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After picking up my better half from Tunis airport, who I had missed so much during the first part of my trip to Tunisia, we went as a happy couple to the medina to spend a night at the Dar Ya hotel.

Having abandoned Wilson the mobile home in the guarded Mohammed V parking lot along the eponymous boulevard, we walked up the prestigious Habib Bourguiba Boulevard and then Avenue de France to the Bab el-Bahr gate, the main entrance to the medina from the French colonial city. Note that unlike Sousse and Kerouan, the walls of the medieval city (7th-16th century) were demolished at the end of the 19th century under the French protectorate.

How can you express your feelings once you've entered Jeema ez-Zitouna Street? The contrast between the colonial city and the medina is as strong as the Harissa of Cap Bon. The street is narrow and cluttered with all sorts of things, especially touristy ones, but it's worth pushing your way to the Great Mosque, then the western, northern, and southern parts of the city, which are more confidential and residential.

We stayed two days in the medina and you have to devote that much time to visiting it, because, yes, the medina has more than 700 remarkable monuments, most of them Islamic, in an extremely limited space, but they still have to be open to the public! And so for some of them we had to try twice, with no guarantee of success!

Luckily we …

I will not return to the very well-written descriptions of my predecessors of the various places on the general site of Carthage. Carthago delenda est exclaimed the Roman senator Cato the Elder at the end of each of his speeches. He spoke of Punic Carthage as a perpetual threat to Rome. Conversely, I have tried, like Els, to disregard the Roman city in favor of the Punic city; there are enough much more complete Roman ruins elsewhere in the Mediterranean, even in Tunisia, such as Tuburbo Majus, for example, which, due to a lack of exhaustive excavations, is not even proposed for the indicative list, even though the buildings there are much more complete.

So we parked Wilson's mobile home in the Byrsa Hill parking lot in front of Saint-Louis Cathedral (Late 19th century) and walked in Flaubert's footsteps to the excavation site. The entrance fee for non-residents hasn't changed since 2022. The excavations might seem a little disappointing if it weren't for the 180° panorama of the Bay of Tunis, the chic Carthage district below, and Cape Bon in the distance. Alas, I'd almost say: as usual, the museum and the cathedral were closed, and, in the middle of the excavations, there's this recumbent statue of the King of France, Louis IX, a little incongruous in the middle of this place of exceptional ancient historical importance.

We continued our route on foot through the Roman theater, which was of no interest, as it had been almost completely reworked under …

There are many defence structures around Azerbaijan for this tentative site and half are in Baku. Like most people I only visited the ones in Baku and I even did it in two parts. The ones at the sea further northwest are on a road you would be taking a tour bus on and private car wouldn't be worth going that way anyway. Previously I had visited Mardakan in the northeast PAST the airport. This time I did the other three. First, and easiest, is Sabayil Castle:

Wait? Where? Well, the castle is gone and only the walls remain UNDER the water. You can see it from the bay which you probably visit for the "epic" views. Baku Eye wasn't running and it was super hot but it was still a worthy visit. That there is an old castle in the bay wouldn't be known to just anyone. The most obvious pointer is a sign, a second would be the map we have. There is not much to see but birds (and those are boring sea gulls or ducks).

Second visit was Ramana Castle which most people use as their picture. The main reason is that it looks pretty good. You can see it from miles away and it's quite glorious even from close by. You cannot enter it even if they seemed to have plans to have visitors.

Third visit was Nardaran Fortress which is north of the town and maybe out of the way for most visitors. It …

The Ateshgah of Baku, often called the "Fire Temple of Baku", is a castle-like religious temple in Surakhany town. I copied this line plainly from Wikipedia and that's pretty much the ONLY factual thing you will remember from coming here. You will remember that it was horrible, hot and perhaps that parking was easy - but for the temple itself you will not remember more than the name and the constant flame coming out. Oh yes, one thing you will remember is that you paid a huge entrance fee for foreigners to see this place!! HUGE! I paid the same amount for Sheki and at least I got to see a nice house. Here you enter a small temple with crappy rooms (that usually contain NOTHING) and basically you paid for the flame in the middle. W...T...F?!

