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A few weeks ago I wrote about my foray into Sinology; after I quit, I went on to study (and finish) Modern and Socio-Economic History. I wrote my master thesis about the Abolishment of Slavery on Curacao. I re-read it before visiting the TWHS Plantations in West Curacao as it is so close to this subject. The slave plantation society at Curacao was atypical, as the island’s soil is not fertile and did not provide enough to make the export of crops profitable. So its mixed produce was mostly eaten by the local population. The plantation owners often had a job in the city as well.

This TWHS has been quite high in the ranking of future Dutch WHS (2019 was once named as the year that it should happen), but doubts have risen and it has been suggested to the Curacao government to think about joining a serial transnational nomination or even seek an extension of the Willemstad WHS (on similar grounds as Trinidad and the Valle de los Ingenios). I have not been able to find any news on its status beyond 2015.

Nevertheless, I looked forward to a visit during my first trip to Curacao in late 2020. The TWHS comprises 4 locations, but I will focus this review on Ascencion. I “visited” the other 3 locations as well, but I found Knip closed and my stops at Savonet & San Juan were superficial as well.

Plantation house Ascencion nowadays can only be …

I visited Casa Luis Barragán during my stay in Mexico City in March 2019. Since my day-to-day itinerary was not planned long in advance, I only tried to buy my ticket online a few days before my visit. To my surprise, there were no tickets available for several weeks. I therefore went to the house at the scheduled time for the visit in English. I was able to buy a last-minute ticket at the exorbitant price of 400 pesos (I didn't agree to double that amount in order to take pictures, you'll have to deal with the horrible façade of the house). I don't know if they keep some tickets to sell them the same day or if some ticket holders didn't show up.

The interior of the house is characterised by a unique use of colour and light. The walls are painted in bright colours, mainly yellow, orange and pink. Luis Barragán avoided shades of green and blue, with the exterior bringing these colours into the house through the large windows overlooking the courtyard. The use of only indirect light sources contributes to the atmosphere of the house.

However, what struck me most was the fortress-like aspect of the house and the deep uneasiness that Luis Barragán seemed to be experiencing. All the more private rooms (bedrooms, bathrooms) overlook the courtyard, while the public rooms overlook the street and the horrible concrete façade. Luis Barragán was practically paranoid about his privacy. Even his house has many peculiar …

We have so far visited four of the buildings of this TWHS, scattered across Spain. Visigoths ruled Iberia after the collapse of the Roman Empire; they converted to Christianity and developed their own art and architecture, incorporating elements from Rome and Byzance. During the 8th century, Muslim Arabs took most of the peninsula, with independent Christian kingdom surviving only in the northernmost area (Asturias). Christians who stayed and lived in the Arabic kingdom were called “Mozarabes”. During the 10th century, Christians started to take back control of Spain, moving from north to south. In these newly (re) conquered territories, they built churches and monasteries combining all these different styles – for example, they had an extensive use of horseshoe arches and alfiz (the “frame” around the arch), already famous from Cordoba Mosque, mixed with symbols commonly used by Visigoths (birds, plants) and technics from Romans (basilical layout of the buildings, columns, etc). Some Mozarabes also moved northward as conditions for Christians became more difficult in the Arabic caliphate, and this contributed to an even bigger exchange of traditions and art between the different states.

San Miguel de Celanova was built as a private chapel next to a monastery. That’s a tiny building from mid of 10th century, and this is probably what saved it: the monastery grew and was rebuild at different times, but the chapel remained intact in the backyards. It is claimed to be the only totally intact “mozarabic” building in Spain, hence its great importance. From …

Having been to Milan repeatedly over the last decade, and knowing I would be back the next year chasing more WHS, for a long time I never made a dedicated effort to get to Crespi d'Adda, even though it was always well within reach. The information I had picked up regarding the site never impressed me much, so that I rather spend my time ticking off other WHS in the area.

Eventually, mainland Italy had winded down to Crespi d'Adda, so I had to go. Now, I would argue that I probably enjoy industrial sites more than the average visitor; same is true of gardens. And still I found the experience underwhelming. It may have been the weather, a cold, foggy spring day. Or the emptiness of the place. And it sure didn't help that the factory/museum was closed that day. But even if I try to discount these factors, the site never came together for me, unlike e.g. Saltaire or New Lanark.

