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Brugge is a beautiful city, and one of the highlights of my visit to Belgium in August 2018. The first evening I spent in Brugge, I enjoyed traditional moules-frites with friends at a cafe on the market square, admiring the Gothic architecture with the doubly-inscribed belfry towering overhead. Over the course of two days, we spent memorable hours wandering the city, admiring canals, churches, chocolate shops, and the walls and windmills surrounding the city. We also climbed the belfry for overhead views of the winding streets and waterways. Back at ground level, the beguinage delivered a quiet respite from tourist crowds, and I loved its location on the water. In fact, the canals were perhaps my favorite aspect of the city, providing a backdrop to historical buildings and offering scenic boat tours that crossed under the numerous bridges from which the city gets its name. Along one of the canals we encountered a Sunday market with numerous stalls we enjoyed perusing. I'd been uncertain of how much I would enjoy Brugge after reading Rodenbach's Bruges-la-Morte prior to the trip, but I was pleased to find it as photogenic and welcoming as I had heard from others who have visited the city.

Logistics: Brugge is easily accessible by train or private transport, and the city is quite navigable on foot, though I highly recommend making time for at least one boat tour.

I visited many caravanserai in Iran. Some of them are new, basically pit stops for gas, food and repair your car, they often call them service station now though as you may expect. Some of the classic caravanserai are now guest houses or coffee shops. The classic ones are supposed to be for when the silk road camel “caravans” were passing through Persia and needed a place to rest and refresh. If you look on the map you can make out a line going west <> east. There are some caravanserai not included in this inscription request, most notably the one next to Cyrus' tomb, but an easy “tick” would be to see the one in Bisotun which is a one of those coffee houses now. I spent some time finding the ruined ones along the road but sometimes they are not easy to find, perhaps the road doesn't allow you to venture into the area next to the highway, it would be silly to go off-road with a sedan, but sometimes the ruins are just there in plain sight, unprotected unfortunately.

Taking Khaneh Khowrdeh as an example (romanization may vary) one can just take a road off the highway and you park right in front of it. There is no tourist sign, only a sign for what I believe is deterring vandalism. Graffiti is rife in and outside the walls. Gone are the camels and the new visitors, baaaaaaaaa, leave so much poo that it's not easy to …

I might have caught Kairouan on a bad day. I went on a Friday and everything was closed. The town was mostly deserted and I had no idea what to do, so I went with a guy offering me a guided tour. This proofed to be more interesting, than walking on my own and was a rather pleasant experience, apart from the last stop with the obligatory carpet shop (I specifically negotiated not to visit before starting the tour). With most shops and restaurants closed and almost no people, it felt rather weird to wander around the streets. I would also not be able to see the outstanding value of this town, compared to other medinas in the country I saw. I’d say it’s one of these places that due to proximity to the other WHS is a must for the real hunters, but can easily be skipped if you only go for the country’s highlights.

The town can be reached rather easy by car. Expect some narrow roads on the way if you come from the coast. I did it on an easy half day trip from Port El Kantaoui, spending the rest of the day at the beach. You could easily combine the day trip with Sousse and/or el Jem, if you have limited time resources.

This nomination is actually more interesting than it sounds on paper. I visited Dokhtar Bridge in the town of Pol-e-Dokhtar, which means “Bridge of the Daughter” so the town's name is the bridge.

I don't know what is older, the bridge or the sign to explain it. It is ancient but I suppose the bridge from the Sananian Empire (224 to 651 AD) probably beats it by 1,500 years. I even found an article on Livius.org that explains some parts, including the theory that it “is probably named after a daughter of the builder of this bridge, the Sasanian king Shapur I (r. 241-272)”.

