All our reviews

I visited this tWHS in Spring 2021. We opted for a full day private boat trip with Captain Durali. When we visited the departure point of Demre, exactly after recent COVID lockdowns, all boat trips were practically begging for tourists so we were spoilt for choice. I'm sure this is not the case in peak season, so booking in advance might be necessary.

We had agreed beforehand to focus most of our sailing time close to and around Kekova island, especially the area where there is the sunken city. The boat also had a small glass bottom area to spot some of the visible remains and amphorae on the seabed. The best time to visit the sunken city seems to be around noon when the sun shines bright on the crystal clear waters. We had already got good views by the numerous "drive-bys" but we decided to also go for a perspex glass bottomed kayak tour from Simeta to be able to see the remains from up close. Touristy but quaint Simeta would be ideal for a quiet stopover with its pretty castle and numerous Lycian tombs along the coast and one in the middle of the shallow sea. 

After the Italian occupation of the Greek island of Megisti, Kekova, temporarily inhabited during summer because of wood harvest, was disputed between Italy and Turkey. The 1932 Convention between Italy and Turkey assigned it to Turkey.

On its northern side there are the partly sunken ruins of Dolchiste, …

We visited Hatra in November 2021, and we were not sure up to the last minute if we were allowed in. There was no pre-arranged permit, and we just drove to the main gate, northwest of Telol al baj where the military commander is holding office. Our guide had the necessary connections in Baghdad, but this is the Middle East and you never know. The waiting time was spent with shisha and tea, almost 3 hours, and our passports were scanned and sent to the capital. Suddenly the tension was gone, all smiles in the faces, and we were given the permits. The check-points further on the road were also informed, and we could enter the premises of the archaeological site of Hatra. What a relief! The city was known as "Beit Elaha" (House of God) and became an important religious centre in the Parthian Empire that flourished between the 1st and 3rd Centuries AD. The Roman emperors Trajan and Septimius Severus were not successful to conquer the city. However, about 240 AD Hatra fell to Shapur I, the ruler of the Persian dynasty, and was destroyed for the first time. Just 7 years ago, we sadly had to witness another destruction, this time of religious extremists. ISIS has bulldozed and blown up this great archaeological site, using picks, sledgehammers and assault riffles, and there is hardly any statues left as we wandered through the ruins. Later on we discovered some limestone statues of king Sanatruq I (the first king …

I visited this tWHS in Spring 2021 while shortly visiting the busy seaside city of Antalya. Although I enjoyed my visit I wouldn't say it possesses enough OUV to make it on the WH list. 

The Alaaddin Mosque or Yivli Minaret Mosque literally means "Fluted Minaret" Mosque, and is also commonly called Ulu Mosque or "Grand Mosque". This historical mosque is part of a complex of buildings (külliye) which includes the Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev Madrasah, the Imaret Madrasah, the Seljuk and Dervish lodge, and the vaults of Zincirkıran and Nigar Hatun. Not much is left of these buildings though apart from the 38 metre tall free-standing fluted minaret and the mosque. The 6-domed mosque is located in Kaleiçi (the old town centre) along Cumhuriyet Caddesi, next to Kalekapısı Meydanı, and is the oldest example of a multi-domed mosque in Anatolia. The fluted minaret is decorated with dark blue tiles and is a landmark and symbol of the city.

Forty graves were found during excavations to unearth the madrasah gate and the restoration works conducted after nomination on the tentative list revealed some 800 year old water channels beneath the mosque and minaret used for cooling and heating which can be seen inside the mosque. The mosque is still in use and is accessible for free except during prayer times. It was not possible to climb the minaret when I visited. It surely is one of the highlights of the old city centre of Antalya in a lovely setting close …

The Roman Empire had it's largest extend under Trajan. He defeated the eternal enemy of Rom, Parthia, and incorporated Mesopotamia as a province into the empire. However, the conquest was short lived. His immediate successor, Hadrian of Hadrian's Wall fame, cut Mesopotamia lose again. It was too far away from the heartland of the empire and consequently too hard to defend.

The second conquest of Trajan, though, remained a Roman province for about 150 years: Dacia, present day Romania. The reason were the Dacian gold mines in and around Rosia Montana (already inscribed). To get a glimpse, you can visit the National Museum of Art of Romania in Bucharest where several gold pieces pre and post Roman are on exhibition.

In comparison to other Limes sites, the Dacian Limes has a very odd form. It does not follow natural features and it does not create a short border. Instead it creates a bulge extending away from the Danube that includes the gold mines.