Crespi d'Adda was an Italian company town for a textile factory. It's located directly on the Adda river which provided hydropower to operate the factory. It was founded in 1878 and grew till the 1920s. The factory continued to operate till 2004 when it was shutdown. Today, it's a sleepy town between Bergamo and Milan, probably housing commuters. If you come to visit, structures of note are the factory, the church, the cemetery, and the hydro power plant as well as the castle.

Reading …

Puebla is an exceptional colonial city, probably the most beautiful in Mexico along with Guanajuato. I spent three days there in March 2019. The remarkable, heterogeneous and often flamboyant architecture made a particular impression on me.

Several outstanding buildings are scattered throughout the city centre. Among them, I began and ended my stay in Puebla at the Catedral de Puebla. A nice sound and light show was then projected on the façade of the cathedral every Friday and Saturday night, which I admired on my last night in town, under the first rain in over a month. The towers of the cathedral (the highest in Mexico) and its imposing façade are impressive, but it is not the most richly decorated. In this kind, you have to turn to the decadent Templo de Santo Domingo and its Capilla del Rosario.The ubiquitous gold and silver of this chapel are blinding and, as Els describes it, make taking impressive and representative photographs an impossible task. One block away from the Zócalo, the Templo de la Compañía de Jesús is magnificent. However, my favourite is the Templo de San Francisco, with its façade in a variety of styles (Churrigueresque, Plateresque), notably covered with azulejos (large photo accompanying the description of the site). I also visited the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, the oldest public library in the Americas. Its shelves are filled with historical books and antique accessories and furniture are on display.

However, the real charm of the city lies in the many colourful …

When we look at a historic map, e.g. one of the Byzantine Empire under Basil II, it easily looks as if they controlled whole areas, akin to a modern nation state. In reality, the territory governed was often limited to the major fortified and garrisoned towns, the vicinity and (maybe) the roads connecting the towns. Rural and remote corners were often outside of state control, with a local ruler potentially paying lip service to the central government in a far away capital. As long as they didn't cause major annoyances warranting a punitive expedition (and sometimes even if), they were left to their own devices.

This is especially true of the Balkans, a territory claimed by the Eastern Roman Empire for centuries. The Balkans, the inner parts heavily forested and mountainous, allowed the locals to retreat easily. Even where accessibility was less of an issue, e.g. the plains of Bulgaria, horse nomads could simply move their tribe.

Therefore, to govern the Balkans and project power the Romans relied on garrison towns, especially fortified towns on the coast. On water, having naval supremacy for long periods, they could move troops and provisions fast and safely. Roads, meanwhile, were often subject to attacks, e.g. the Via Egnatia, the famous Roman road connecting Dyrrhachium (Durres), the ferry port to Italy, with Constantinople wasn't always open.

Nessebar was part of this coastal town network. The Roman name was Mesembria and the settlement dates back to a Greek colony from the …

I visited Chichen Itza in 2003 with my family, when you could still climb on and in the El Castillo pyramid. It's very enjoyable and iconic, I guess, but it is not my favorite ancient Maya site. I've visited a couple dozen different of the ancient cities around Mexico and Guatemala so far. While Chichen Itza is large and there is a lot to see, especially the impressive Ball Court, I prefer several others ahead of it. I think my main complaints against CI are that it is over-touristed and has relatively little historic "atmosphere". My feelings are also probably tainted a little bit by the fact that we hired one of the official guides there for our tour, and he was not very good. It bothers me that it was selected as the representative "new 7 wonders" site, seemingly mostly because tourists can hit it as a day trip from Cancun. Sites I'd recommend over CI include definitely Tikal, Calakmul, Palenque, even nearby Uxmal, and probably a couple others. It is worth it as an easy trip from Cancun, but if it gets you excited about the ancient Maya, recognize that there are even more impressive places, where you can have a lot more fun climbing on the major pyramids still.

