Blog WHS Visits
WHS #880: Makli, Thatta
There are some WHS on the List where it is hard to imagine what they are about and what they look like before you visit it. For me that always has been the case with “Makli, Thatta”. What’s Makli and what’s Thatta? Well, Makli means “little Mekkah” and is the name of the site, while Thatta is the name of the city it belongs to. The site is usually described as a necropolis, but I believe it is not really about the number of burials. It stands out for its set of monumental tombs and mausolea created in different styles by local dignitaries, who wanted to be buried near the shrine for the Sufi scholar Shaikh Jamali.
Makli was already inscribed in 1981, which seems a little early as although it is a nice site to visit it can hardly be seen as globally influential in any way; it’s more the eclectic result of a local building tradition. There is little info to go on why exactly it was made a WHS. It went through a re-focus stage post-inscription (including a name change) as described here, as the earliest incarnation seemed to suggest that other monuments in the city of Thatta were inscribed too. But only Makli is.
The entrance fee, as at all other WHS in Sindh Province, nowadays is 3,000 rupees (about 10 USD) for foreigners. It’s a vast site, impossible to cover fully on foot, with alternating areas of little interest and eye-catching monumental tombs. Our guide went on a bit about this being “the largest cemetery in the world” (not the one in Iraq, which he also was aware of), but this seems merely an example of the (often very local) chauvinism not based on facts that is common in Pakistan.
In the end, we just went to see the prettiest mausolea. To my untrained eye, they display two distinct styles of architecture. One is the local Chaukhandi style (sandstone structures with fine carvings, named after the exquisite nearby TWHS of the Chaukhandi Tombs), and the other is an adaptation of Central Asian and Persian dome-type structures with glazed tiles. A few of the latter have undergone recent renovations, mostly focusing on the exterior tilework (the Tomb of Diwan Shurfa Khan may be the best example of this). ‘The man with the keys’ is needed to open up the most precious ones, as the entrance gates to the individual mausolea are usually locked to prevent vandalism. The heavily eroded site also suffers from winds blowing in plastic trash.
After we had seen several of the tombs we asked what the green building in the distance was. It turned out to be the Sufi shrine dedicated to the Baghdadi scholar Abdullah Shah Ashabi. An electric vehicle was summoned to bring us there. The shrine is fairly small, but large crowds of pilgrims still are said to come here on Fridays. We met a few people inside. The inner courtyard holds two huge cauldrons: here food is cooked to be handed out for free to the worshippers and/or the needy.
We spent about 2 hours at Makli, which I felt was enough. It is recommended to go in the late afternoon to get the best pictures of the tombs. Upon leaving, we were invited to tea by the site manager – the first of many such ‘ceremonies’ we were to undergo in the next 2 weeks. He said he greets all foreign visitors. There is sort of a WHS plaque, which unfortunately I did not manage to locate, but they also have a pretty sign displaying the most notable tombs and the WH logo.
Els - 10 December 2023
Blog Countries
Top Tips for Saudi Arabia
I just spent 8 days in Saudi Arabia. It hadn’t been high on my travel wish list, but it presented itself as a convenient stop-over on my way to Pakistan. You can find my itinerary here. I am glad that I did it, despite the pitfalls described below: Saudi Arabia never has been as open before as it is now. Maybe it’s better to go in 5 years when they have ‘finished’, but who knows which way the political winds will blow then? Herewith are some tips for travelling to Saudi Arabia as a WH Traveller.
1. They don’t adhere to the WHS Commandments
Saudi must be among the worst followers of the WHS Visitor Commandments – you’ll hardly find anything that could pass for a plaque, most sites are first inscribed and only afterward made ready to receive tourists, there can be unannounced closures when bigwigs show up and they don’t like you looking around on your own at archeological sites. There usually is some on-site explanation available in Arabic and English, but it is generally of little depth.
They seem to have created a few Commandments of their own though, such as: “Don’t open a site before the shops and restaurants are ready”. Or: “Hide places from sight that look unrestored or are not instagrammable, by surrounding them with huge cardboard walls!”
2. Don’t expect to see ancient or pretty mosques.
Saudi Arabia’s current WHS don’t hold any Islamic religious sites. You won’t find anything here like the monumental building tradition of the Umayyads or the Timurids, or even the fine rural Sudanese-style mosques. The Saudi kind of Islam does not care for them - they have to be large, practical and with modern amenities such as air conditioing and clean toilets. Even in Medina, where the first mosques of the world originated, their foundations have been erased. Anything that looks remotely pretty likely dates back to Ottoman times (such as the Mosque of Al-Ghamama in Medina, photo 2).
3. Be aware that practical info is outdated within a year
Things change fast at the moment in Saudi Arabia, each year new possibilities are opening up. So any practical advice you find online from before 2021 is useless, expect everything to be more available and generally easier/better/more convenient. And leave the abaya at home: the official dress code nowadays is ‘keep your shoulders and knees covered’, and you really don’t have to go beyond that.
4. It isn’t that expensive
It’s not a cheap country, but still, prices of groceries, food in restaurants, taxi rides, etc are lower than in NW Europe or the USA. Entrance fees barely exist, but there also isn’t a lot that you can really enter. You can pay for everything everywhere with a credit card. Except for the taxi drivers in AlUla!