The bridge is not in good shape today. The biggest remaining arch has the main road going through it. There are supposed to be 15 arcs left in total but I can only count 7 or 8 on the other side of the river. Parking myself next to the huge arc with a gravel road leading up, it bends around and then just drops off into the river. Scary that I'm allowed to walk up here without a warning sign, or shall I say thrilling that I can get up the edge of the bridge!? The path is filled with mud so maybe that was trying to put me off but it was frozen solid. There is actually safer parking on the other side of the arc next to the river and the you just have to run across the … hmm I did …

Visited the multiple sites in January 2019. I was invited by the Lenggong Museum authority to join an expedition on training the local guides. We started from the archaeological museum where the Kota Tampan site is situated. The museum is now reopened after two years of renovation with first floor containing artefacts and the famous Perak Man skeleton. The second floor is more to general information and two suevites with stone axes from Bukit Bunuh, evidence to proof that Lenggong was occupied as early as 1.83 million years ago, the earliest outside Africa. The Kota Tampan site behind the museum was a bit disappointing as the roof that covered the site was being torn down by the monkeys and the site got flooded after the rain.

The highlight of the trip was a visit to Gunung Runtuh Cave and Kajang Cave under Bukit Kepala Gajah, situated behind the Kampung (village) Gelok area. One has to walk through a dense forest (now rubber plantation) to reach the bottom of the cave, then hike almost vertically through the sharp limestone to reach the cave. The entrance of the cave is now facilitated with a heavy barred door and patrolled by guards daily. The only way to get in is to approach the museum in advance and they will offer someone to guide you in. Gua Gunung Runtuh is actually quite small, but important to the region because of the finding. It was the place where a 10120 years old male (Perak …

We rented a taxi for the day to visit Hebron from Bethlehem. This proofed to be a good choice, as we were driven close to the mosque/tomb, with instructions on how to reach it.

The place itself is one of the strangest visit I ever had. It is divided, but if you are neither Jew nor Muslim, you can enter both sides, passing the respective checkpoint. I suggest visiting both sides, as each one has a special advantage. The Jewish side is not really interesting inside, but the façade is very photogenic from that side. The Muslim side is just a boring stonewall from outside but the mosque is very nice from the inside.

The old town is around the mosque/tomb. It’s not bad, but a bit in lack of maintenance (like most of Palestine). It did not seem that the town has any tourist infrastructure. We felt like adventurers, discovering a lost city. However, there was no situation we felt unsafe. The whole experience beats the actual site itself by miles.

During a stay on Crete in the summer of 2018 I visited two of the properties of this serial site. One of them, Knossos Palace is the most visited tourist attraction on all of Crete.

Although British archaeologist Arthur Evans, who excavated Knossos in the early 20th century, firmly placed the palace as the residence of the mythical King Minos (and named the whole civilization after him), you will not find any remains of the Minotaur’s Labyrinth here. Instead, among the ruins of stone walls and buildings, you will find partial recreations of structures as they existed thousands of years ago. While the relatively young age of these recreations is obvious to the naked eye, they are considered very faithful facsimiles. There are a couple of interior spaces among the recreations as well as a few paintings – none of which are originals, of course – which enliven the scene a lot.

All of that makes Knossos almost “livable”, especially compared to a site such as Phaistos (sometimes transliterated into Latin alphabet as Faistos). The two are contemporaries, although Phaistos Palace came to ruin and disuse a few centuries earlier than Knossos, around 1450 B.C. There are no reproductions at Phaistos, only whatever has been excavated in the shape that it was found. An expert in archaeology may actually find that more authentic and rewarding. For a layman visitor, an uncommon power of imagination is required to discern anything more than terraces of piles of rocks, no matter …

Shiraz was the former capital of the Zand dynasty which ruled Iran for merely 43 years. The remains of their 18th century dynasty can mainly be seen here. The town is relatively big and has a fancy metro to get around, basically running along the main road cutting through the city. The ensemble of buildings is at the appropriately named Zandiye station. The navigation app told me it would be another 19 minutes to reach it by car and expecting no parking over there I parked it at the edge of the traffic-laden area where I could later easily turn north onto the ring road to exit the city. The metro is quite new, 2004, and super clean. It also only costs 10k rial (not toman) per ride which is ridiculously cheap. It only ran every 15 minutes but that is still not much slower than driving into chaotic traffic jams and double, triple parking.