So excuse my Quebec French but you definitely want to miss out this place. There are technically some rooms with info as seen below but those are not worth it at all. I even saw a guide (you can even HIRE a guide!) taking a group through this and it's probably, wait it is SURELY, more interesting than just staring at the walls, flame, and empty rooms. I wouldn't want to spend money on that though because I mainly went here due to the tentative status and I think it's bad we follow their wishes as adding to the tentative site means more tourists will come to visit - I feel that's very …

Don't despair on the road coming from Ghedir Rebaia towards the entrance of Bouhedma National Park; it's always straight ahead until your path curves to the left: the main entrance to the park is straight ahead. Just avoid the ostrich nests in the asphalt.

Once you arrive there, the admission principle is the same as at the Ichkeul Lake National Park: you wait patiently for someone to arrive, this person arrives, asks you if you have official authorization to enter (which you have to get on the other side of Jebel Bouhedma, an hour's drive away), they phone for a long time and finally tell you that you can enter for half an hour until the administrative center of the park (10 dinars after negotiation). There, another ranger opened the door to the ecomuseum and commented on what is on display, including a timeline that explains the genesis of the creation of the park. It's incredible the energy that it takes to create a natural park and maintain it in this state; it wasn't built in a day !

Don't forget your passport, the ranger asked for mine when leaving the ecomuseum.

I find out that the trees in the savannah surrounding us are acacias (Acacia subs. raddiana) and that unfortunately, this park is one of the last refuges of this type of wooded steppe in North Africa.

Despite its reintroduction in 1986, according to the ranger, the last oryx in the park is the one stuffed in …

Although almost everyone who visits Peru, would take the southern route to get from Lima to Cusco, visiting the UNESCO sites of the Nasca Lines and Arequipa on the way, going straight through the Andes, visiting Ayacucho and Andahuaylas along the way, gives you a much more interesting experience, especially when travelling by public transport.

The city of Ayacucho, capital of the Ayacucho region, is worth a couple of days. Famous for its churches, and the nearby capital city of the Huari/Wari kingdom.The Battle of Ayacucho was the last armed clash between against Spaniards in the Peruvian War of Independence on 9 December 1924. The independent victory sealed the independence of Peru and South America. The is derived from the indigenous Quechua name Ayakucha meaning dead corner, because of all the casualties.

Once in Ayacucho, regular public transport is available, as the town next to the actual monument is very touristy. Don't forget to stop by the ruins of the former capital of the above mentioned Huari/Wari Kingdom. You can easily spend an hour there. Arriving in the town of Quinua it's still a decent walk, but tuktuks are readily available. The way to get to the monument itself is quite self-explanatory, and if not, just ask people. It really can't be missed.

It's just a meadow where people hang around. The monument itself is quite impressive for South American standards. Some explanatory texts can be found if you don't take the shortcut from the town. But once you've seen …

After reading Zoe's review on Songkhla’s proposed World Heritage nomination, I understood the frustration regarding the lack of accessible information on the location and on the values of the nominated sites. Fortunately, thanks to an expert friend from ICOMOS I met during the field trips in Cambodia and Vietnam, I received valuable guidance about the key places to visit and their cultural significance. This allowed me to better appreciate the uniqueness of Songkhla and its surrounding heritage landscape. The nomination appears to focus on the long history of multiple settlements around the Songkhla Lagoon, reflecting centuries of maritime trade, cultural exchange, and coexistence of different communities. The lagoon itself is central to this story: as the largest natural lake in Thailand, connected to the Gulf of Thailand by a narrow opening, it offered a safe anchorage for ships, a thriving fishing ground, and fertile land for settlement. Its sheltered waters facilitated early maritime networks and created a natural hub for exchange between inland communities and seafaring traders from across the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

The old town of Songkhla struck me as a charming and vibrant district, often described as a smaller version of George Town in Penang or Hoi An in Vietnam. It retains the lively atmosphere of a historic Chinese settlement, with rows of shophouses revealing layers of history through their architecture from elegant Sino-Portuguese façades to touches of Art Nouveau. The mix of commercial and residential functions still feels authentic, and the community life …

So it is written on the official UNESCO website in the tentative list that the Gabes oasis is unique because the palm grove would flow into the sea like a horde of little lemmings would throw themselves into the ocean?

I followed the advice of the tourist guides and went to the Kerouan bus station to take the "tourist" route of the oasis. There is indeed such a sign at this location. I quickly turned around and I completely agree with Stanislas, which I confirm: the authorities still have work to do to make the oasis a little more presentable. There are much more beautiful ones on the Kebili side. The place was so dirty and seemed so unstructured that I didn't even want to see if the shade of the palm trees really borders the beach... As the police say in case of an accident: move on! There's nothing to see!