I see no reason to “do Saudi Arabia” on a tour nowadays – those tours still are very costly, similar to when Saudi Arabia was ‘closed’. Daily rates of 400-600 EUR are common, and then you still have to pay for your own food and are expected to tip. I read that it is because of the high hotel costs and the high fees earned by Saudi guides (the main reason I think is because they need to organize through a Saudi agency). I spent 215 EUR a day in the country (excluding international flights and visa, but including food, 4 domestic flights and a return ticket on the superfast train to Medina).
5. Public transport is improving
I covered my whole itinerary by public transport, using domestic flights, rideshare taxis, and trains to get around. I flew with FlyNas 4x. They are a budget airline (you even have to pay for water), but were always on time and did not check the height/weight of hand luggage. I had 3 rideshare taxi apps on my phone: Uber, Careem and Kaiian. I ended up using Uber the most in the big cities as I could pay with a card that way. Kaiian is the best for AlUla (see my Hegra review for specifics). They’re working on improving the inner city public transport, which is still almost non-existent. Riyadh plans to finish its first metro line in 2024 and they already have neat airconditioned bus stops for an expanding bus network. Jeddah and AlUla have plans as well.
6. It will teach you about subjects the average history podcast doesn’t
Overall, I did find it ‘interesting’ as you learn about the early history of Islam and early Arab civilizations. For me, Hegra and Medina were the highlights, with honourable mentions for the National Museum and the archaeological site of Dadan (photo 3). But travelling here can be pretty boring as well and 8 days was enough for me: the food is dull, the cities offer few sights, and the whole colour scheme of the country is comprised of one drab, sandy colour.
Els - 3 December 2023
Blog TWHS Visits
Hejaz Railway
Nabatean Hegra may be its main tourist attraction nowadays, but Saudi Arabia’s Unique Selling Point is being the custodian of the two holy sites of Islam: Mecca and Medina. No less than four TWHS are directly related to the pilgrimages to these sites. There are three Hajj Road serial transnational sites, of which the Darb Zubaydah seems to be prepared at the moment as a joint nomination between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. And there’s also the Hejaz Railway, which despite the “transport” theme also is closely associated with the Islamic pilgrimage route. The Islamic pilgrimage routes probably are the closest the Saudis will get to putting forward its holy sites as WHS (Mecca’s Kaaba is #9 of our Missing List).
My first encounter with this subject was at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. At the moment they are hosting a special exhibition called ‘Hijrah’. It tells the story of how the Prophet Mohammed fled from Mecca to Medina to avoid persecution. Although this seems like a difficult and intangible theme, they found clever solutions to bring the message across also to non-Muslim visitors. Large video screens show his journey day by day and the desolate landscapes he passed through, alternated with works by modern artists (among them many female).
The Hejaz Railway entered Saudi Arabia from the northwest, bringing pilgrims from Turkey and Syria – essentially it was the early 20th century version of the Syrian Hajj Road. The remains of the old railway station of AlUla can be found in the center of that town. They have created a neat little park around it (even with a bike path!) but the buildings are fenced off and seem to be in a bad condition. There isn’t much interpretation beyond “this was a railway station plus some administrative buildings”. Water provisioning was much needed at every station, here in AlUla it came as a wind-driven pump that supplied a twin-tank water tower from two wells. Across the street, two wooden carriages have been preserved. I didn’t notice any remains of the railway tracks.
Medina was the end station of the Hejaz Railway. Originally the trains were meant to continue as far as Mecca, but that never happened after a successful tribal campaign in 1907 claiming the loss of revenue from transporting pilgrims on camelbacks. Mecca and Medina nowadays are served by railways: the high-speed Haramain Rail connects both holy sites via Jeddah. The wagons come from Spain, the slick but understated railway stations were designed by the firm of Norman Foster. I used this train to visit Medina on a day trip from Jeddah; it takes under 2 hours.
The Haramain train isn’t used only by pilgrims, and that was probably true for the Hejaz Railway as well. I noticed plenty of businessmen, families and regular commuters using the train to get from Jeddah to Medina. Despite its holy connotations, it’s also ‘just’ another large Saudi city with one million+ inhabitants. There is nothing of note along the way, no other cities, only flat and uninspiring desert for over 400km.
In the city of Medina, I used the Hop-on Hop-off bus to get a first look at its sights. The old Hejaz Railway station has its own stop, but when booking the bus ticket online it showed that this stop was unavailable due to road works going on and the railway museum being closed. Just another case of unfortunate Saudi closures? We did pass it from a distance and I got unobstructed views, so after the tour, I decided to just walk there from the Prophet’s Mosque in the city center (in contrast to the modern station, which lies just outside the Haram area, the Hejaz one lies firmly within its borders). You have to cross a few multi-lane streets but it isn’t far and there are pavements. I arrived around 2 pm and the sun was just on the wrong side to get good shots of the station’s pretty façade. But it is worth walking around it, as the back is just as good and you can see that this was a ‘real’ railway station with remaining tracks and wagons. I am sure when the museum reopens, it will be a worthwhile visit.
Els - 26 November 2023
Comments
Els Slots 2 December 2023
Yes, except for the interior of the Holy Mosque of the Prophet
CugelVance 2 December 2023
Els,one question,please: is it possible to enter Medina for non-moslems without any restrictions??
Thanks
Blog Connections
Best Visited on a Bicycle
At first, I thought it was only me, noticing how many WHS I have visited using a bicycle as my main means of transport, as I practically grew up on a bicycle in the Netherlands. But then I saw other community members doing it too – even Hubert from mountainous Austria! And long-distance cyclist Michael Ayers has proven that you can cycle almost anywhere. There are just so many WHS where a bicycle is the right kind of transport.