Once there I saw dozens of exchange offices and many people asking me if I need to exchange money (probably in the hope for me not to know that the unofficial rate and become rich). A short walk from here you can start to see some of the buildings. I checked out the massive Karim Khan citadel, mostly interesting for the walls, and the Vakil Bath with its wax figures, the mosque next to it and wandered around the bazaar. I was going to see the Vakil Water Storage but wasn't sure if it …

Salt domes can be found in many places around the world and by itself isn't anything so special, but the amount of concentrated salt domes in Iran is surely something spectacular. I visited the longest cave system on Qeshm (referred to as Ghesm in documentation) Island. Because Qeshm is another tentative site at the moment I will not go into much “how to get here” but instead just say it takes about an hour from the car ferry port Laft and the last 20km is a dirt/sand road that is fine for 2WD. The village before this diet road starts also has some of the nastiest speed bumps I've had to endure and camels may graze near the road so be careful. The salt cave is smack in the middle, okay south, of the Qeshm Geopark. The entrance is free but if you don't have a torch you can rent it for cheap. The phone torch apps will not be good enough but I used it to see where I'm walking while the headlight shines forward. The parking lot is just 200m away from the caves. It has one sign but I wish it had a few more to start digging into salt some science.

So I said I visited the longest cave system but unfortunately only 1 of the caves is open. Another one is open for pre-appointments and I suppose that means a guide too, the 3rd is only open for geologists. I was happy with the …

I avoid guided tours whenever possible, but in case of Vredefort Dome it was simply too hard to find out where to go and what to look for. It doesn’t help either that some of the sites are on private land. Being in South Africa for business, I had a day off and wanted to squeeze in Vredefort and Sterkfontein. Off-season, not many tourists visit the region, so I went on a 3 hour private tour with Dome Tour, paying for 4 people. My guide was Prof. Graeme Addison, a very friendly and knowledgeable guy, offering different tours and activities from his ranch (easy to find with google maps from JNB airport). Your own car is supposed to be used for the tour, but as I didn’t have a 4WD I had to spend some extra bucks and we went with Graeme’s car.

The tour itself was very interesting. We visited an old quarry and diffent spots that made the enormous size of the crater somehow visible. We also stopped at an old mining village with a small museum. Unlike Cape Town, this part of the country has very dry winters, which granted me an unexpected beautiful and sunny day. Between the places of interest, you pass by animal farms with Giraffes and other exotic animals as well as fields of cashew trees. The region has some natural beauty to offer and overall it was a relaxing and calm experience. Maybe not the most exciting WHS on the list, …

While in Turin for a single day in November of 2018, I managed to see Palazzo Madama, walked around Zona di Commando, and stopped by Palazzo Reale and Palazzo Carignano without stepping inside. My initial plan was actually to visit all three of these palaces that are located very close to each other, but other priorities and a desire to remain outside on a reasonably sunny day took precedence.

Palazzo Madama is so called because its 17-18th-century decorations and enhancements were ordered by two queens of the house of Savoy. It holds a historical distinction of having been the first Senate of the Italian Kingdom, but has long been converted to a museum. There is a floor devoted to religious art, another one hosting a large exhibition of porcelain, and a floor of formal royal apartments. All not without interest but far from must-see. In addition, one of the towers of the palace can be ascended for views over town.

Several sources suggested to me ahead of time that exhibitions of the Royal Palace are at best middling. I still would have spent time on it if not for inexplicably long and slow line to the ticket counter when I first reached it. So I took a glimpse at the gardens (nothing too special to catch the eye) and decided to try again later in the day. And then never did.

I also stopped by Palazzo Carignano which has the most elaborate façade of the three, contrasted …

Bergamo is a kind of town that invariably leaves a positive impression on any visitor without tipping the scales on the exceptional side. I visited it in November of 2018. Città Alta, the historic core of Bergamo, is a classic, if larger than many, hilltop town. There are several eye-catching sights in its confines, largely clustering at or around the focal point of the town, Piazza Vecchia. The 17th-century Palazzo Nuovo, nowadays a public library, and the 12th-century Palazzo della Ragione, a former town hall, bookend the attractive square. Also here is Palazzo del Podestà housing a very interesting museum of the Venetian era (whose main shortcoming is that most of its interactive exhibits are in Italian only). Campanone, or La Torre Civica di Bergamo, a 12th-century exquisite bell tower with fantastic views over the entire city, is accessed through Palazzo del Podestà.

