Visited December 2010
Navrongo is a natural stop for those travelling from Burkina Faso to Ghana after visiting Cour Royal de Tiébélé (TL) and is a good starting point for checking two of Ghanaian TL sites: Navrongo mud cathedral, located in the outskirts of town, and Tenzug-Tallensi settlements, 40 km to SE. (While in the city, which is neither too big nor interesting itself, you can also visit Paga just right at the border 12 km to the N, with its crocodile ponds and Paga Pia’s Palace; if you still have a moment, there is a 18/19th century slave camp called Pikworo with pretty interesting and touching history.)
But here’s about the cathedral, 20-minute walk from the city centre… First impression: nothing special, well, looks modern. But when you realize that this biggest building in the area, built in the 20., was entirely built of mud bricks and then was covered with mud mortar and when you see its large colonnaded interior, you start thinking that this one is really unique one! Especially when you look at the dark interior (shutters were pulled down) with unusual decorations: animals, everyday life, Last Supper, geometric patterns, I mean the original way of expression, painted by local women using kerite oil and soil-based pigments, not usual in catholic churches in West Africa. The population in this part of Ghana is mostly Christian. (The short history of the cathedral can be read on Unesco website.)
In the premises of the cathedral …
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All of the previous reviewers visited only one of the four locations that make up this WHS, the main site: the Tomioka Silk Mill. And to tell it right away: I did it the same way.It doesn’t seem to be very difficult to visit at least one of the other locations, the distances from Tomioka are between 25 and 45 kilometres. However, this website estimates travel times from the silk mill by public transport between 75 and 100 minutes, including taxi rides and/or walking. So quite a lot of effort to see very little: a few empty shelves where the silkworm cocoons were raised (Takayama-sha Sericulture School), a farmhouse from the outside (Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm), and a few foundation walls (Arafune Cold Storage). Thus, I decided to skip the other locations in favour of some non-WHS stuff in Tokyo.
But now to the main thing:The Tomioka Silk Mill was built in the early years of the Meiji restoration and represents a milestone in the transformation of Japan into an industrialized nation. In this regard, it is closely related to the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution" which were inscribed in the WH list only one year after Tomioka. Apart from the obvious differences to coal mining and steel production, Tomioka deserves its own inscription because it illustrates the fusion of Japanese tradition and modern European technology. Through this modernisation the mass production of silk was established and Japan became the leading export nation for raw silk.
The …
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Visited June 2019
In my opinion this is one of the most dramatic natural and man-made landscape in Romania! Underground and open mine sites, artificial lakes, old houses and roads, industrial monuments hidden in the forests, beautiful nature, lots of walking paths through abandoned industrial scenery, history that started before the Romans came in, and that continues to our time. Two days is not enough to discover all that. But in my case, it was not about discovering gold mining history of the region, but enjoying the breathtaking beauty of the area. Be prepared if you decide to take Roşia Montană village as you base, because the tourist infrastructure in here is not very well developed; there are some places where you can spend a night or two (in old houses, of course – you’ll have a chance to see how the wealthier ones used to live, i.e Casa Petri), only one store, and no restaurant at all (there are two or three local ones and bigger shops in Dăroaia/Coasta Henţii, 3 kms to the west).
Some archaeological findings prove that gold mining in this area started well before Romans. While visiting the Roman mine you’ll hear that the gold of Thracian kings came from this region. And the Romans developed mining to the point that today the underground network of tunnels is the most extensive ever created in antiquity. Ancient dwellings, cemeteries, mine galleries, lots of artefacts, wax tablets among them – all that come from the …
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I visited two locations of the Tidal Flats, up for inscription in 2020 (or maybe 2021, due to coronavirus): Suncheon Bay and the Gochang Tidal Flats.
Suncheon BayThis location is ideal and probably the best choice, when the tidal flats become a WHS. Suncheon Bay is close to Naganeupseong TWHS (worth a visit) and Seonamsa monastery WHS.
You need to visit the Suncheon Bay Ecological Park to be able to see the iconic view shown in Clyde’s and Kyle’s pictures. The ticket fee is high and you even pay for parking (very rare in Korea). The park itself is like an Ecological Disneyland. You walk on well-maintained wooden paths, there are restaurants, boat tours and a big museum. Walk to the observatory for the tidal flats where you can admire them from three different levels.