Curacao holds the WHS where I could finally “finish” the Netherlands: the "Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour". While I already was done with the 9 other Dutch WHS in 2011, Willemstad seemed out of reach. The 10-hour flight to an island fully dedicated to mass tourism had always deterred me. During Covid times, however, there are no cruise ships, and the total number of monthly visitors is limited to 20,000. So it was exactly the right moment for me!

I stayed overnight for a week in the Pietermaai neighborhood and explored the other 3 zones of the WHS on foot. I used itineraries that I found on the internet to identify the most interesting structures of Scharloo, Otrobanda, and Punda.

I started in Scharloo, a neighborhood of detached 19th-century residences. The place to be here is the long Scharlooweg. The stately buildings along this road now house companies and also the Swiss consulate. All are heavily secured and have gates in front. No one walked this street on a Sunday, I only met a stray dog.

The Waaigat separates Scharloo from the Punda district, the oldest part of the city center. As a pedestrian, you can choose from 3 bridges in a row to get to the other side. Especially this part of Willemstad is very reminiscent of Amsterdam. Fortunately, car traffic nowadays uses the also impressive 56-meter-high Juliana Bridge.

I almost immediately left Punda to cross another stretch of water: St. Anna …

In 2019, just a few weeks before Notre Dame went up in flames, I passed through the city, walking along the Seine from Bercy to Centre Georges Pompidou and then Gare du Nord. Comme l'Habitude, I got my ice cream at Berthillon (Cassis!) on Ile de la Cité. But I didn't really have any sites to hit or visit, it was just me strolling around town.

Having been repeatedly as a kid and adolescent, I have ticked off most of the must sees (Louvre, Tour Eiffel, Les Invalides, Notre Dame) and plenty of other sites. But Paris being Paris and the options endless, I still have places in Paris on my bucket list. For instance, I never went to the Musée d'Orsay. The Le Corbusier sites near town would be nice. And when researching this post I saw some Art Deco buildings I definitely want to see. But I like coming back to Paris, so I have never make a dedicated effort to finish up the town.

The inscribed area is not all of Paris, but a stretch of the city running along the banks of the Seine from Ile St Louis (Eastern most) to Champ de Mars (Western end point). Some components extend away from the banks of the Seine, specifically (East to West):

• Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries, Petit & Grand Palais
• Hôtel des Invalides
• Champ de Mars, Tour Eiffel, Palais de Chaillot

Smaller sites of note on the banks extending …

Visited this site in September 2020. Our first priority was a trip to Plateau Putorana with the group tour, but unfortunately the minimum required number of tourists was not met and the tour was cancelled. We therefore arranged in short notice for an individual tour around so called Golden circle of Altay. Altay is one of the most popular tourist regions of Russia and offers significant variety of natural landscapes (mountains, waterfalls, passes, rivers, lakes, geysers, stone formations) and cultural sights (petroglyphs, monasteries, mounds). The main logistic hint about classic route is that it is not looped, and at some point, you need to change car to boat in order to cross Lake Teletskoye (otherwise driving back the same road). Usual starting points for Altay are Barnaul and Gorno-Altaysk, the latter has fewer flights but saves 250 km of driving to the key sights. The site includes three separate areas: Altaisky Zapovednik and a buffer zone around Lake Teletskoye; Katunsky Zapovednik and a buffer zone around Mount Belukha; and the Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok plateau.The closest and easiest area to visit is Altaisky Zapovednik, where you could formally step into protected area by visiting Korbu waterfall (pictured). There are strict rules in order to visit protected area except Korbu and several inspectors' cordons, however almost whole Eastern coast of Lake Teletskoye is protected and could be admired from the boat or, if you lucky, from of the few very expensive hotels on the opposite side. The uniqueness of …

Auckland is the largest city and main metropolitan area of New Zealand. Indeed, the next bigger city is Sydney in Australia. The town itself is rather modern. The principal features you will notice wandering around are the hills and the sea plus limited Victorian heritage. It's only from a viewpoint such as Mount Eden that you grasp what the town was built on: volcanoes, Mount Eden being one of them.