Bad Kissingen

I'd like to provide an info about, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful Spa towns, Bad Kissingen. Happily I'm living in this town since 3 years and it's such a pleasure to be here. I've been to 7 Spa towns out of 11 (Bad Ems, Bad Kissingen, Baden Baden, Karlovy Vary, Marianski Lazne, Vichy, Montecatini Terme) and I think, BK is the most beautiful. Main building of Spa complex is Arkadenbau (on photo), builted by architect Friedrich von Gärtner in the beginning of 19 century. Same architect built a lot of nice buildings in whole Germany, including loggia Feldhernhalle in Odeonsplatz in Munich, exact copy of loggia in Florence, near Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi Gallery. Later on building was extended by architect Max Littmann with adding magnificent Regentbau, claimed to be theater with one of the best acoustic in the world! Such an acoustic exist because of decorations of cherry wood inside. On the other side of Arkadenbau there's Wanderhalle, spectacular building with several mineral springs inside and stage, which can turn around. Musicians could play inside and outside the building, depends on the weather. Like other Spa towns, Bad Kissingen has Casino and beautiful parks around. In one of the parks, Rosegarden, almost every evening there's a light show in the fountain, which looks simply amazing! BK also famous about connection with Otto von Bismarck, first chancellor of Germany, who stayed here several times. He loved town so much and locals loved him too. So …

When you are in Baku, and most likely stayed at the coast, you'll see this mountain. I stayed on both sides and had some further investigation into this. I figured it would be "Beverly Hills" style fancy houses up there due to the nice view but aside from a few it wasn't really the case. So when you are the bay you will see this across the entire landmass. It's IMPOSSIBLE to miss. You perhaps don't realize it's just a narrow mountain range from this side. It goes back down on the other side but it is much higher up too. The main road also goes around the bay so you will not have to drive up unless you are actually going to the mountain range.

I was on the west side first and then searched for spots to look beyond to the coastal bay area. There were two on the map. The first was north which actually said it was hiking. It's hot here so that wasn't the best idea in the first place but even then it didn't have proper pictures. The second was the southern lighthouse. From here you can see the southern bay area.

To get up here you have to drive to the neighborhood just to the north and a gate will lead out. You still want to be in the car going out as it's quite a bit to walk. Do NOT continue driving down. The map says it's the way to go but …

"Lake beyond trash pile" I wrote on my notes for this tentative. Well, it's not wrong. But I figured there would be SOMETHING to see. You DO get to see a lake beyond the trash I suppose, not that it's really nice or anything.

First off I tried to see it from the Lake Hotel. This should be a safe bet. Why would they place a hotel next to the lake and still have trash? For some reason they do! It's smelly and the path splits to "trash pile" on the right side. I took a pic from the hotel area but this is not the place where you want to be at all. After a quick chat with the security guard about the lake it turns out I should be at the north end of all this. You can see the pictures from there.

Not awesome but at least not as trashy. You can still see/drive past/smell the trash on the east side as you reach this place. Once there you have to go off-road for a brief moment or just walk from the main road. As I was arriving there was a gang of hoodlums beating up another hoodlum so I just drove past them...but yeah it's not a fancy area at all. It wasn't smelly at the north end and I did take a few more pics but it's NOT what you came to see. In fact the tar pit contains fauna and flora deposit which are …

Leaving the charming town of Kebili, I had planned to reach Ksar El Hallouf, but after leaving the P20 heading south towards Ksar Tarcine near Oum Ech Chia, entering an even more hostile desert, I was seized by an animal and irrational fear and I turned back. I already imagined that all four of Wilson's tires would burst simultaneously from the heat!

What a good decision!

Why? Because thanks to this, I was able to visit 1. The Berber village of Tamezret and 2. the troglodyte village of Matmata and 3. take a beautiful new asphalt road between Matmata and Ksar El Hallouf. These places are part of the serial property "Troglodyte habitat and the world of the ksour of southern Tunisia". Lucky.

I'm not going to list here all the places included in this serial site as there are so many of them and they are all undoubtedly worth visiting. As for me, I limited myself to visiting those already mentioned + Diar Armor which was on the route.