Gochang Tidal FlatsThe tidal flats are rather a very long beach with remarkable high and low tide. I visited in February, but it was clear that this is where the Koreans hit the beach in summer. I started at Dongho Beach and drove down the coast along a small road. The closest WHS is Gochang Dolmen Site. Other than that it’s off the route. I specifically chose to visit this component, because I wanted to see more of this nomination than just the obligatory Suncheon Bay.There are some restaurants, but it’s nowhere near how we exploit beaches in Europe. As it was high tide, the beach was normal sized. I …
Keep reading 0 commentsStanislaw Warwas
Les cases à impluvium du royaume Bandial
Les cases à impluvium du royaume Bandial (On tentative list)
Visited February 2017.
On the way back from Cap Skirring (if you like beaches, good food and tranquillity, the area around this town can be a perfect destination for your holiday; but if you prefer more active way of life, the area has also a lot to offer: from pirogue trips into the bolong to quad expeditions to fishing) to Ziguinchor I decided to stop in Brin which is the best place to start a journey into the Bandial country (old Kingdome of Bandial, Mof Awi) where old tradition of houses with impluvium is still pretty popular. The road from Brin to Séléki and Enampore is not marked on Google Map, but tell the driver of your sept-places where you want to go and he’ll drop you at a small junction leading into the forest. If you’re lucky, you can catch local transport going that way, if not, ask people in Brin to give you a lift – that’s what I did after 30 minutes of waiting.
I was dropped in Enampore’s tourist campsite and hostel looking like the old impluvium house, but this one is pretty young and made of modern materials; there were no tourists at all and the owner was sleeping in a kind of home-made hammock. I left my backpack with him and promised to have a lunch there after visiting local communities.
He showed me the way to the nearest house with impluvium – just few hundreds meter from the main road …
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Visit February 2020 - I managed to visit all components of the Baekje Historic Areas on my Korea trip.
Gongju clusterI started in Gongju, visiting the Gongsanseong fortress upon arrival in the afternoon. It is not a spectacular, but still a nice fortress, with reconstructed gates and earthen walls. You need at least an hour to visit. It’s quite big. After spending the night in this underwhelming town, I visited the royal tombs in the morning. In hind side I should have pushed my schedule the day before for 15 minutes as this was roughly the time I needed for the visit. The tombs are not accessible all you can do is visit the museum with the replicas. Nice, but not the real deal.
Buyeo clusterI started with Busosanseong fortress and the attached archeological site. Both very underwhelming. Only fractions of the buildings are left and the fortress is rather a forested hill that serves as a town park. It is really hard to spot the elements that once created the fortress.
Jeongnimsa temple is also not a great site. The temple is basically gone and all that is left is a pagoda and the layout of where the buildings used to stand. I first intended to walk from the parking lot close to the fortress, but due to the entrance being located on the other side of a huge compound, went back to take my car.
The royal tombs and the city wall …
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Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is definitely worth the planning it requires to visit this underground tomb complex. Hypogeum literally means underground, and this site lay dormant and forgotten below the surface in Malta for almost 4,500 years, when it was rediscovered by construction workers in 1902. The complex became a site of great interest to archaeologists studying neolithic cultures in Malta, and within a few years it was also opened to visitors. The humidity and lighting they used caused damage to the hypogeum over time, so between 1991 and 2017 the site was closed twice in order to install systems to regulate the temperature and humidity of the underground complex. Heritage Malta also instituted a limit of ten visitors per hour to the tomb, which is why this site requires planning in order to secure a ticket to participate in a tour. Tickets may be reserved in advance for certain timed tours during the day, or may be secured as last minute tickets for the 1200 and 1600 tour on a limited basis the day before.
The tour itself was very informative, with a movie and a guide explaining the significance of the culutre and the hypogeum. After the introduction, we walked down into the tomb complex, with the guide leading the way. My group was considerate enough to make sure everyone was able to see the intricate carvings and chambers with their niches and lintels. The ocher paintings with spirals were neat to see on the ceiling, and the …
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I wasn’t meant to visit Christiansfeld on the day that I went as I only planned on seeing the Jelling Mounds, but as I had a lot of time to spare anyway I just jumped on a couple of busses and went.