What advantages does a bicycle have?
If you have to choose between walking and cycling, the advantage of a bicycle is that it takes you just that bit further. It’s ideal for distances between 15 and 40km and perfect for exploring serial sites or cultural landscapes that are spread out.
Choosing between driving and cycling, a bicycle will give you of course that breath of fresh air. But also more of a ‘feel’ for a certain area (cultural landscapes again come to mind), as you move through it more slowly. You can also take smaller paths and don’t need to worry about parking. And it’s cheaper to rent a bike than a car.
Which WHS are best suited to a visit on a bicycle?
I've searched all our reviews for the term "cycle". After weeding out some dynastic, agricultural and climatic cycles, over 100 WHS were left. I then also excluded those where a bicycle was just used as door-to-door transport. The remaining ones come in four categories:
1. Popular choices
A fairly large number of WHS come with a clear bicycle infrastructure for tourists. They are usually recommended for cycling by more than one of our reviewers. These sites include Angkor (The Small Circuit), Bagan (more popular by e-scooter nowadays), Bali Subak System, Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz, Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, Kinderdijk, Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, Muskauer Park, Neolithic Orkney, Polonnaruva, Rapa Nui (though the big circle (45km) is better done using an e-bike), Reichenau, San Antonio Missions (Photo 1), Schokland, Southern Öland, Stari Grad Plain, Sukhothai, Trang An, and Wachau Cultural Landscape.
2. Good finds
Individual reviewers discovered the following alternative ways to visit the following WHS on a bicycle, where it isn't common practice:
- Ancient Kyoto: Daniel wrote, “With a mountain bike it is possible to visit all interesting sites east of the river in one day. ... And nearly all sites have free bicycle parking".
- Berlin Modernism Housing Estates: Michael Turtle: “visited three of the six apartment blocks, using a rental cycle to get between them and then back to my accommodation in the centre of Berlin”.
- Białowieża Forest: Jakob even crossed the border into Belarus and spent 6 hours exploring the paths in the forest.
- Carthage: Els visited the spread-out locations on a guided bike tour (Photo 2).
- Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape: Tom about Gwennap Mining District, "a good way to see this subsite is to cycle the 11 mile miners' track”.
- Talayotic Menorca: Els: “The distances between the sites in the southeast of Minorca are perfectly suitable for cycling.“)
3. For the intrepid cyclists
The bicycle expeditions below are probably not to be repeated by others, as they require serious preparation, fitness, or a general adventurous demeanor:
- Aasivissuit – Nipisat: Michael Ayers rode through the core zone from Kangerlussuaq airport, but you have to bring your own bicycle.
- Fertö/Neusiedlersee: Hubert cycled around the entire Austrian part of the lake (a total of approximately 80 km).
- Galapagos Islands: Tonisan explored the Santa Cruz highlands, cycling all the way back to Puerto Ayora. "I only recommend doing that if you don't mind getting wet because of the mist and full of mud, and I must say it is physically challenging.”
- Hué: Els rented a bicycle to see some of the places outside the city. "But the road quickly deteriorated, the signposting got more erratic, the sun warmer and the hills higher. At one moment I even found myself and my bicycle on the very dusty AH1 highway between Hanoi and Saigon". (At least they have bike parking, Photo 3)
- Nemrut Dag: Emyr shares: “I cycled up there in 1988 - 21 years ago!!!. It took all day. I remember being knackered by the time I reached the top”.
- Route of Santiago de Compostela: Walter: “I decided that I needed to complete the 700 km in order to tick off the site. Lacking time, I decided to cycle the route.”
4. Mentioned as an option
It is funny to see that reviewers mention taking a bicycle as an option more often than they actually use one. And they often also already include the excuse for not doing so (Uphill! Strong winds!). But still, these may inspire future visitors: Ayutthaya, Beemster Polder (strong winds), Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe (a lot uphill), Brazilian Atlantic Islands (but there’s a convenient bus system), Canal du Midi (on the old towpath along the canal, but takes a couple of days), Evaporitic Karst and Caves (one needs some training), Ferrara (Po Delta), Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Isole Eolie, Ohrid Region, Pampulha, Par force hunting landscape, Pico Island (the northern part), Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos, Site of Xanadu, St. Petersburg, Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine (for the trip to Black Trout Adi), Taxila, The Four Lifts, and Val d'Orcia.
Are there other WHS that come to your mind that are well-suited to be explored on a bicycle?
Els - 19 November 2023
Comments
Astraftis 21 November 2023
I add myself to those mentioning the Curonian Spit: it is absolutely the best way to experience it from an extremity to the other, as there is a nice route which is mostly distant from the car road. I did it from Juodkrantė to Nida using a local bike rent which allowed me to drop the bike at the arrival. There are also companies offering bike tours.
Durian 21 November 2023
Ten years ago, cycling was a popular way to see the whole town of Luang Prabang. Every hotel has bicycle for guest to rent.
jonathanfr 20 November 2023
Maybe we could create a connection?
Solivagant 20 November 2023
@Els "I think cycling hasn't been a real option for Kathmandu anymore in the past 30 years, Solivagant. Due to the traffic, dust and air pollution".
I have done a check and there are a lot of Bike hire companies still in Kathmandu - now offering mountain bikes for longer trips but still marketing them for trips in the city and around the Valley as well.