In total, we stayed for two days in Auckland and visited both Rangitoto Island by ferry and the three volcanoes in Auckland (One Tree Hill, Mount St. John, Mount Eden). The views of the city were nice, but if I had to choose, I would rather go to Rangitoto Island.

OUV

Supposedly, these volcanoes have significant Maori heritage. Of the sites I visited, I noticed nothing Maori about them. And certainly not when compared to Rotorua, a place brimming with Maori culture.

Rangitoto island is probably the most interesting site in Auckland, being a rather young island (600 years) with plenty of nature to explore. I am neither a geologist or biologist, though, so I can't judge the OUV. I would have also liked to see the stoneworks, but it's outside of town and we didn't manage to get there.

Getting There

Auckland is the central transport hub of New Zealand, being it's biggest city. So unless you stay exclusively on the Southern Island you will pass through. The Volcanic Fields in the city …

I visited the coastal ponds in the Bay of Oristano in March 2017. I drove to different vantage points as close as possible to the scattered salt works and ponds mentioned in the nomination dossier to be able to spot a variety of birds and in terms of birdlife I wasn't disappointed. Some highlights were the Sardinian Warbler and Purple Gallinule, together with the flocks of flamingoes, egrets and spoonbills. 

That said, even though all the ponds mentioned in the nomination dossier are considered to be Ramsar wetlands of international importance, the comparison made with the inscribed Donana NP in Spain or the tentative WHS of Camargue in France is quite far fetched both in terms of size and bird numbers. The area I spent most time in was the pond (stagno) of Sale e' Porcus near San Vero Milis. Be on the lookout for irrigation canals as most birdlife tends to hide there.

NB: try to avoid visiting in summer as most ponds tend to dry out completely with not much to see apart from salt covered basins! In winter, around January, you'll definitely be able to see hundreds of cranes, especially around the area of Stagno di Sale e' Porcus.

October 2020 - our third night in the camper we spent in Elvas. Just next to the aqueduct there is a parking lot, with a beautiful view at the fortification. The town is small enough to stroll along the bulwark and through the city center. From the top, we could look over to Spain. The main square has a Escher-like pavement and is really one of the highlites. Some cafes offered food on the main market, so thats where we had dinner. Another walk in the evening revealed how poor the city is. The flats some streets away from the market are tiny, in bad shape, dogs are lingering on the streets, and it does not quite feel like this town is profiting from WHS status. However, the night at the aqueduct was nice, especially the next morning with fog hanging on that marvelous building. Next morning, we proceeded our way to Serra de Estrella.

Following in the footsteps of the previous reviewers, I visited Vulcano as a day trip from Milazzo. It's the southernmost island and fastest to reach from Sicily by virtue of being closest to the coast. Luckily, it's also very representative example for the islands. It has a large, somewhat active volcano that is well within reach for persons with normal fitness levels. From the top of the volcano you get great views of the island itself as well as the whole island chain. Timewise, it's well within the time window awarded by the return ferry.

Looking back I feel the islands would have deserved more time. My father had been to the islands decades prior, ending up staying overnight by coincidence. He said it was one of the best experiences he had on his Italy trip. And I think I get it. Tranquil Vulcano felt like a place apart from a bit too busy and - sorry to say - a bit too dirty Sicily. I can only image the peaceful mood after the day tourists (like me) had left ... A true vacation.

Staying overnight would also have provided me with the opportunity to explore more remote corners of the island, e.g. by bike. The views of the Southern part of Vulcano (Gelso) and the Western coast looked promissing and piqued my interest. And yeah, to see more islands would have required even more days.

Getting There

There are ferries from both Naples and Milazzo …

I visited Troy in July 2018. Despite the fame, legend and mythical side of the site, I remember it as a rather banal archaeological site. I was taking part in an organised trip through Turkey and we made a stop in Troy on the road between Selçuk (Ephesus) and Çanakkale (we were travelling with private transport for this part of the journey). The guide who followed us during the whole trip also acted as a guide for the visit of the archaeological site.

Troy is surrounded by an aura of mystery and legend. It is an extremely ancient site of settlement of human civilizations. However, today, it is difficult to separate facts and legends. For example, we do not know how much of Homer's stories are true and how much are fiction. I admit that this aspect makes the site a little less interesting for me. As much as I love history (the facts!), spirituality and mythology leave me cold.