There was nothing truly remarkable about the town, but it did feel like I had taken a little step back in history (maybe a couple of hundred years). But the lack of information boards, visitor centres or even a timetable at the church were definitely let downs. I was lucky enough to find a random guy in the street who strangely enough had the key for the building to let me in and around, but not everyone will be this lucky!
The graveyard was probably the most fascinating thing to me, and as it seemed like they were doing it up when I went I’m sure it’ll be even better when/if you visit! I do think this site would have been better if shared with other similar places around the world, and am surprised that it got WHS status alone.
If you do decide to visit this part of Denmark you can easily do both this, and the Jelling Mound in the same day, but probably come here first to ensure you get let into the building.
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I was extremely disappointed with this site. I do not understand why it got a WHS status. Due to it being a private residence no visitors except friends and family of the people that live there can visit. There are no special days to visit. There is not even a sign. It is an ordinary house, surrounded by high fences and gates to keep people out.
I tried the front doors but nobody was in, so I’m guessing whoever lives here rarely even uses it to live in, as all of the lights were also off.
There is no way of contacting the owners online, so I truly believe that standing outside to get a picture is likely the best you are ever going to get :(
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Visit February 2020 - Dolmen sites are generally not too appealing for me, but in a land full of temples and palaces, they were a nice disruption. Unlike most others I did not visit Ganghwa (easy one for a revisit to Korea) but went for Gochang and Hwasun.
Gochang
Gochang is probable the main site among the three. It is not ideally located, but at least there are two Seowons nearby. You start your visit with a museum that displays the life in times of these dolmens with live size figures. The area is rather big and stretches into three directions. Lazy folks can use a shuttle bus. The left side after the river are primitive capstone type dolmen. On the right side you will find some beautiful go-board type and table type dolmen. The most beautiful table type dolmen however is on the museum side of the river. It is rather poorly signposted, so ask if you are not sure.
Hwasun
While Gochang is a very “commercialized” dolmen site, with entry fee, museum, map and shuttle bus, Hwasun is different. I guess not many have visited the site due to it’s off the path location. But it is actually rather close to the Unjusa Temple TWHS, a must see in Korea in my opinion. There is a parking lot and a small (closed when I arrived) information center. Other than that, you just follow the foot path along the road and look out for sparse …
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We spent several days in Lofoten islands in summer 2016, and this was one of the highlights of our Norway trip (a country which is one of the best – if not the best – in Europe for landscapes and nature lovers). We were lucky enough to enjoy sunny weather during our stay, giving blue and turquoise color to the sea along white sandy beaches (from the pictures, this looked like tropical country, but actual air temperature never exceeded 15°C during the day!). From Unesco website, it can be understood that this TWHS is proposed as a mixed site and encompasses the south-westernmost islands of the archipelago.
We arrived by ferry from Bodo to Moskenes (it takes around 3 hours), and this was a stunning introduction to the place : sharp mountains range (some 250 km long) “grows up” over the horizon line as the ferry goes, and this combination of sea and mountain in one single landscape is one of the most beautiful in Norway. This experience was different and, in some way, complementary to our visit to the West Fjords a few days before. Lofoten islands are nothing but an old mountain range (some of its rocks are some billion years old), in the middle of the sea, eroded by successive glacial eras and resulting in cliffs, sharp peaks, bays, fjords, with few and narrow places left for human settlements. This geological process for sure would be promoted as one of the reasons for inscription. They are …
Keep reading 0 commentsPhilipp Peterer
Stone Buddhas and Pagodas at Hwasun Unjusa Temple
Stone Buddhas and Pagodas at Hwasun Unjusa Temple (On tentative list)
This, in my opinion, does not only deserve to be a world heritage site, It would also be Korea’s best world heritage site. Unjusa is unfortunately (or rather fortunately) very off the beaten path. The only WHS close by is the Hwasun dolmen component of the site everybody seems to tick off with Ganghwa near Seoul. I spent the night in Naju, the closest place I could find a hotel online, and visited the temple first thing in the morning. As so often during my off-season Korea trip, I was the only visitor. There is a ticket booth and free parking at the entrance.