Michael Ayers 19 November 2023
Just adding my stamp of approval. :-)
Shandos Cleaver 19 November 2023
Another great option for cycling is Lord Howe Island. The island is fairly compact, so nearly all visitors hire a bicycle, to supplement the shuttles provided by the accommodation to/from airport and restaurants in the evening. Car hires are quite limited.
We also hired bicycles to explore Keoladeo National Park in India. It was the perfect speed for a brief visit spotting birds alongside the path.
Plus, in Sri Lanka, we used bicycles at Anuradhapura as well as Polonnaruva.
Silivagant 19 November 2023
No mention of Luxor/Karnak....we have twice used bike hire to see the sites there again some years ago. Maybe the security arrangements nowadays make this more, difficult I remember us taking our bikes over the hills from the Valley of the Kings and down to Queen Hatsepshut's tomb. An ideal site for bikes... Many separate places which are a bit too far aooart for walking and a bit too close for a car. Yes it can be hot but perfectly doable .
Another site I remember cycling at was Hoi An....
Jakob 19 November 2023
We visited quite a number of WHS by bike. We had Bromptons ans this Summer even our ordinary bikes with us.
Sites where biking enhanced the experience immensly:
- curonian spit: nice 45km Trip from Nida toKlaipeda
-bialowieza, perfect to explore the belarussian Site
- lots of places in the NL: -Kinderdijk (this time we couldnt park anywhere, thus had to skip)
- Beemster Polder
- Water Defense line, e.g at Utrecht
Amsterdam canal Ring
- Grand Guerre sites around Ypern
- Dessau Wörlitz combined with Bauhaus
- Parforce near Copenhagen
- Potsdam Palaces, best way to see most of them in one day, unfortunately restrictions are in place
- Sukhothai, cheap to rent
- Dresden Elbe Valley
Sites, where I wished I had a bike with me:
- Hadrian Wall
- Wachau
Many cities can be best visited by bikes and just as a roadtrip by camper, in dense WHS regions its fun to go from one WHS to the other.
Zos 19 November 2023
Beijing is cycling friendly again with dedicated bike lanes. And there are different shared bike options you can use. One can cycle from Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, Central Axis, Grand Canal and Summer Palace within a day.
Els Slots 19 November 2023
I think cycling hasn't been a real option for Kathmandu anymore in the past 30 years, Solivagant. Due to the traffic, dust and air pollution.
Can Sarica 19 November 2023
I had cycled the Angkor long tour a few years ago and it was definitely my best WHS experience. This summer, I visited the San Antonio Missions on bike. The bike-sharing system is really making the visit so enjoyable and convenient there.
Another location to cycle may be Rideau Canal. The path besides the canal is suitable for a bike ride and stretches from Ottawa river to Mooney’s Bay. However, there is no bike share system in Ottawa but only a e-scooter system.
Hubert 19 November 2023
I also like exploring WHS by bicycle. I used a bicycle at about 20 WHS, and at a few TWHS (yes, Via Appia was quite bumpy). You have a different view of the surroundings than by car, you can stop wherever you want and reach spots that are not accessible by car. And it's often time-saving, even in Japan where public transport is excellent (Asuka TWHS). It's perfect for large garden landscapes like Potsdam, Lednice-Valtice, Dessau-Wörlitz or vineyards (Saint Emillion, Burgundy)
My most memorable bike tours are Kyoto, Fujisan (the area near Lake Kawaguchi), Orkneys, Loire Valley (a 40 km route), Curonian Split.
If you use a rental bike, the quality is crucial for the fun. I have experienced this on the Orkneys. There was only one small bike rental in Stromness, with only five bikes, none of good quality. And in Japan: don't take a mamarachi bike, it can be exhausting, especially if you are taller than 1.60 m. The best option is always a mountain bike.
And yes, you can take an e-bike, but that's for wimps.
Ian Cade 19 November 2023
A few months too early perhaps, but last week at the Roman end of the Via Appia was full of cyclists (and it seems Hubert added it to his list of sites he explored by by bike as well). Will probably need a mountain bike as those cobbles looked pretty erratic, though my Flemish friends were very excited by the prospect when I sent through pictures.
Solivagant 19 November 2023
Sukhothai and Ayutthaya must surely still be ideal cycling sites - we did so as "recently" as 2017. Bike rentals were much in evidence
Looking back over the Years......
Hue - may be "adventurous" now but was the "normal" way of seeing it in 1994! There were no motorways - a peaceful trip with a pleasant ferry ride on the way
Others from the past we did
Beijing - 1989 - Then was by far the easiest way to see the entire city through the quiet hutongs! The main problem was finding one's bike among the thousands in the bike parks!
Suzhou also for getting quickly around all the gardens - in 1989 we left the bikes outside each of them with no problems. Now???
Kathmandu - Around the city and out into the countryside to see Boddhanath and Swayambu (1975)
Blog WHS website
Things I learned from rewriting the site intros
Earlier this year I started rewriting the site intro texts to make them more consistent and appealing. The idea was to turn them into an Executive Summary of the WHS: what is it, why was it inscribed and what has the community to say about it (as written down in the reviews). It proved to be a huge amount of work, on average one WHS took me 15 minutes. I now have 95% completed and hope to finish the project before I embark on my next trip later this week.
During the process, I also made hundreds of small changes to the individual site pages which have improved their overall quality. Think of standardizing the size of the main photo, removing blank lines, updating specific visitor requirements (free entrances, guided tours only, etc), small name changes, and adding overlooked locations. And I took note of some remarkable, unintentional findings which are listed below.