During my visit to Romania, I managed to visit a few sites. In Cluj, I walked up a local hill in search of a watchtower. I think I made it to the location, but there was nothing to see. Near Rosia Montana in Abrud, I searched for remnants of a castle, but again, there was nothing to see. Best site was in Iulia Alba, a tentative site on it's own, where a ruins of a Roman castle can be visited.

OUV

If …

I visited this tWHS in Spring 2021 as a convenient stopover between Konya and Antalya. It is possibly the best theater in Turkey on par with the WHS in Orange, France. On the way there we passed several aqueducts and remains which were not in great shape, except the historical Roman Eurymedon bridge of Aspendos (bottom left photo), some 15 kilometres away from the theatre. A short hike uphill, behind the theatre, which is only worth it to get an exterior rear view of the theatre.

Aspendos was an ancient city in Pamphylia, Asia Minor, located about 40 kilometres east of the modern city of Antalya. It was situated on the Eurymedon River about 16 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean Sea and it shared a border with its neighbor and rival Side. The Aspendos Theatre has been largely preserved and is in very good condition for its age. It has a diameter of 96 metres and provided seating for 12,000 people. It was built in 155 by the Greek architect Zenon, a native of the city. It was periodically repaired by the Seljuks, who used it as a caravanserai, and in the 13th century the stage building was converted into a palace by the Seljuks of Rum.

Aspendos did not play an important role in antiquity as a political force. Its political history during the colonisation period corresponded to the currents of the Pamphylian region. Within this trend, after the colonial period, it remained for a time under …

The Serra de Tramuntana is a beautiful landscape with steep mountainsides and lots of greenery. Like the rest of Mallorca, it is quite tourist trappy - so expect no lost paradise. An easy way to get to know the area is to take bus 203 from Palma. This is the ‘slow’ bus, that reaches the coastal town of Port de Soller after 1h20 min. It passes through the mountain villages of Valldemossa and Deia, and crosses large parts of the Serra de Tramuntana. These are narrow mountain roads, where two buses cannot pass each other. The stone villages seem glued to the steep mountain walls, that are so characteristic of this area. Near the coast, you can see dramatic cliffs.

The Serra is popular for hiking, even attracting long-distance hikers for a long weekend trip from Northern Europe. Since there are many daily flights from anywhere in Europe to Palma de Mallorca it is very accessible; from Palma it takes only 45 minutes by direct bus and then you are in the middle of this mountainous region. Crossing the mountain range on foot from west to east via the GR221 “Dry Stone Route” takes about 8 days with mountain huts available to spend the night.

I stayed for 2 nights in Soller, the liveliest place I encountered during my short week in Mallorca and Menorca in November. On my first day, I hiked a loop between Soller and Fortnalutx. Smaller towns like Fornalutx and Deia are included in …

Talayotic Minorca is Spain's submission for 2022. The revised documents are now available from the excellent nomination website. They’ve even added an Epic Subtitle: “Talayotic Menorca - A cyclopean island odyssey”. The 25 locations have been decreased to 9, but that’s just a cosmetic adjustment as the former locations are now bundled into clusters. Only the Torre del Ram near Ciutadella has not survived the cut. As far as I can see all suggestions made by ICOMOS during the Deferral of 2017 have been incorporated. All but one that is: the Necropolis at Son Real on the neighboring island of Mallorca has not been included. The Minorcans seem to want a WHS all for themselves! The process has cost 1 million EUR already.

None of the sites lie particularly convenient to be explored by public transport. The best ones for that would be Trepuco (cluster 8), about 3km from the nearest bus stop in Mahon, and Torralba d’en Salort (cluster 6) which lies about 4km from Alaior. One could also take a taxi to one of the sites and then walk back. Menorcaarqueologica does offer guided hiking along some of the sites with an archeologist. In the end, I choose to rent an e-bike for the day from bikemenorca. The distances between the sites in the southeast of Minorca are perfectly suitable for cycling.    

My visit didn’t get off to a good start: I sped past the turnoff to Talati D’Alt (not signposted from the ME12). …

May 2016 - on our way to Tuscany we made a stop for lunchbreak in Pavia. Very nice Italian town with a picturesque core. But the Certosa was a bit off, so we did not take the chance to visit the church. There are so many Italian wonders, understandable that it has left the tentative list, at least for now.

