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Upper Svaneti... For a long time, I had a hard time recalling what a WHS this is and where it's located. Then I read Els' review and wanted to go myself.

As pointed out by Els, the Svan are a people, Svaneti is the region in Georgia's Northwest where they settle and Upper Svaneti refers to the most mountainous part thereof. The access to Upper Svaneti is limited to a river valley and well protected, both naturally as well as with the renowned tower houses. As such the Svan were able to protect their distinct identity for centuries against many invaders.

To this day, getting to the area takes time. There is one mountain road along a river valley in and out of the area. You need one day to get there and one day to leave. And then another half day to visit. You are rewarded with Georgia's best WHS and a truly unique site in a stunning mountain valley setting. The tower houses pop up in multiple places and are a sight to behold. In and around Ushguli, there is the largest grouping across three villages: Ushguli, Chajhashi, and Murkmeli. All with the backdrop of the Caucasus Mountain range.

At this point, you are probably wondering why I only awarded 4 stars? The answer is that I can only rate what officially constitutes the WHS, i.e., the inscribed core zone. It's ridiculously small and completely counterintuitive to calling the site "Upper Swaneti". Effectively, only the …

I visited this WHS by car in 2023. To make sure not to miss out, this WHS requires an advance booking by calling at least a number of days before: 1) to make sure the mine is open and accessible on the day you intend to visit, 2) to make sure that a tour in English is available, 3) to make up your mind whether you want to pay for 5 guided tour tickets + the entrance fee (highly recommended to visit alone and have the guide to yourself) or if there is a particular day with other people prebooked to share costs.

I would like to point out right from the start, that not only tourist infrastructure is lacking in Rosia Montana, but almost any kind of infrastructure whatsoever. The roads to get there are the winding type, one-lane each way, and lots of slow heavy trucks, so allow enough time to get there safely without missing your booking. Most staff, including the very unique engineer-guide, speak very little English, restaurants are non-existent, all the facilities except the mine are crumbling and extremely old, and floods and landslides are very common all year round. Make sure to bring an extra jacket as the temperature is cold at Rosia Montana even in summer, and drops even more inside the mine. The engineer-guide is quite peculiar but once you get accustomed to his irony/satire and his accent, you'll definitely get an honest in-depth tour about the pros and cons of …

I visited Tak'alik Ab'aj during a trip to Guatemala in November 2021, my first trip abroad after the Covid-19 outbreak. I chose to visit this archaeological site on a day trip from Panajachel, a good choice as a base for visiting the Lake Atitlan TWHS. After numerous visits to travel agencies in town, I finally found someone who could take me there at an affordable price, and I was off the next day for the visit.

Only one other car was in the parking lot when we arrived. Several guides were also waiting at the entrance to accompany visitors. One of them was assigned to me free of charge. I had understood at the time that it was compulsory to be accompanied by a guide, but this was probably a misunderstanding on my part since Els was able to visit the site independently a few months later. Nevertheless, I was very happy to be accompanied by this friendly guide. He was able to provide all the information needed to visit this rather unremarkable site.

Indeed, you won't find any grandiose pyramids or finely decorated stelae here. The platforms are low and the sculptures rough and weathered. The latter, however, are the most interesting, and demonstrate the blend of Olmec and Mayan cultures that was put forward in the site's nomination dossier. Indeed, the Olmec sculptures here have been altered to match the beliefs of the Maya who subsequently occupied the site. In addition to the potbelly statues …

Rohtas Fort has been mostly known on this website for the large number of locals who came out in its support in the reviews, but I never had a clear image of it other than “a large fort”. On the long drive from Lahore to Peshawar via the Grand Trunk Road, I was happy to find that my tour group managed to fit in a comprehensive visit taking 2.5 hours.

First surprise is the town that has developed in its interior – I was expecting some poor people who had taken shelter in here, but this is an average Pakistani town with shops, a school, a mosque, solid houses and people owning cars. People were supposed to be resettled outside of the fort’s walls in 1992, but that never materialized and the town looks very permanent. This was already somewhat foreseen upon inscription, as on the official map the populated areas form a buffer zone within the core zone.

The places of interest for a tourist lie at the fringes of that town, close to the walls. As the place is huge, we went by bus to the first area in the South. Here lies the Sohail gate, the prettiest of the remaining exterior gates. Nearby lies the largest stepwell, with 148 steps and three impressive arches. Elephants and horses also could drink here. (photo bottom left)

We then went on to the archaeological area where we had to pay the entrance fee (500rs), got a local …

My initial reaction when I finally saw the inscribed properties under Persian Caravanserai was of wonder as to why the beautiful Aminoddoleh Timche in the grand bazaar of Kashan was not included. Its divine blue dome, an architectural marvel in its own right, could have easily been the poster photo of this batch. I managed to see three from this serial property: Bisotun, Kharanaq, and Meybod.  