I love one-sentence quotes that define a site: As I was aiming to summarize, I was glad to find single sentences within reviews that cover the site beautifully. Like “Falun gives you a real sense of how heavy industry can alter a landscape”, or “Prague is Europe in a nutshell and on a budget”, or “You need to really love rock formations and hard-to-see petroglyphs to get much out of it” (Talampaya). Or the honest ”The statue was large and the queues were long” (Statue of Liberty) and the concise: “It’s brick walls” (Nalanda).
The UNESCO pages aren’t static either: Adding the Retrospective OUV Statements has been a great improvement by the WHC Bureau. But sometimes smaller changes have been made too, reflecting later corrections. So Hal Saflieni went from the Bronze to the Neolithic Age, Hollókö from the 17th-18th centuries to the 18th-19th centuries, the discovery of the Son Doong Cave was added to the description of Phong Nha and the history of Gorée has been revised.
The site and its OUV can be a mystery: Some sites were particularly tough as they have no full OUV statement available (like Porec, Tongariro, Agra Fort) or the prose is unclear (like Wartburg, Naples). I found all of India's WHS hard, often weird sentences in the OUV statements appear there such as “comprising deep layers of deposited rock and detritus overlain by sandy loam and a layer of humus represented by bhabar tracts in the north” (Manas).
Countries often have their own peculiarities: As I did them country by country, I started seeing common threads. Portugal seems to still be preoccupied with its independence from Spain, while Russia glorifies colonization and Christianization of remote parts of its territory. Iran loves its qanats and Bulgaria’s sites are often tiny in scope. Spain stands out for not really adhering to the WHS visitor commandments, with frequent complaints about its very Spanish opening hours (closed Mondays and between 1 and 5 p.m.), the necessity of joining guided tours (in Spanish of course) and outdated ‘no photography inside’ regulations.
The level of interest among reviewers varies greatly per site: Sometimes one great review seems to stimulate the posting of other memorable ones (Orkney, Ujung Kulon, Ischigualasto/Talampaya), while about other sites everybody essentially says the same. The summarizing I think turned out best when people visited different components, did it in different ways, or expressed different opinions. In other cases I have just pointed out the “star review”, the one(s) best to start with reading.
Serial sites with one unrepresentative component: There may be a new connection in here. Some serial WHS have one component that is visited (and reviewed) by far the most often but isn’t a fair representation of what the WHS stands for as a whole. Think of the Alamo, FLW’s Guggenheim Building in New York (one of his later works, far different from his classical Prairie School architecture), and Cuernacava's Popocatepetl 'monastery'. Possibly also the Catania component of Val di Noto. You'd actually need to see an additional component to make a “good visit”.
The tone of the reviews does not always match the site's rating: Now and then I noticed a strong mismatch between the overall opinion among reviewers and how the site is ranked by the community overall. Acre is an example, where the site has a fairly good rating (3.36/5), but the reviewers give it little praise.
There’s lots more to review: Not only are there 23 WHS that have no review at all, but numerous other WHS are also seriously underreviewed. I’d particularly welcome reviews of recent visits covering:
- Mount Kenya (I suspect most people are just passing by; would also love to hear about the second location, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy).
- Trier (deserves a more thorough, recent review).
- Tournai Cathedral (no one has seen it without scaffolding).
- A more up-to-date one of Bam to see the current status of the restorations.
- Emas NP, the other half of the Cerrado Protected Areas.
- Tasmanian Wilderness: 7 of its 8 parks/reserves are unreviewed.
- The Uranium ore plant 'Red Tower of Death' in the Ore Mountains.
- Petroglyphs of the White Sea
- Jomon Sites: still awaiting reviews of the components located in Hokkaido.
- China Danxia: only 1 out of the 9 components has been reviewed.
Els - 12 November 2023
Comments
Shandos Cleaver 16 November 2023
I'll try and write some reviews soon including the Tasmanian Wilderness - I've visited quite a few components over the years.
Dennis Nicklaus 14 November 2023
I like your refreshed intros. Just wanted to let you know they are noticed and appreciated.
Els Slots 14 November 2023
Thanks, Mohboh!
Mohboh 13 November 2023
I've added a brief review of The red tower of Death if it helps.
Philipp Peterer 13 November 2023
Great job, Els! I tried to visit the tower of death during covid, but it was not even possible to get close. did not seem like it could be visited. maybe that changed now.
Els Slots 12 November 2023
Well done, Svein!
@Sebasfhb - if you think you have something to add to the reviews that are already there, please do so
Svein Elias 12 November 2023
Jomon Sites Hokkaidi just sent in :-)
Sebasfhb 12 November 2023
I could write a recent one on Tournai, but the scaffolding is still going on. Just on the inside, though.
Blog WHS Visits
WHS #875: Erfurt
So I have the honour to first review this site after inscription! Fortunately, it wasn’t as gloomy as I expected it - instead of the celebratory “Wir sind Welterbe” banners common in Germany, the components of this WHS displayed happy purple signs stating “Jetzt UNESCO Welterbe - Mazal-Tov!”. Even the infamous Stone House (component #3), which was previously hard to recognize, now stands out in its street.
I don’t know whether Erfurt normally sees a lot of tourists, but on the Thursday in late October when I visited many tour groups were led through its historic center; mostly German, some Asian. I could overhear their guides talking about the newly gained World Heritage Status. I also happily explored its streets with its eclectic architecture, visited the Cathedral, the St Severus' Church, and the Citadel, and ate a hearty lunch. But after that, I couldn’t postpone the Jewish Heritage sites anymore.