We visited the Saloum Delta in September 2021 with a private car from Dakar, it was a day trip, all the way to the small fishing community of Djiffer at the end of the presqu'Ile. It took us a bit more than 3 hours. The car was arranged by our guesthouse (La Villa 126, a fantastic place, Awa is the lovely manager there +221776790286, the direct contact to the driver is +221775386362 Abdoulaye) and reasonably priced. Djiffer is surrounded by water on both sides, and due to global warming and beach erosion, lots of beach shacks and fishermen's houses have been destroyed recently. We drove straight through the center to the fishing port where our driver/guide made some arrangements for the boat trip to the Saloum Delta. Gasoline was organised, the price then fixed (50 Euros), and soon we discovered the birdlife and mangroves in the direction of Falia & Dinouar villages. We did not see any shellfish mounds, but stopped on the way back in the picturesque fishing village of Joal-Fadiouth, there you are actually walking on real shells. Just at the pedestrian bridge is a seafood restaurant, it makes a good stop for fresh garlic shrimps or a grilled fish. The "Baobab Sacré" (on google map) makes another great stop on the way back to Dakar, as well as "Old Rufisque" which is in itself a Tentative site of UNESCO. 

I visited Konya in Spring 2021 and used it as my base for 3 nights to visit the Catalhoyuk WHS and several other components of other tWHS.

Konya is a major city in central-southern Turkey and the 7th most populous city in the country. The Konya region has been inhabited since the 3rd millennium BC and was ruled by the Hittites, Phrygians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. Konya was known as Iconium during classical antiquity. In the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks conquered the area and began ruling over its Rum (Byzantine) inhabitants making Konya the capital of their new Sultanate of Rum. Under the Seljuks, the city reached the height of its wealth and influence. Following the demise of Rum, Konya came under the rule of the Karamanids, before being taken over by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. There are two components of the Seljuk madrasahs tWHS (Ince Minareli Madrasah and Karatay Madrasah) and one location of the Seljuk caravanserais (Zazadin Han) which are already worth a stop in Konya.

However, the highlight and core area of Konya as a tWHS in its own right is the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, a Persian Sufi mystic, still a pilgrimage site for many even though it is now known officially as the Mevlana Museum. It was also the dervish lodge of the Mevlevi order, better known as the whirling dervishes. It is right in the middle of the city and can't be missed with it's green …

Isn't it lovely when you visit a tentative site, and it ends up inscribed years later? I visited Sitio Roberto Burle Marx back in 2017 while I was in Rio for work. It is well worth a half-day trip from the city and a good example of why WHS-based travel can be so rewarding -- it's a place I'd have never discovered had I not been looking at the lists (well, tentative lists at the time).

Burle Marx was a Brazilian landscape architect. The site consists of his house and gardens. The site reminds me somewhat of the Luis Barragan House in Mexico City, and is a nice addition to the Niemeyer architectural tour that you can do in Brazilia and Belo Horizonte. Burle Marx was a contemporary of Niemeyer and designed the gardens at Pamphula 

Date of Visit: August 2017

Rating:  3 stars. I am a sucker for modern architecture, and I also find it nice to have a self-contained, single visit site to capture the key value of an architect/gardener’s works (as opposed to trekking around the world to visit Corbusier’s assorted works or across the U.S. for Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings.) I thoroughly enjoyed the visit and think it complements the Niemeyer sites listed in Brazil, as the two were contemporaries who sometimes worked together.

Logistics: Visits are only by guided tours. I emailed the site to schedule a visit in advance, and was scheduled for an English language tour on the requested …

This was a weird visit of WHS... I traveled by train from Vienna to Ljubljana via Villach and returned a week later by the same way in October 2021. However, I took it as the counted site, because I was aware of it, and I could see several OUV-related buildings and structures through the window on sunny autumn Sundays. I noticed that several railway stations and other smaller buildings are under scaffolding being reconstructed. Though I liked the viaducts, tunnels, and all the marvelous landscape around (PHOTO), I was slightly disappointed. I expected something a bit more spectacular. I am not railway enthusiast, thus I am not planning to return and explore it more in detail. However, son of my friends is, and I would not say NO if he asks my for accompanying him. Nevertheless, I would suggest him to go to Rhaetian Railway WHS first...