The adjoining Piazza Duomo is home to an impressive ensemble of religious architecture. Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore is easily the most jaw-dropping church around, almost obscenely opulent in its interior decorations. By contrast, the interior of the Cathedral is practically understated, prepossessingly elegant. The combination of the Santa Maria’s porch and the adjoining façade of Cappella Colleoni, all in multicolor Veronese marble, is among the most frequently reproduced visuals of Bergamo. The interior of the chapel is definitely worth a look as well.

Elsewhere in town, highlights include medieval towers, such as Torre del Gombito, neoclassical palaces, such as Palazzo Medolago-Albani, the fort of …

Apparently closely pronounced to “Susan” was a town with a huge project: build two opposing arcs that would be a unique mosque (Malek Zozan Mosque). Yes, I can picture it. Yes, I would love to see it. It would probably be one of the top sites to visit. Alas, they never completed it and the city is now in ruins. Who is at fault? The Mongolian Empire! Harsh. So the only brick building in the area is still visible but in a devastated fashion. Some mosaics are on the walls and scaffolding for renovations or study, either way there is not much left to see. I still enjoyed coming, if not for the fancy street lights that dot a gravel path, or the signs that explain enough to make me want to Google half the stuff and learn more.

The mud clay buildings around the area are nothing to look at. They are not even fenced off, only the main site and nobody was around. I did see someone drive the opposite way towards the ruins later though, maybe a caretaker. There was also some new scaffolding being put together in the center for some reason. Big plans?

As I see it the site has no chance to be inscribed due to the lack of leftovers. I have seen stuff inscribed looking worse than this but nevertheless it would be a stretch. It is a monument and should be protected, for sure, but world heritage? Not everything needs …

For a brief epoch in Russia's long history, Vladimir and Suzdal were the heart of Russian culture and rule, and the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal remain as symbols of this stage in Russian history. Both cities lie approximately three hours east-northeast of Moscow, though I have only seen the city of Vladimir, and that many years ago. Vladimir was the capital city of Russia in the 12th and 13th centuries, before the Mongol invasion shifted power to Moscow. On a bluff overlooking the Klyazma River Vladimir's Assumption Cathedral, also known as the Dormition Cathedral, was constructed in the 12th century to serve as a mother church for Russia. This grand limestone church was expanded over time, and was very impressive when I saw it, with its belltower and five golden domes and its richly painted and gilded interior. Grand Princes were coronated in Vladimir's Assumption Cathedral until the 14th century, when coronations were moved to the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, which was based on Vladimir's cathedral. Also in Vladimir are the small and exquisite Saint Demetrious Cathedral and the impressive Golden Gate, which dates to the 12th century. I regret not having had time to visit Suzdal or the famed Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, but Vladimir had quite an impressive collection of monuments from Russia's history.

Logistics: Vladimir can be reached by train or by a three hour drive from Moscow, and the city is walkable, although public transportation, to include buses …

Amazing isolated rock formations filled with send. And no tourists as all depends on Tuareg activities in the region. 

Let's go see windmills! You mean the Netherlands? Noooo...the original windmills in Persia! There is some debate whether or not the Eastern Persian horizontal windmills inspired European ones but the invention certainly made their way East. This makes me want to inscribe it immediately. But wait, if these windmills are so old then why does the wood look like it was freshly cut last month and the houses don't look rundown like the other old historic towns made in mud-bricks?

Here lies probably the biggest problem with the inscription attempt: authenticity. One gets a strong feeling that these are the 40 odd windmills are here for demonstration rather than the originals. The houses were heavily rebuilt. The technique is there but the mud-brick and wood is surely not old enough to warrant it special. This feels like an open-air museum.