The Old Synagogue seems to have gotten more accustomed to receiving visitors - you get a proper ticket plus an audio guide or a booklet on loan that explains the site and Erfurt’s Jewish history. One enters via a small courtyard and then has three floors to cover in the building itself. They did their best to fill it with relevant items and I seriously started reading in the provided guide, but after a few minutes it gets to you: there is nothing authentic of any relevance to be seen here. It’s like being in one of these caves where hominid fossils were found - one where the cave has been altered beyond recognition that is.
The top floor shows the remains of the dance hall it once was, and the basement holds the Erfurt Treasure (I think the discovery of this provided the tipping point to apply for WH status, but these are moveable objects that were not even found at one of the inscribed locations). When the building was a synagogue, there was neither a basement nor a top floor by the way.
Further disappointment followed at the Mikveh. I had read online that there is a tour every Thursday and Saturday. But at the advertised hour of 4 p.m., no one showed up. Only then I noticed a small note next to the door of the Mikveh entrance, saying "Only tours on Saturday, they have to be pre-booked and start at the synagogue". Grrr. It turned out to be a classical mistake of the English version of an official website not having been updated while the German version was. I sent an e-mail to the contact address given, they never replied and the error persists.
I feel for the well-meaning citizens of Erfurt, who so diligently have uncovered this part of their city’s history and should continue to cherish them as a local treasure. This recent article describes how it all came about.
I do not sympathize so much with those who oversee the German nominations and ICOMOS. There is a question in the FAQ of Erfurt's official website, asking why this Jewish heritage was nominated instead of the Old City or some of its more notable monuments. The answer: “Jewish heritage is underrepresented. Medieval and Christian heritage and historic old towns, however, are disproportionately represented in Germany and Europe. A further application with such a topic would therefore no longer be accepted by UNESCO.” So the golddiggers at the German national committee saw a high chance of inscription (Fills a Gap!) - no matter that there are already 95 sites with Jewish heritage on the list, and 10 mikvehs, and Germany itself is probably the most overrepresented within the overrepresented Europe/North America region. This is not equal to Kazimierz or the Old New Synagogue in Prague or even to the SHuM sites. The Jewish sites of Erfurt never had any influence beyond the city borders, not in their architecture nor in their spiritual meaning.
ICOMOS did give them a bit of a hard time in the preliminary stages - Germany needed the submission of over 400 pages of supplementary information and a lot of adjectives in describing the OUV to convince ICOMOS. It lost one criterion and an Epic Subtitle along the way, losing the intangible link of coexistence with the Christian majority.
Stripped to the bare bones, the narrow narrative now consists of the oldest known remains of an Ashkenazi synagogue (but what if we find an older one tomorrow? – Jews have been present in this part of Europe for centuries before), a Mikveh that only stands out for its “spatial distribution” (which means that it was built a few streets away from the synagogue as the surrounding area had no space anymore), and wooden beams painted with some decorative flowers in the ceiling in the once Jewish owned Stone House.
If they just had nominated the Erfurt Cathedral and St Severus' Church (a former TWHS) or Erfurt’s Central-European townscape of medieval origin (including the Jewish sites) I could have lived with it. Erfurt overall is pleasant enough for a few hours and superficially it isn’t much different from Quedlinburg or Bamberg. I would have given it 2 or 2.5 stars, and complained a bit about “same old, same old” but what they got now is one of the poorest WHS on the list, for both intrinsic value and visitor experience.
Els - 5 November 2023
Blog Connections
Minor Boundary Modifications
Minor Boundary Modifications are a ‘thing’: over the past 18 years or so (I see them first appearing in 2005), over 120 of these modifications have been approved. They take up a lot of time from the State Parties and ICOMOS/IUCN in clarification but always pass through without discussion at WHC meetings so their contents stay a bit hidden.
We’ve had them as a Connection for a long time, but it was just a list without explanations – so it did not fit the requirement that we can actually learn something from it. I decided to refocus it, by only mentioning changes made to the core zones (about 60% of the modifications regard buffer zone changes or new buffer zones). The new definition will be: “Sites where a "Minor modification” has been approved after the year of inscription. Includes only modifications to the core zone that add or remove a named element.”
The difference between a minor boundary modification and an extension
There are actually three mechanisms within the WH process that deal with site boundaries. There is an ongoing ‘project’ of the WHC called ‘Clarification of boundaries’ which requests proper maps and coordinates for WHS which do not have them yet. Then there is the minor modification: “one which does not have a significant impact on the extent of the property nor affects its Outstanding Universal Value”. If the modification proposed is deemed too significant, the procedure for new nominations will apply (and you get what we call an “Extension”).
Refocusing on the core zones
I started from the 113 sites in the old connection and checked them all on the UNESCO website what the change involved. I deleted the changes to buffer zones, and also those changes that were mere cartographic errors and did not lead to a named component being added or deleted. For the ones remaining, I added a rationale. Here’s the updated list.
This list may not be complete – I have not gone through the decisions year by year. I only did so for the past 2022/2023 session, which yielded a few more notable entries including huge extensions to the French Austral Lands and Taï National Park, and the addition of a few more monuments in Lima.
Why were these boundary changes needed?