Tamezret is a Berber village reminiscent of Anatolia, so the scenery is very beautiful. I knew there was a Berber café at the top of the village, and I went there on foot. I pushed the absence of door. There, in the cool, half-light, was a young waitress and her grandfather. She served me a Berber coffee, which is actually a Turkish coffee except that she added orange blossom. Unscrewing with her, I learned that the Berbers have …

On a windy winter day, I visited the Fagus Factory, a pioneering work of modern architecture and today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Given the season, I expected the site to be quiet, but to my surprise the guided tour drew more than 25 participants, many of them architects or students of architecture. The visit began with a short documentary about the company’s history and its role in the shoe last industry. While the film was somewhat dry, watching it in a warm interior was a welcome start before braving the cold.

The Fagus Factory is not a single building but a complex of structures serving different functions, such as manufacturing, storage, and offices. Gropius was concerned with creating an overall design language that could unify these varied buildings. One of the key unifying elements is the use of brick, particularly a 40-centimeter-high, dark brick base that projects slightly from the façade. This feature appears repeatedly across the site, tying together the complex with a consistent rhythm. The most architecturally significant part of the ensemble is the office building, which broke with industrial conventions of the time. Instead of traditional load-bearing exterior walls, Gropius placed reinforced concrete columns inside, freeing the façade for innovation. The result was a building where glass dominates over brick, with iron frames suspending large glass panels and concealing the floor slabs with thin metal sheets. Most striking of all are the fully glazed exterior corners, which eliminated visible structural elements …

This site was an accidental surrendipitous discovery enroute to Wies Cathedral a ways back. Spotting a magnificent castle that looked very familiar from tour guides, we stumbled in. Only because it was a cold and rainy day was the line short for the much visited Neuschwanstein castle. It was a thrill to tour this fantastical palace of wild opulence hanging off cliffs with low hanging clouds adding a sense of drama. A lovely experience but testament to the extreme waste so called mad Ludwig was given to that made this castle interior only slightly furnished due to overspending. All in all, his design brilliance shone through and I was pleased with our visit.

It's hard to visit just Lothal without actually visisting Dholavira in the northwest. I consider Lothal a potential expansion along with 4-5 other sites. They all belong to the Harappan history and the museum at Dholavira explains this pretty well. I visited Lothal first before the others so at the time I didn't know but you get the idea later. Basically Lothal was the port city of the large town in the northwest. The entire area was Harappan (a word found in the city) that stretches beyond the borders to the nearby Pakistan. In the current political climate I don't see Pakistan and India working together for these extensions. I also don't see UNESCO allowing a Pakistan Harappan site even though worse has happened such as the Sundarbans and Iguacu. I also don't want to add much to this topic as it was hard enough to persuade the immigration that I'm visiting Dholavira as a tourist. More on that in another review.

I added this on my itinerary for the northwest. It's not too far from Ahmedabad but there is plenty to see in the area to make it worth a longer trip. The total included Dholavira, Rani-ki-Vav and the Sun Temple. I also added another day for Ahmedabad. In total there's plenty to do. After a few hours from Ahmedabad you will reach this place. It's very abandonded and the people here are mainly just working on removing grass. There is no museum and no entrance fee. Some Indian …

This is a complex WHS site with multiple listed locations. The dispersed spatial organization characteristic of human occupation on the island since the 9th century is difficult to grasp. Moreover, it made motorized travel and orientation difficult.

Before going there, I had no idea how the land ownership (called Menzel) is organized, nor how the different communities live together on the island, which gave the visit a kind of uncomfortable feeling of secrecy that I believe the other writer members of the WHST community shared.

But, let's stay positive and seize the beauty of the moment to visit some of the island's archetypal monuments, which are as follows:

1. Coastal mosques: the Sidi Yeti Mosque and the Sidi Jmour Mosque.2. Inland mosques: the Moghzel Mosque and the Bou Messouer Mosque.3. An underground mosque: Louta de Sedwikech.4. The Ghriba Synagogue.I visited also the Guellala Museum.

And then I took a photo of a water well, formerly an essential element of life on the island, when I could do it, and of an agricultural landscape characteristic of the island. It was all crowned with a stroke of luck with a traditional fishing scene, the zribas, which is a fixed method of fishing carried out using submerged fences made of palm leaves (the introductory photo). Another element of the intangible site "Knowledge, know-how, traditions and practices associated with the date palm" to note in my notebook!

From the first visit to the Sidi Yeti mosque, I was informed about the …

The Museo delle Palafitte del Lago di Ledro (Museum of Prehistoric Pile Dwellings) is a fascinating journey into a world over 4,000 years old. Located on the shores of the stunning Lake Ledro, this museum offers a unique and engaging experience that's well worth a visit.