How to get here? It's far off the beaten track in eastern Iran, but has another tentative listing nearby to get some activities done in between all the driving. The town of Nashtifan is nothing to look at. It was a Friday, weekend, and many folks about climbing around the buildings. The doors were mainly shut although that could have something to do with the weekend. The documentation speaks of it still being operational but I saw no signs of that in this area of the town. Maybe these are just for show. Just my luck that the winter afternoon gave me a perfect blue sky and no …

The mountains of the Balkans contain a world treasure: Lake Ohrid. As it happens, the lake is halfway between Tirana and Skopje, which made it a perfect break on our Balkans road trip. As we learned, this lake is more than the border between Albania and the Republic of Macedonia: it is one of the world’s most important lakes...and is Europe’s oldest geologically since it dates from the pre-glacial era.

Lake Ohrid is home to over 200 endemic species and is a critical habitat for migratory birds. As such, this is considered the most biologically diverse lake on earth. For this reason, Lake Ohrid was recognized as one of the first one hundred UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We were seriously disappointed that we didn’t have enough time to go scuba diving in the lake!

However, we learned Lake Ohrid is recognized by UNESCO both for the environment, but also for the incredible cultural contributions of the region. As it turns out, the town of Ohrid on the banks of the lake is one of the oldest areas of human inhabitation in Europe (and the world). The town dates from the Bronze Age.

In more recent times, this was an important Greek settlement and the ancient theatre here is one of the largest in the Greek world. It’s home to a popular summer music festival. The ‘Golden Age’ of Ohrid was the Tsar period and the fortress on the hill dates from this era (late 10th century).

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*Hums Indiana Jones theme* I was so looking forward to seeing the entrance to the cave to the holy grail! Imagine when I found out that it was all fake - Hollywood you got me again!! Honestly I didn't but I also didn't know that the treasury was off limits and didn't even go far or had anything special inside. The wall is still highly impressive after what was an amazing walk through the canyon, excited to reach it at any moment. The water flow system in the canyon is ingenious. The souvenir stands didn't even offer any Indiana Jones dress up anymore - I guess that time has gone - you can still buy a camel magnet though! Great!

I also should have ditched the tour guide. He kept telling the group to stick with him and called people leaving back to the group. The American college girls were right to go for the camel ride straight away and get away from us. The main reason was that with the limited time on this 24h tour from Egypt you only spend a couple hours at Petra; enough to see the main highlights but a little rushed (could have skipped the 1h shopping oops I mean bathroom break). Nobody from the group went up the hill to the additional rock caverns, although I find it impressive enough from the bottom. A masterpiece of design with the rock outcrops, the ruined city is still a wonder and the location was …

Visited in May 2014. I spent half a day in the historic center of Syracuse located on Isola di Ortigia, so, I have not seen other parts of this WHS that might be more interesting and more important in respect to OUV than Ortigia.

It was pleasent day strolling in the narrow streets and enjoying views to Ionian sea... However, I must say I prefer other towns in Sicily, especially those located on the top of hills or in the deep valleys such as nearby Ragusa Ibla, Modica and Scicli (also WHS) and many many others.

In conclusion: the best from Syracuse what I keep in my memories: (1) visiting somehow odd cathedral blending together everything from antiquity to baroque, and (2) enjoyng cappuccino&cornetto di crema and handsome Sicilian boys all around...

Normally I try to stipulate the full itinerary of a day trip with a driver before I go. This time I didn’t and my driver notified me in Preah Vihear that Koh Ker wasn’t part of the trip. I was left somewhat annoyed, but couldn’t really complain as all I asked for was Preah Vihear. Koh Ker was just mentioned as an alternative when my driver was pitching me potential day trips back in Siem Reap.

Coming down the mountain after my visit of Preah Vihear I had already prepared myself for major haggling. But this being Cambodia my driver asked for less than 20 USD as a starting bid. It was kind of cute and I just had to smile and said yes. Going to Koh Ker is at least a 1h detour and adds some kilometers to the tab.

And I have to say the money was well invested. Koh Ker managed to surprise me as I suddenly felt beamed to Yucatan: a pyramid in the jungle! Thanks to the limited visitors you are even allowed to climb it and get a great view of the surrounding landscape (mostly jungle). It’s funny how these classical forms transcend cultures. Admittedly, due to the rather late hour and the tiring heat, I skipped on the other components of the site.

OUV

I had already seen plenty of Khmer architecture when I came to Koh Ker. The site pales in size and artwork compared to Preah Vihear, …