Countries submit Minor Boundary Modifications for a variety of reasons. The following types can be distinguished:
- New archeological discoveries: Choirokoitia and Jelling were extended because new findings were made just outside of the original core zone, while at Stonehenge the Fyfield Down site was revalued due to scientific work in 2000 (so it was moved from buffer to core zone).
- Result of Clarification of boundaries: the 'Clarification of boundaries' process often brings inconsistencies to light, in the case of the Loire Valley for example the Estate of Chenonceau was mentioned in the text but not part of the designated area on the map.
- Rationalizing: sometimes an inscribed area just proves to be illogical and it gets corrected. At Durham, the part between the Castle and the Cathedral was added to show the continuity between the two. For Manu NP, the NP boundaries were followed which was not the case at inscription.
- Redrawing National Park borders: natural WHS often have their boundaries correspond with the boundaries of national parks, as it makes for easier management. If the national park boundaries change, so should those of the WHS (e.g. Donana).
- Include something that was left out of the inscription on purpose: at Kakadu, the Koongarra Project Area was left out originally due to uranium deposits found.
- Removing parts that “cannot be saved”: the more tragic side of the previous one, where a part of the WHS is just given up. This was the case at Selous, to allow uranium mining.
- Local circumstances: the funniest is Giant’s Causeway, where the coastal border has been moved 5m inland due to coastal erosion – otherwise the coastal cliffs (part of the OUV) would not be in the core zone anymore in a few years!
What were the side effects?
Although such modifications may not have a significant impact on the extent of the property, some have fairly substantial consequences:
- Becomes a serial site: Lena Pillars, Lima.
- Or loses locations: Rammelsberg and Goslar, Westminster.
- Significant increase in size: 14% Bosra, 20% Naples, 53% Taï National Park, 147% French Austral Lands.
- Significant decrease in size: 30% Willandra Lakes.
Pictured with this post are three notable sights that have been added via a Minor Boundary Modification: from top to bottom, Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, San Miniato al Monte in Florence and the Chenonceau Castle in the Loire Valley.
Els - 29 October 2023
Comments
Solivagant 30 October 2023
Re Liam's original question and Meltwaterfalls' subsequent comment.
The best article i have read is titled !What was UNESCO up to in Liverpool" and can be found by searching on that title. It has also been referred to by me on the UK Forum and the same search criteria will find it.
A couple of quotes on the boundary Modification issue -
"What are the main lessons from Liverpool’s loss?
First, draw realistic boundaries. A city is not a
museum. Think very carefully before including derelict and disused areas, where there is
known to be an appetite for major investment"
"World Heritage UK had suggested amending
the boundary of the world heritage site as a
potential way forward, but to no avail. There are many who have the view that the boundary was drawn too widely. It is unclear why amendment of the boundary was not considered by Unesco"
Ian Cade 30 October 2023
<i>Just wondering whether Liverpool ever sought a MBM to remove the Bramley Moore docks which were after all only in buffer zone.</i>
Just had to double check but Bramley Moore Dock was actually in the core zone, which I guess is the main thrust of the problem. Perhaps an MBM could've helped it, but after Liverpool Waters I think good will was gone.
Why the derelict docks were included in the core zone originally is probably the root of the problem.
I would imagine that a group with an almost exclusive heritage focus was responsible for drafting the boundaries, and went for an approach that more sites were essential to getting a positive inscription (probably isn't the case, ICOMOS don't even mention Bramley-Moore in their evaluation).
Then after inscription other parts of the city council looked at this massive empty space, and a local enterprise in need of a massive empty space, put 2 and 2 together and got delisting :|
Ian Cade 30 October 2023
Ah sorry I understand now.
Loses locations as in it was 2 seperate locations and is now 1 larger one.
I understood it as loses locations "xxx building was originally part of the core zone but now isn't"
All very clear, just my misreading.
Els Slots 30 October 2023
@Meltwaterfalls - Nothing of Westminster has been removed, but two locations were joined into one by adding the road in between
Meltwaterfalls 29 October 2023
I’m just wondering if Westminster is mislabelled, the boundary change seems to have just included the road between the Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, I can’t really see what previously inscribed part has been removed
Solivagant 29 October 2023
A sense of the discussions which must have taken place regarding the Selous boundary modification can be gained from the report of the St Petersburg WHC.... This was the final conclusion, hedged with numerous requirements and requests!.. "Decides in an exceptional and unique manner to approve the proposed boundary modification of the Selous Game Reserve, United Republic of Tanzania; "
We don't of course know who argued what in those pre Live Stream days
Els Slots 29 October 2023
@Liam - For Selous there must have been, as the decision taken at the WHC was different from the IUCN advice. But a MBM like this doesn't come out of nowhere, in the case of Selous there was also a possible in Danger listing being discussed because of the mining concession.
Liam 29 October 2023
Were there any serious discussions at the time about approving Minor Boundary Modifications which removed chunks of the core zone because of economic development (Humberstone / Ivrea / Selous)?
Just wondering whether Liverpool ever sought a MBM to remove the Bramley Moore docks which were after all only in buffer zone. Rather than both sides progressing inflexibly.
Solivagant 29 October 2023
Interesting and useful extra info.
But I hate "losing" knowledge ... is it too late to at least keep the other previous buffer zone related connections as a list even if not as their own "connection".