The inscribed area of Bisotun has two caravanserais, one is older than the other. The Mongol-period one in ruins (basically just the foundations) is attached to the remains of the unfinished Sassanid palace, directly beside a lovely traditional cafe housed in the old hospital building. The Sheik Ali Khan caravanserai much farther away is the one that got inscribed and it now houses the Laleh International Hotel. I went inside to check how it was retrofitted for present-day use and I even had my second serving of tea there (after having an earlier one at the cafe). The courtyard opens to the view of the Farhad Tarash.  

Kharanaq is an old village along the Silk Roads that has a history of over 4,500 years. While the main attraction would be the crumbling mud citadel with an impressive mosque and shaking minaret, the caravanserai cannot be missed as it is the first monument to be seen upon entering the village. Travellers can arrange to stay overnight, which would be cheaper than staying at the one in Bisotun. It seems to appeal to backpackers …

I visited this WHS in 2023 as a half day trip together with the 2 nearby culas (tWHS). Knowing that the site was free of charge, I obeyed the sign stating that no authorised vehicles should enter beyond the sign, meaning an extra kilometre or so of walking from the main gate to the walls surrounding the monastery. On my way back, being the only tourist around, I noticed that practically all the locals disregarded this sign and parked just before the gate giving direct access to the monastery.

The monastery is still an active one, and apart from the usual daily activities done by the nuns, such as praying, washing clothes, gardening, cleaning, etc, I also witnessed them milking the few cows grazing around the monastery perimeter as well as the selling (and subsequent slaughtering) of a lamb for the nun's next dinner or lunch. During lunch time, most nuns seemed very busy so I could walk around freely both next to the church facade and inside the church proper to take photos without flash, even though strictly speaking this is not allowed.

The Horezu or Hurezi Monastery was founded in 1690 by Prince Constantin Brancoveanu in the small town bearing its name in Wallachia, Romania. It is considered to be a masterpiece of the "Brancovenesc style", known for its architectural purity and balance, the richness of its sculpted detail, the way religious compositions are treated, its votive portraits, and its painted decorative works. Having visited several …

Arriving from Muscat with a driver booked in Muscat, I made a short stop in the town of Sur to admire the old Dhowns shipyard. Ras al Had is a small town notable for its old fortress, a small WWII airfield, some archaeological sites and obviously the turtle nesting beaches. The turtle reserve in Ras al Hadd, Oman, is known to be a nesting site for green and hawksbill turtles.

It was a great experience to be able to visit the nesting turtles during the night, always with the established means of respect towards these animals, (avoid speaking loudly, making sudden movements and direct lighting), the next day I was able to snorkel among dozens of turtles, flying fish and tunas, at night you can also see luminescent plankton on the water's edges.

But I want to highlight a negative point... I was disappointed with the ecological maintenance of the place, it is a site with great potential to be a natural WHS of Oman, but the beaches were full of plastics and garbage from both locals and irresponsible tourists, and Many locals were driving their 4x4 vehicles along the beaches at high speed, the Oman authorities should be stricter, clean the beaches and better preserve the place to be able to enter their registration.

I mainly want to give an update about the renovations taking place at the cathedral of Tournai. As of December 2023, the scaffoldings on the outside are mostly removed, so the main body of the cathedral can be seen again in all of its gray glory. However, there are still extensive renovation works going on inside the cathedral. Almost half of the interior is blocked off and under scaffolding, including the complete gothic choir. So they are working on it since almost 20 years now ? The open parts are also a bit unkempt, with tools lying around, bad lighting and artwork in strange places. So it is still not the best time to visit the cathedral.As for my general impression, I agree with most reviewers that it is not the most interesting cathedral. The outside appearance is large, but plain, gray and unimpressive. It is also difficult to get a good view of the cathedral, as it is mostly hidden behind other buildings. The interior (as far as I could see) is also quite plain, with not much decorations in the romanesque part. I also thought that the romanesque and gothic parts are not well integrated, leading to a disjointed feeling of the whole building. Compared to other big european cathedrals, the Tournai cathedral is at best a third tier cathedral. Other romanesque cathedrals (e.g. Speyer, Limburg, Hildesheim) are both older and more interesting and beautiful. And even these are generally seen as being clearly inferior to the top …

Lahore is the only city in Pakistan worth spending multiple days in. It was one of the capitals of the Mughals, and it shows it. You can find wonderful treasures even on its outskirts, such as these Mughal-era buildings. They lie in what nowadays is a poor neighbourhood and we met several begging Afghani children outside the gates.