The site itself is rather small and has no remarkable structure. It is a series of stone and brick walls, without much personality or artistic value. The city, as is often the case, has expanded by building on the structures of the previous city, creating a succession of several layers (nine in this case). Nevertheless, the fact remains that a 4500-year-old brick does not differ much from a contemporary brick, and impresses me very little when the structure it formed has long since disappeared. The oldest parts are …

I visited two sites included in this serial nomination back in 2019, the Sabarmati ashram (Gujarat) and the Asiatic Society of Mumbai Town Hall (Maharashtra). The sites are interesting, but they apparently face the same dilemma as the Luther sites in Germany: what is celebrated in these sites are not what were built per se, but more of what had happened in them. Is it a bad thing? Not necessarily. If we look past the unassuming structures, we realize that what transpired in these places are truly worth celebrating and the ideas that were cultivated here are indeed to be emulated. Heritage, after all, goes beyond built-structures; a "heritage" ought to have a spirit, a meaning, and these places certainly possess those. While the whole idea of Satyagraha might be difficult to grasp by just visiting one or two sites, it does not preclude the fact that the careful selection of representative component sites comprising this nomination can make a sound case for an outstanding universal value. The Sabarmati/Ghandi ashram in historic Ahmedabad (another memorable WHS for me!), for example, is undoubtedly a world-class memorial and a continuing living heritage space (so much so that even the principles employed in managing the site are highly Ghandian!) whose importance transcends beyond national level.

I have also visited related sites in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa where the idea was conceptualized and was first observed. The whole essence of non-violence social protest would, likewise, resound much later on in my country during …

Being the other part of the advance German/Swiss tentative site scouting team, I think I need to weigh in on Philipp's review.

There are tentative sites ready for inscription with English signs posted everywhere, a visitor center opened, a tourist shuttle bus operating regularly from the next major train station and the Unesco sign already displayed at the highway exit.

And there are tentative sites that feel like a draft of a brainstorming session scribbled on the back of a cigarette pack by the interns of the regional cultural office after a drunken night out in Constanta. The proposed site falls into the latter category.

When we arrived we were lost. Google maps had precisely guided us to the location and I seem to recall a sign along the way. But when we were there we only saw a steep hill with a monastery on top, a small lake, lots of weeds, a quarry and ruins of a concrete building, that looked like a former factory. We went up the hill to the monastery to check if the site was there. Then we went down again and went on a climbing expedition to get to the concrete building. Eventually, we got glimpses of the inside and confirmed that the concrete building was covering the ensemble rupestre. The Romanians constructed it to protect the remains against the elements.

It seems the site also has an official entry but we were not able to figure out the …

Visit Januar 2020

Yet another Angkor Site, but has it’s own charm. Nice setting in the slopes of the holy mountain.

From the ticket office, there is an electric bus to the site. We got there in the morning, not many tourists and not too hot. The middle section was nice to explore. The main temple requires a few stairs to climb. The main temple has some very nice reliefs. We also went looking for the elephant stone, crocodile stone and the holy spring.

The small museum is also worth a visit though not outstanding.

We opted to stay in a small guesthouse on the riverside of Mekong in Champasak. It is a charming small village. It used to be the seat for the royal family. The river was surprisingly clean. We went swimming in the river on an evening trip to the island Don.

It was great just roaming around in the countryside on a motorbike enjoying the scenery and the friendliness of the lao people.

### Randi & Svein Elias

October 2020 - after spending few hours in Evora we still scheduled a stopover in the marvel town of Vila Vicosa. Already on the way we passed several quarries and trucks which transported the white gold to somewhere. We arrived in the town, parked at the castel and took a walk to the Paco Ducal. The palace is beautiful, the facade shimmers blueish/silver and also a walk through the town reveals some further nice spots. I would not be dissapointed if it should be inscribed. 

Definitely good side to squeeze in between Evora and Elvas.

I loved understanding the mind of this artist. I learned that he was more of an artist than a structural engineer. Truly fascinating.