Visited Belomorsk cluster in October 2021. Logistics – flight to Karelia’s capital Petrozavodsk, then 370 km by rented car via surprisingly good road to Belomorsk. Petrozavodsk’s national museum of Karelia has dedicated room with a couple of original stone petroglyph stelas and description. There is also museum in Belomorsk, but unfortunately it’s closed on Sundays and I didn’t visit. There are two main areas in this cluster – Zalavruga and Besovy Sledki (translated as Demon’s footprints). Between them a number of minor sites are also inscribed, but they require very detailed map to be identified among the forest and river shores and the glyphs are faded. Zalavruga – is the largest concentration of rock art with over 2,000 figures. A brand new road was completed in 2021 to the site, located on the outskirts of Belomorsk, but from the parking you still have to cross pedestrian bridge and then walk for approximately 2 km. During my research new wooden floorings were in process of installation, so I carefully walked over stone plates. Visibility of petroglyphs was not great due to wet cloudy weather, however, I still was able to identify all “iconic” figures, like whale hunting scene, big deer, 3 skiers, etc. Unfortunately, on Sundays it is difficult to arrange excursion here due to museum closure, but it would probably worth it in order not to miss anything important. Besovy Sledki – is a covered pavilion (recently renovated) open daily from 10 to 19 with entrance fee of 30 Rubles. …

I visited the archaeological area of Agrigento, officially known as “Valley of the Temples”, in September of 2021. This is, in essence, a collection of stand-alone highlights, of which the main one - Temple of Concordia - is a good reason to visit all by itself, being clearly among the best-preserved Doric temples anywhere.

The second-best preserved temple, Juno, still has around 30 columns standing, and in the usual context of antiquity should be considered as amazingly well-surviving. Nonetheless, here you are well into the archaeological realm of having to imagine what the place might have looked like in its heyday rather than actually seeing it.

Another major sight, Temple of Hercules, is a picturesque file of several columns among huge rocks. Other temples – Zeus, Hefestos, Castor and Pollux – remain mostly as a memory; a single portal among the piles of stones. Also within the confines of the area, there is a villa with gardens that once belonged to a British nobleman and archaeologist and then assorted burial sites here or there - all of limited interest to a non-archaeologist but not without occasional visual quality.

Valley of the Temples is quite large, with a non-trivial amount of walking required between the aforementioned main points of interest. We covered about two-thirds of it on our visit, the distance of about a mile between the Temple of Juno and the Temple of Zeus. The main parking lots happen to be in the vicinity of those two …

In my opinion, Goslar with Rammelsberg is the best mining site central Europe can offer, and I visited Goslar already two times. Both my visits I traveled by train from Gottingen.

What I appreciated on this site: (1) It has very compact historical core with half-timber houses, which are covered by slate tiles - not only roofs but also walls! With combination with classical roof tiles, it makes Goslar gray&red from afar, which is very delicate (PHOTO). (2) It comprises numerous valuable monumental buildings such as churches, municipal hall, imperial hall, and the remaining of the cathedral. (3) I enjoyed my visit of the former mine, where the main building is kind of iconic. I admired the big wooden wheel inside the mine, and also that the corridors were covered by white, blue, and green salts originated in dissolution of metallic ores (zinc, copper, and iron sulfides) by sulfuric acid created by oxidation of metal sulfides. (4) I enjoyed even walking around the mine on the slopes of Rammelsberg, especially at the place called Ramseck. Then I had a lunch in restaurant by Maltermeister Turm. (5) The last component - the Upper Harz water management system - I have not visited yet.

Similar WHSs such as Banská Štiavnica and Kutná Hora faded in comparison with Goslar. Only mining WHS which can be set apart from Goslar is: Erzgebirge! Erzgebirge WHS however suffers that the area is too vast and "hard to catch". Thus picking up only Freiberg and …

I visited this WHS in Spring 2021. Catalhoyuk is a few kilometres away from Konya, which is a great city to base yourself for a couple of days. This WHS has a free entrance which was a very welcome change after the crazy post-COVID lockdown price spikes all over Turkey.

Catalhoyuk was a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BC to 6400 BC. As such, it is a very precarious archaeological dig covered with 2 big tents (not as modern as the one in Gobeklitepe, but with a wooden boardwalk through one of them). Most of the remains are still underground even though the site was discoverd in 1958. Most of the mud walls are crumbling or have already crumbled notwithstanding the wooden supports and several sacks which have been placed. According to UNESCO, the site's OUV lies in the important evidence it provides of the transition from settled villages to urban agglomeration, which was maintained in the same location for over 2,000 years. It features a unique streetless settlement of houses clustered back to back with roof access into the buildings.