The first impression of this site is great: the striking red monumental gate decorated with pietra dura to enter the Akbari Sarai compound, the Safavid-inspired ‘throned’ mausoleum to the Mughal emperor Jahangir and his ‘tomb’ (actually a cenotaph, his remains are in a crypt underneath) inside which is a masterpiece of marble and precious stones. When you walk to the outer grounds near the other tombs, the state of conservation of it all severely deteriorates both due to contemporary vandalism and earlier destruction. Only a few remaining glazed tiles of once colourful muqarnas can be seen in the domed structures.

Two stories need to be told here: the link with the Taj Mahal and the destruction by the Sikhs.

• One of the tombs (upper photo) is of Asif Khan, who was the father of the person we know as Mumtaz Mahal – emperor Shah Jahan’s wife who is buried in the Taj Mahal. Asif Khan was the Grand Vizier (similar to a prime minister) during the reign of Shah Jahan. Asif Khan was also the brother of Nur Jahan, who was the chief consort of emperor …

I visited this tWHS during my roadtrip around Romania. It can easily be combined with a visit to one of the nearby cula (although they might not be the most representative location) and also with Horezu Monastery WHS on a long day if you leave early. I'm not a fan of modern architecture, and to me this is more of a national heritage than a site with outstanding universal value. We already have a far better representative on the list with this year's inscription of World War I memorial sites in Belgium and France.

The Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brancusi at Targu Jiu pays tribute to the Romanian heroes of World War I. The ensemble is made up of 3 main sculptures: the Table of Silence, the Gate of the Kiss, and the Endless Column on an axis 1.3 kilometres long, oriented west to east. The ensemble is considered to be one of the great works of 20th century outdoor sculpture. The ensemble was commissioned by the National League of Gorj Women to honor those soldiers who had defended Targu Jiu in 1916 from the forces of the Central Powers. Constantin Brancuși (1876-1957) was at the time living in Paris, but welcomed the opportunity to create a large commemorative sculpture in his homeland. He accepted the commission in 1935, but refused to receive payment for it. As a trivia, he lived in Cula Gheorghe Tatarescu for two years after accepting the commission.

The ensemble is also known as …

We visited this wonderful place in 2009 and we were really overwhelmed when entering, which means going downstairs. It is a really impressing site in Gujarat, where you can discover such a lot of beautiful places.

Stepwells are a very special form of subterranean water resource and storage systems on the Indian subcontinent, and have been constructed since the 3rd millennium BC. Till now I have not heared from stepwells in other countrys.

It is a spectacular building with a long and rich history, a long way off the beaten tourist tracks. We visited this place on a 8 day journey through Gujarat whith a driver from Ahmedabad and visited it, like al lot of other people together with the sun temple of Modhera, also an interesting and really worthy place. 

The fact it was buried for centuries and only recently excavated tells a fascinationg story. It was our first stepwell we have ever seen and we I like the general architecture.

There are so few world heritage sites connected to Aviation. Ideally this nomination will eventually evolve into a transnational nomination with the UK, the UAE, Singapore, and other nations where these early 'air stations' remain preserved.

Croydon Airport (UK)

Mahatta Fort (UAE)

Kallang Airport (Singapore)

1935 Map of Imperial Airways Routes

After the UAE gets their 2nd WHS, perhaps as early as 2025 (Faya), Al Mahatta Airport might be the next dossier queued up for UNESCO. I believe ICOMOS in this case might be preferential to a narrowed UAE nomination focusing on the airport, while also being supportive of a transnational site.

For most visitors about 1 to 1.5 hours will be sufficient time at the Al Mahatta Aviation Museum. It's a short ride to Sharjah Fort (Al Hisn), which I simply took an exterior photo. Walking around the Souq Al Shanasiyah there is a small building that includes archeological remains of the Old Souk. We had lunch at the 'Arabian Tea House Restaurant & Cafe - Sharjah' and then walked further down the Souk before arriving at the Sharjah Art Museum. I felt the 'Heart of Sharjah" is a perfectly fine (albeit small) cultural district, but does not add significantly to the nomination. 

As the Emirate of Sharjah is particularly active in the last few years regarding cultural heritage, I expect we will be seeing more nominations in the coming years.

