filling out my checklist. My only association was to the famed Velazquez painting in the Prado, Las Meninas. Thanks to Jay's review, the site jumped ahead in my internal queue. Wanting to visit friends across Spain for a late autumn escape, I settled on going to the North Western Spain as part of my trip. Lesson learnt: Northern Spain in November is wet and cold.

Las Medulas is - as pointed out by previous reviewer's - not a huge area. The Romans mined the area extensively and created some stunning rock structures in the process. This is prime hiking territory (oh, Nan and his hiking), and I enjoyed my visit greatly.

There are multiple trails starting at the visitor center in Las Medulas. Essentially, you can do a ground loop visiting La Cuevona. The last bit is off limits without tour guide. Afterwards you can hike up to the Mirador of Orellan which gets you the best views of the area. It's also where the entry to the Roman mine is located (closed on Mondays).

On the upper plateau, there are ruins of an old canal the Romans used for water management. I would recommend hiking a small detour to Campo de Braña for the views and the canal. From Orellan, you can hike down to Carucedo instead of returning to Las Medulas. If hiking isn't …

I visited Villa Romana del Casale in September of 2021. It is undoubtedly among the most unique and impressive monuments of antiquity. The very short WH inscription mentions the richness of the mosaics found in practically every room of the villa, and indeed those are altogether remarkable and likely unparalleled among the surviving such artifacts in both quantity and quality.

The mosaics are almost entirely found as floor decorations. With just one or two exceptions, you view them from elevated platforms. There are a few rooms where the damage to the floor is extensive, and only the fragments of the original decorations are visible. But most of the rooms are on the opposite end of the spectrum, with a few damaged areas surrounded by well-preserved mosaics. Some rooms display amazing patterns and vignettes, and the jaws really drop when you come to one of at least a dozen rooms where the floor is veritably a canvas depicting various scenes bound by a common theme, be it pursuits of leisure, commerce, or mythology. The most impressive of all is the “Corridor of the Big Hunt”, a 66-meter long space adorned with scenes involving numerous animals and overseas voyages, although the most famous might be the "Bikini Girls", a depiction of young women engaged in athletic competition.

In Covid times, on a wide-ranging trip around Sicily, Villa Romana del Casale was the only place where advance reservations proved to be essential to get in. I made them online a few …

Babylon is the ruin of the capital of the kingdom of Babylon, a country that had enjoyed its heyday since the time of Hammurabi (18th century B.C.E.). The golden age of the development of the city of Babylon fell during the time of King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled from 605 to 562 B.C.E. and significantly expanded Babylon, including building the magnificent Southern Palace.

After paying 25 thousand dinars I got a guide who showed me around the complex. The guide was incredibly nice, but his English was rather poor and he had a hard time explaining the historical or architectural complexities. Despite everything, he tried and told a lot, and what I heard was not necessarily pleasant to Polish ears. He worked here during the occupation of these areas by the allied forces (do you remember "Camp Babylon"?) and he cannot say anything good about this occupation. According to him, soldiers did not respect the monuments, treated them carelessly, and even deliberately devastated or took some artifacts - unfortunately, independent sources confirm what he said. On the other hand, he spoke positively about the Polish soldiers who gave him food and healed his seriously ill daughter at a time when it was extremely difficult to find a normal doctor. Apart from the purposefulness of the war itself, I do not understand why the main military camp of the occupiers had to be located next to a place of such great historical importance. Fortunately, Camp Babylon lasted "only" less than …

Ashur (Assur) was the first Assyrian capital and remained so for a long period (1400 to 608 BC). Located on the western banks of the Tigris River, just a bit north of the confluence with the Lesser Zab river, it became an important trading and religious centre with a large ziggurat. The city lies about 140km south of Mosul, and we visited the place on the first day of November 2021, coming from Baghdad on our way to Mosul. Our guide Hayder did his homework. The chief of security at this important archaeological site gave us an entry permit on the spot, and we were even driven around the premises in his private car. Here excavations have been done predominantly by German archaeologists, starting as early as 1903, about 4 years after Babylon. Not surprisingly that many of Ashur's artefacts and statues are kept safe far away, in Berlin's Pergamon Museum, some are in the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul. Good in that case, since the nearby Mosul Museum has suffered severe damage to its collections. Ashur was not destroyed by the ISIS extremists on the same magnitude as Nimrud, Hatra or Mosul/Nineveh, simply because only a few palaces and temples (10 out of 34) are fully excavated. But another threat comes from the Makhul Dam project, an ambitious plan of the Iraqi government, creating a 20 mile-long lake, most likely partially flooding the ancient city of Ashur. After a long pause due to the Gulf war, and political turmoil, construction …