Catalhoyuk was composed entirely of domestic buildings, with no obvious public buildings even though the larger buildings have rather ornate murals. Unlike Arslantepe, most of these wall paintings have been removed and placed in museums around Turkey, most notably in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. This same museum houses the famous clay sculpture of a …

Modern architecture on the tentative list and you can spend the night there! No question that I couldn't resist this temptation, and so I planned an overnight stay at the Mountain-top Hotel Ještěd on my trip to Czechia in October 2021.I spent the day hiking in the Jizera Mountains, the Czech part of the Beech Forest WHS. Therefore, I approached Ještěd from the east. From this direction, you can see the tower from afar. Its unique shape elegantly extends the mountain peak into a pointed needle. From the town of Liberec it is about five kilometres on a winding road up to the Ještěd peak, the last few hundred metres are only open for guests of the hotel. Therefore, it is probably better to take the cable car, at least on weekends and when there is snow. Ještěd seems to be very popular with hikers in summer and for skiing in winter.

When you arrive at the hotel, you immediately understand why it is called "Mountain-top". The tower stands directly on the summit and occupies the entire area. In front of it there is just enough space for the cars of the hotel guests and for a small bistro with some tables outside. Behind the hotel is the cable car station and there is not even enough space to capture the tower as a whole in a photo. So there is not much to do up there: walk around the tower, take a few photos and enjoy the view.I …

I visited Schonbrunn around 4-5 times, and I would say I go there only occasionally, because it is relatively far away from the city center, well still it is conveniently located on the metro line from Karlsplatz. I must say I used to dislike the type of building and structures among which Schonbrunn is the crown jewel. I mean huge baroque castles and endless highly symmetrical gardens. Now, with age, I enjoy it indeed! For example one sunny Sunday in October 2021. However, I am still too young to start exploring even the interior of the Schonbrunn castle. Thus, I ascended to Gloriette during my last visit, and went to Café Gloriette, which is one of the most beautiful cafes I know (PHOTO).

On a week-plus trip around Sicily in September of 2021, we started with a day and a half in Palermo. Ended up visiting four components of the serial site: the catedral, the royal palace, and the churches of San Cataldo and Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio. San Giovanni degli Eremiti, the other centrally located component, was on the list, but my information about its opening hours proved to be faulty - it closes at 1pm on Sundays, while I expected it to be open for another half an hour, and the gates were already locked up at 12:55.

The cathedral is clearly the most majestic site in all of Palermo, a wonderful mix of architectural styles. The interior is surprisingly relatively subdued (especially compared to the Baroque decadence of other churches found in town that are not part of the WH site - try Chiesa del Gesù, for instance). The great church is free to enter; for extra fee, you can visit the royal tombs, the treasury, and the roof terrace. I highly recommend the latter, while the other parts can be skipped. The cheapest combo ticket that includes the roof costs €7.

The royal palace is not exactly grand as far as the exterior goes, just quite big (upon returning home I realized that I did not take any reasonable shot of its façade, which suggests that it did not catch my eye as worth a shot). The royal apartments inside offer a few interesting spaces, somewhat diminished by …

Vienna is my most frequently visited WHS outside Czechia.

Actually, I like more Prague or Budapest, since Vienna lacks the 3rd dimension, - the city core is pretty flat, and also a big river does not contribute too much to the inscribed part in contrast to spectacular 3D centers of Prague and Budapest intersected by a river.

However, the 4th dimension (time) is perfectly and uniquely readable in Vienna. The center is like an onion: winding medieval streets with fragments of early gothic tower houses and hidden jewels like gothic church St. Maria am Gestade are located inside. The late gothic layer is represented by St. Stephen cathedral, which however has the early gothic westwerk - and it is always a feast for me to distinguish the diverse stages of gothic style. Then we have Graben, and baroque appearance of Hofburg, which also has gothic and renaissance layers inside, followed by great 19th Century Ring with Opera, Museums, Parliament, Municipal Hall. The 19/20th layer is represented by grandiose Secession. All this is completed by parks and gardens, the Belvedere castle, and magnificent baroque Karlskirche. Do not miss also nearby non-inscribed parts of Vienna: Nashhmarkt and Hundertwasserhaus.

In contrast to Prague and Budapest, Vienna time-layering was not spoiled by tasteless Communism.

PHOTO - Michaelerplatz as the case study of time-layering: the archeological findings of Roman Vindobona is presented in the middle of the square. the baroque parts of Hofburg with fountains are the eye-catchers. On the opposite …