What sets this museum apart is its incredible location. You can walk around the reconstructions of the pile dwellings, giving you a sense of what life was like in the Bronze Age. The setting itself is beautiful, making it feel less like a stuffy museum and more like a historical park. The detail in the reconstructed huts is impressive, and you can really imagine the daily lives of the people who once lived here.

Inside the main museum building, the exhibits are thoughtfully curated. They showcase a collection of tools, pottery, and other artifacts found. I particularly enjoyed the clear explanations, which bring the ancient history to life. It's easy to follow the story of the settlement and understand the significance of the objects on display.

Chott El Jerid, the favorite.

The Chott El Jerid is a geological depression and certainly a nervous breakdown for anyone who ventures there for too long. On the road to Tamerzat I said to myself: "If Wilson gets a flat tire here, I'll die!"

After passing the Jebel Berda pass which splits the wall of Oum Ali in two, the road crosses the Chott El Fejaj which already gives a small glimpse of what the Chott El Jerid will be like because, but no it was not a mirage, I saw for the first time in my life a real mirage.

I stayed at the campsite Les amis du camping in Kebili because I had planned to visit the Chott El Jerid the next morning in my own way, that is to say that I had seen on Google Map that on the road to Tozeur, at the height of the oasis of Souk El Ahad on the edge of the Chott El Jerid there are artesian wells probably built during the time of the French Protectorate. There is no place more strange and photogenic than these wells. The sulfurous water from the water table comes out of the ground at 65°C and is cooled by enormous concrete wings open to all winds before being directed towards canals that feed the oasis. There are several of them that dot the landscape. It is simply magical!

The advantage of staying at the campsite is that it is located in an oasis, …

Based on visitor experiences and reviews within our community, I decided to skip the Supreme Water Temple Pura Ulun Danu Batur and Lake Batur. I wanted to avoid especially long drives, the potential for being stuck in terrible traffic, over-tourism, and aggressive vendors.

We spent 6 nights in Bali. Three nights near Ubud (about 6 km Southwest of the city) and 3 nights in Sanur. Since the Royal Water Temple Pura Taman Ayun was the closest location to our hotel, this was our first Bali Temple (via taxi). We enjoyed the temple in the late afternoon (until closing) and made it back to the hotel with ease, no substantial traffic, nor need to hire a driver. The temple grounds are beautiful and our excitement grew knowing that there was so much more to see in Bali.

Both trips below were possible by hiring a driver via Klook for 6 hours. Affordable and convenient, the Klook app made the process even easier.

Trip #1 Subak Landscape of Catur Angga Batukaru

• Pura Luhur Batukaru Temple
• Jatiluwih Rice Terraces

When we visited the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, the rice harvest had only begun 1-2 weeks beforehand. Farmers were preparing the rice to be dried (as seen here). While this did somewhat lesson the Rice Terraces scenic quality having less water, it was interesting to see the process. We walked the full circular route, even making a short stop at Luhur Besikalung Temple.

Nearby is the Batukaru Temple and upon arrival we noticed …

Estonia’s Tentative List isn’t exactly a cause for excitement, and an entry just called “Wooded meadows” sounds even less appealing than “Baltic Klint”. Still, these wooded meadows are a typical feature of Northern Europe (it was a common land practice during the Middle Ages), and Estonia is one of the last places where farmers still use them. It is proposed as a mixed site and a cultural landscape. The natural part comprises the wooded areas, and the local farmers added the “meadows” to it: they mow them or let their animals graze there between the trees. By clearing the undergrowth, the trees grow tall but stand quite far apart. Hay, wood, nuts and fruits are harvested. The farmers must continually maintain this to keep the meadows intact and prevent the forest from reclaiming them (it reportedly takes 5-10 years for a meadow to fully disappear).

The Tentative Site description lists 8 places all around Estonia where you can see Wooded meadows. I went to the Halliste wooded meadow, known on maps as Tõramaa wooded meadow. It’s quite a drive into a sparsely inhabited and forested region, and the last part of the road isn’t even paved. It lies in Soomaa National Park, a former TWHS, which wanted to major in peat, but the Estonians wisely gave up on that idea.

Tõramaa is an established site with a picnic spot and a viewing platform, and also the departure point for a hiking trail. Well, the hiking wasn't going to happen …