The temple itself is at the end of a small valley and not spectacular or even different from the many other temples I visited in Korea. The real value lies in the many Pagodas and Buddhas along the valley. The come in different forms and sizes. Some very unique, like the round pagodas or the massive Buddha carved into a rock. Apart from the main road to the temple, you have to explore the paths on the hills to the left, right and even behind the temple. I spent around two hours exploring all the pathways and admiring every single statue and pagoda.
This site should be a must on your itinerary. If you have enough time, you might even consider a temple stay they offer. I leave it to the non-drivers to figure out how to reach the temple with public transport. Just …
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I was impressed and disappointed with this site at the same time. I will start with my negative points and then move onto the nicer stuff afterwards.
You can not go up, on or in the Lovell telescope. I wouldn’t normally “tick” something off my list unless I’ve truly experienced it 100%, but according to the staff there this would never be a possibility as it is still in use, and the only people allowed on it are the people that work on it. I feel that if this is the case they should have picked a different observatory that allows visitors, even if it meant charging a lot and pre-booking well in advance.
Now on the subject of charging lots, I had to pay £4 for the parking. I was only at the site for 1 hour, meaning this cost more than many cities charge, not to mention I had to pay my fare ontop of that. The site is in the middle of the countryside and the “gardens” are not yet compete, so until there is more to do/see there I strongly believe that there should be only one charge, the entrance one.
On a lighter note though the telescope looked amazing, I had never seen anything like it in my 24 years of being alive and the whispering satellite dishes were also remarkable (I have since been to multiple cathedrals with whispering galleries, but this was my first experience with anything like it). I …
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Visit February 2020 – I managed to visit 5 of the inscribed 9 Seowons on my road trip through Korea. In general, the visits of all Seowons were fairly similar. They mostly have the same buildings (dormitories, lecture halls, library, shrine and walls with a gate) that look the same. Entry to all but Sosu Seowon was free and you frankly don’t need much more than 15 minutes to visit a location. They all have info plates in English on premise and a nice “this is a world heritage site” stone in front of each Seowon. You will find free parking close to each Seowon, but most of the might be a bit tricky to reach with public transport.
Donam SeowonDonam is only a short detour while driving between the different Baekje locations. The Seowon is very close to the main road and the landscape is rather unspectacular and flat. Nevertheless I enjoyed the short visit as the weather was nice and I was the only visitor.
Museong SeowonMuseong is a short detour on the way between Wanggung-ri and the Gochang Dolmen Site. It is also located close to a bigger road and in an unspectacular location. Next to the Seowon is a newer Seowon, that is not part of the WHS. I skipped Pilam, because I simply ran out of time (and sunlight) for the day
Namgye SeowonThe Seowon is on route between Seonsamsa and Haeinsa Temple, very close to the express way …
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The former Colonies of Benevolence will be on the agenda of the WHC 2020 meeting. This Dutch-Flemish serial transnational proposal had been referred in 2018 due to doubts about the selection of sites included. Subsequential discussions with ICOMOS and the World Heritage Centre, advising to “take a little more time” than usually after a Referral, has led to a reduction of the proposed locations from 7 to 3. On the Dutch side, Ommerschans and Willemsoord are omitted and Frederiksoord and Wilhelminaoord are combined. In Flanders Merksplas has been dropped, leaving only Wortel.
I had already visited the Dutch part (notably Veenhuizen) in 2011 and the Belgian part in 2016. With the full, amended nomination dossier now available I decided to have a closer look at the Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord component. It is also about the only (T)WHS related place which I have not reviewed before that I can reach at the moment – I am eagerly awaiting the lifting of the non-essential travel ban to Germany for example, for some more low hanging TWHS fruit.
I arrived early on a Sunday morning in Wilhelminaoord, where I parked my car to begin the 11km long “Monuments walk”. It nicely covers the Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord component and its main monuments. They are really prepared here for WH status and more international tourists: every building of some interest has an information panel in front of it. The panels give a comprehensive explanation of what you’re looking at, both in the Dutch and English language. Up …
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Site visited December 2013. The Arabic name of the ancient Roman city of Cuicul is Djémila which means ”beautiful”. The site really matches its newer name because it is probably the most beautiful and scenic of all the Roman sites in Algeria. I think it is also one of the top three Roman sites of Africa.