I am going to hijack this Indian TWHS to share something related to the wider Grand Trunk Road. After all, the Grand Trunk Road reached from the east of Bangladesh to Kabul, connecting the Indian subcontinent with Central Asia. This trajectory now crosses the countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

The town of Attari is one of the serial components proposed by India; this is the border town with Pakistan and the venue of the daily Wagah-Attari border ceremony. While travelling through Pakistan, I managed to watch this ceremony from the Pakistani side. Attending it from either side is a travel bucket list thing and it even exceeded my high expectations.

So, since 1959 India and Pakistan have lowered their flags in a joint effort to mark the daily closure of this border crossing on the Grand Trunk Road. It lies only about 30km from Lahore and makes for a fine half-day trip from there. It’s probably better set up to receive tourists than anything else in Pakistan: there are a café, snack vendors and toilets next to the parking lot where you have to wait til about 30 minutes before the ceremony starts. My phone thought I’d crossed the border already and pinged “Welcome to India. The rates are…”.

Once the guards lift the barrier, you may walk to the actual border. Along the way Pakistani flags are sold and ‘make-up artists’ are available to paint your face in green and white. Banners show the …

As was the case for Els, I wasn't expecting much from Mazagan but it turned out to be a very positive visit. Even its evaluation report widely praised it, with hardly any contestation. It is a reminder of a cardinal rule in appreciating World Heritage Sites: it is not all about beauty, the superlatives, and the thrills one can offer; rather look for what makes it exceptional and unique. I spent two half-days and one night in the small fortified city, so I was able to witness its splendor in broad day light, its quiet evening charm, as well as its bemusing side when it was totally shrouded in thick fog during the early morning walk along the walls. My interest in making this review was rekindled by my recent meeting with Dr. Jorge Correia, an Iberian colonial architecture professor from Portugal who did seminal studies on this Portuguese fort in the early 90s. It was a most providential encounter while he was visiting the churches and fortifications in my area. The findings of their studies were later on used as the backbone of the nomination of Mazagan into the World Heritage Site list. As he explained, if Mazagan were in Europe, it would hardly stand out. But its presence in Africa made the ultimate difference as its construction marked the very point when there was no turning back for the empire's expansion pursuits and that the important monuments are largely in tact considering that they are some of the …

I visited 3 "coules" or culas while driving around Romania. From the little information about this rural tWHS and based on the photos from other reviewers, I was going to skip them since I had quite a fair share of WH locations around Romania already on my "to visit" list. That said, just after visiting Horezu Monastery WHS, John Smaranda texted me to remind me that I should really put in a small effort to take in the nearby locations of Cula Duca and Cula Greceanu. I asked him again whether it was worth the small detour, and he sparked my curiosity be replying "Depends on your expectation level!". Well, I had no expectation at all and I wanted to avoid more near misses, so I drove towards Măldărești, Vâlcea, in the Oltenia region of Romania.

Visiting times are quite restricted and like other place in Romania, even during summer, an old lady with the keys lets you in for a small combined fee or you can call her number displayed near the gate (closed on Mondays). Apart from the etymology of the word "cula", the Ottoman influence is very clear upon viewing Cula Duca from a distance. By visiting the interior of the different floors you get a glimpse of the now tranquil rural setting enjoyed by nobility, but the lofty thick walls and exterior of these tower houses hint quite well at how nobility had to make sure their safety was guaranteed at all times. They were …

My visit to Orhei Vechi was made in October 2023, I had already been touring Moldova for several days, and I have to say that in general Moldova, unlike what many people think, is a country that has many interesting places to offer, I find it incredible that Moldova only has the ridiculous Struve Geodesic Arc as the only WHS. Orhei Vechi is undoubtedly one of those places that should be inscribed within the world heritage of Moldova.

To get to Orhei Vechi I took a Marshrutka from the central bus station of Chisinau towards the village of Butuceni, I must mention that this village itself is quite picturesque and interesting, it is a traditional Moldovan village, wooden houses painted blue and a quite pleasant rural atmosphere, from the village there is a path that ascends to the cliffs where the incredible views of Orhei Vechi are located with an imposing monastery (where a wedding was taking place), a tower and a cross, nearby there is also another cave monastery dug into the rock. I took the last marshrutka to Chisinau again, leaving at 15:45pm, remember to go early in the morning to make the most of the time in the area.

The city of Multan has several early monumental Sufi tombs, a bit similar to Uch Sharif which lies 135 km to the south. Singled out here is the tomb of Shah Rukn-e Alam, built in the 1320s and considered the earliest example of Tughluq architecture. The Tughluqs were a Turkish tribe that ruled Delhi at the time.

It’s an octagonal tomb with tapering walls. The exterior brickwork is embellished with alternating layers of wooden beams and glazed turquoise and blue tiles. You have to concentrate on it for some time to see the fine details, but it is spectacular. Its design inspired the later tombs of Uch Sharif. It is completely preserved (although the original had more tiling inside) and kept in good condition by the Auqaf Department of Punjab Province (which won them an Aga Khan Award in 1977).

The tomb still receives a steady stream of worshippers. They bring rose petals bought from a vendor at the entrance to throw on the coffin.

I don’t see this tomb becoming a WHS on its own (especially with Uch Sharif looming), but when they extend the scope of the site to the ‘Historic Islamic city of Multan’ its chances would certainly improve. Multan was an important medieval trade city connecting the Indian subcontinent with the wider Islamic world and it was covered by Ibn Battuta on his travels. We visited three other notable buildings in this city (and there are many more):

1. Tomb of Baha-ud-Din …

Zagori is a World Heritage Site just the way I like it: a beautiful landscape, vernacular architecture, great hiking opportunities and not crowded with tourists.The inscription in 2023 was controversial. It was initially proposed as a mixed site, ICOMOS recognised the cultural OUV, but IUCN had concerns about the biodiversity criterion. They proposed extending the core zone to include the entire Northern Pindos National Park. The final compromise was to inscribe Zagori only for its cultural values (criterion v only). Most visitors come to Zagori for the nature, but that may now change after inscription. I came for both, nature and culture, and was not disappointed by either.

Cultural values in Zagori mean in particular the villages, the stone stairways and the stone arch bridges. For centuries, these bridges and steps were the only connection between the villages. The modern road network was only opened in the 1950s. If you find a small car park at the side of the road, you can assume that a stone bridge is not far away. Two of the most beautiful are the three-arched Plakidas (or Kalogeriko) bridge (photo) near the village of Kipoi and, nearby, the Noutsou (or Kokkoros) bridge (photo in Els' review), with its picturesque location between two high rock faces. The area near the villages of Kipoi and Koukouli is a hotspot for these stone bridges. On a loop of about 10 kilometres you can hike to six bridges. All types are represented: one, two and three arches.The Vradeto …

It was nice to practice the little Spanish that remains in me in this medina. Filipinos certainly find this city of a particular interest as one of our colonial churches has a massive pediment relief beautifully portraying the Battle of Tetouan. Tetouan, however, easily pales in comparison to the royal capitals as no monument truly stands out there, but it delivers in showing how a smaller medina that has largely escaped developments looks like. It is noted for its supposed high authenticity (which means car parking even outside the walls can be a nightmare). It truly is hard to differentiate the medinas as they all look the same from the outside, so chances of seeing their unique propositions are better noticed and visualized in the interiors (it was still not easy to the untrained eye!). Hence, the earlier recommendation to stay in one of the traditional riads is one that I took without regret as it also allowed one to see the medina from the roof top across various times of the day.

My best memories were the early morning rounds when the medina was just waking up. In this regard, the Mellah and El Aioun were most interesting, and the Mellah was probably the Jewish quarter that I enjoyed the most in Morocco. While in there, the Ensanche should not be missed too. Any prospect of an Extension to include this grid-planned quarter would be a nod further to Tetouan's Hispanic connections.

It is easy to pit …

The Desert Forts of Cholistan are a fairly recent addition to Pakistan’s Tentative List, so its potential OUV is better described than that of the earlier ones. The forts were built to enable and protect trade caravan routes and safeguard scarce water resources in the Cholistan desert, which is the western part of the Thar desert. The tentative site is identified as a Silk Road gap as it represents the 'transport' side of the Route instead of its outcomes.

I only visited Derawar Fort, the best-known and most iconic of these Desert Forts. Its perfect row of bastions was awarded with a Google Doodle already. This fort doesn’t lie deep into the desert: while driving up there (on a paved road), we saw sand to the left of the road only for the final kilometers and irrigated fields to the right. It’s also surrounded by a village.

Derawar Fort was built in the 9th century AD by a Hindu Rajput ruler, but its current form dates from the 18th century when it was used by the Muslim Nawabs of Bahawalpur. The exterior, with 40 bastions and impressively high walls, is the best-preserved part. It consists of clay bricks put together in decorative patterns. The last restorations were done in 2019 by Pakistani authorities. 

The interior courtyard is the same mess as you’ll see at Lahore Fort or Rohtas Fort – everything is left to crumble, attracting graffiti and garbage. Only the prisoners’ cells and the hanging tower …