Cuicul was an ancient Roman colony and a military garrison founded in the 1st century. It is built on an altitude of 900 metres on a narrow triangular plateau. The city is well adapted to the mountainous location at the confluence of two rivers. During the 3rd century the city expanded beyond its original location. A New (Severan) Forum was built to the southern end of the city, and a theatre was built outside the city walls because there was not enough space inside the walls. In the 4th century the city grew even further with so called Christian quarters.
After the entrance gate, which is the highest point of the site, are the Christian quarters with a circular Baptistery building and the Great Baths. On top of the hill opens a view over the ancient city with some nice mountain landscapes on the background. In the centre of Djémila is the Severan Forum with Temple of Severan Family and the Triumphal Arch of Caracalla. To the east from the Severan Forum, hidden behind a hill, is a steep theatre for 3000 spectators. To the north from the Severan Forum the colonnade …
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When I first entered Bethlehem it was nothing like I had expected. You are surrounded by huge grey walls (covered in graffiti) and it felt like I was in a giant prison courtyard. As you walk through the border from Israel into Palestine you see straight away the change of cultures. Before even walking out of the security building I was being hassled by around 40 taxi drivers, all trying to convince me to use them to get to the notable sites, but I insisted on walking to them all and carried on. Now if I had to turn back time I would not have done this. I would have got the cheapest one straight to the church of Nativity. The roads were filthy, people were emptying bins onto the streets outside of their homes/shops and the cars did not seem at all roadworthy. I got funny looks by many people in the street and felt completely uncomfortable the entire walk (which took quite some time as it was a rather long distance).
But once I arrived at my destination everything changed! Entree was free, the buildings clean and the experience seemed much better than I’d ever have imagined. It truly felt as if I had stepped back in time 2000 years! I would say that everybody should visit Bethlehem atleast once in their life to see its Nativity church. I am not religious, I do not believe in God, but the aura of being in such a holy …
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First things first, I LOVE cemeteries! I think they are the perfect blend of history, art and nature. I love how peaceful they are and how much they reflect the society. Consequently, I was very excited to visit a TWHS cemetery when I visited Sarajevo in 2018. Although I really enjoyed this visit, it remains the one of the few Jewish cemeteries I've seen during my European trip, and even one of the few historical cemeteries I've explored. I still give it a thumbs up as I enjoyed it and because it appears to me to be valuable, but I can't tell if it is really the best example of an historical Jewish cemetery or if it is better to inscribe it alone or as a serial transnational site with the other Jewish cemeteries on Germany's list. As this is the first review of this TWHS, I will try to provide here some information on the site and a review of my visit.
The cemetery was used since the 16th and 17th centuries and until 1966. It contains 3,850 monuments and is important for both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews. It is the second largest in Europe after Prague's one. Multiple styles of tombstones and monuments are present in the cemetery, and it reflects the history and culture of Jewish settlements in the Balkans. It is presented in the nomination file as an exceptional historical and architectural ensemble, as well as an exceptional testimony of the Jewish traditions.
The cemetery is …
Keep reading 0 commentsThomas Harold Watson
The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales (Inscribed)
The Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia were one of the more challenging World Heritage Sites for me to visit because of the irregular bus schedule serving Cerveteri and the limited time I had before I had to catch a train in the afternoon. In the end, I was able to navigate the bus from Ladispoli to Cerveteri, and the walk to the necropolises, but I had to arrange for a taxi to pick me up to return me to Ladispoli in time to catch my train. Also, I learned that technically one is not allowed to walk up the road from the center of Cerveteri to the Banditaccia Necropolis, although no one stopped me.
Anyways, logistics aside, the necropolis at Cerveteri was one of my favorite World Heritage Sites I saw last fall when I was traveling around the Mediterranean. Upon entering the site, I followed a narrow path, passing tombs on either side. The morning had started out a bit cloudy, but when the sun broke over the necropolis, it was a bit like walking through the set of Hobbiton from Lord of the Rings. I ducked into the first few tombs marked on the map given to me at the visitor center, and was able to listen to an audio program about the Etruscans who lived and died in the region, and who built remarkable hill-shaped tombs, underground tombs, and tombs lined up in rows to inter their families. Some of these tombs, built before the …
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