Another thought...are there any "extensions" which were first proposed as simple "minor modifications"? You indicate that "all" proposed "minor modifications" have got through "on the nod" so, maybe not, or IUCN/ICOMOS stopped that approach before it reached the WHC/
Blog WHS Visits
(T)WHS of New York City
It took me 35 years of travel as an adult, visiting 126 countries and 873 World Heritage Sites, before I finally made it to New York. I had a nice place to stay near the Flatiron building in Midtown Manhattan, and it almost felt like I lived there. I did not enter many places, I enjoyed just walking around and taking the subway or bus to cover the larger distances. Overall I found it had quite a European feel to it and it wasn't as crazy loud as you see on TV. The city’s 2 WHS and 3 TWHS are on the well-trodden tourist trail, but I’ll try to add some insights from a World Heritage perspective.
On my first morning in the city, I took the first ferry of the day to the Statue of Liberty. With a starting time of 9 a.m. on your ticket, you are allowed to enter the queue at 8.15 and the security tent at 8.30. I managed to get a spot on the upper deck. From here you get the best photo opportunities of the statue right before the ferry docks at the island (it does a small loop around it). Although the boat was very full, we spread out quickly on the island. I went directly to the Pedestal access and could climb the stairs alone. Keep an eye out for the WHS plaque – it is on the wall on the ground floor of the pedestal, next to the museum entrance.
The island has two similar exhibitions on its history. I liked the one inside the pedestal best – it shows old photographs and newspaper articles of how the Statue came about, how it was created in Paris and how it got assembled in New York. The attraction of the separate exhibition building elsewhere on the island is the original torch, which was removed from the statue in 1984 due to damage.
The ferry then continues to Ellis Island. This was probably the biggest disappointment for me. You cannot freely walk around on the island, virtually only the National Museum of Immigration is accessible. This has the impressive Great Hall where immigrants had to wait for their screening to be let into the country, but the exhibition did not really do anything for me (maybe because my ancestors did not cross the ocean). Also the ‘museum’ mostly consists of boards with information, there are very few original exhibits.
The Brooklyn Bridge is an easy add-on to the Islands cruise, as its access also lies in Downtown Manhattan. I first walked on the East River Esplanade, where the closer you get the better views of the bridge you will have. It then takes a detour inland to get to the ramp for pedestrian access to get on the bridge itself. The walkway was flooded with tourists and souvenir sellers – I walked about halfway where you can see the structure with its cables best. A future WHS? Nah, the age of single monuments has gone and although this one used to be the longest suspension bridge in the world only that would not suffice.
I did two walks through Central Park, finding it a pleasure to just stretch my legs at the start of the day. The first was through the southern part, and the other day I went north as far as The Lake. It helped to have a self-guided walking tour downloaded, otherwise just roaming around you somehow often end up at an exit. The ‘backbone’ of the park is where the most points of interest are, with its statues and other common props such as a monumental fountain and obelisk – mere follies actually. With UK’s Birkenhead Park now also T Listed, it raises the question of whether Central Park would best represent the global, mid-19th century trend of parks developed for the greater public – one that has been unrepresented so far. It certainly is remarkable that Central Park stayed untouched considering the real estate value of the surrounding blocks.
From the north of Central Park, New York’s ‘other’ WHS can be easily accessed: FLW’s Guggenheim Museum. Its low, round forms stand out among the surroundings of vertical blocks. I hadn’t planned to go inside, but I arrived just before the opening hour and there was no queue. You can just enter the ground floor without paying, but I also entered the other floors and saw an exhibition on Avantgarde Korean Art. The ramp was closed due to changing exhibitions (the entrance fee was lowered as well). With what was accessible now, I did not find the layout very handy for a museum visitor, as you always have to look where the exit is to the next floor. This contrasts sharply with the MoMa – a perfectly simple building with a great permanent collection. For the WHS fetishist, room 511 even has models of the Tugendhat Villa (the original made by the Office of Mies van der Rohe) and the Bauhaus Building in Dessau (a later model, from 1979), plus a video on the construction of the Van Nelle Factory. New connection!
Finally: what about Missing WHS? NYC is full of skyscrapers of course, and they are of all ages although many of the very old ones have been demolished. As an outsider I would find it hard to propose a coherent group of buildings, so we’d have to resort to an iconic single skyscraper. The Chrysler Building has been named, I liked the Flatiron building best (even though it's half-hidden under scaffolding now). What negatively distinguishes them overall compared to the Early Chicago Skyscrapers is that they are not open to the public (even the Chrysler Building’s entrance hall was blocked), while peeking inside is such a joy in Chicago. So my vote would still go to Chicago!
Els - 22 October 2023
Comments
Ligocsicnarf89 28 October 2023
NYC is truly a heritage treasure trove. I can see something such as 'Art Deco and Revivalist Skyscrapers of New York' making a great World Heritage Site. Other sites in NYC that could be awesome WHSs that come to mind are 'Grand Central Terminal', 'Carnegie Hall', the 'Moorish Revival Synagogues of New York', the 'New York Botanical Garden' and the 'SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District'. (:
Nan 23 October 2023
@Kyle: There is also the departure ports, e.g., Ballinstadt in Hamburg. Will post in the forum.
Kyle Magnuson 22 October 2023
After visiting Angel Island in San Francisco a few years ago, I think I could only support Ellis Island for world heritage status if Angel Island was included.
Jay T 22 October 2023
As for the skyscrapers idea, I do think New York has some iconic buildings, and I'd be curious to see if they would ever be considered as having OUV.
What I like about the Chicago skyscrapers TWHS is that it is focused on the innovative design that changed the way the world approached constructing tall buildings.
Jay T 22 October 2023
Central Park holds a special place for me because I appreciate how Olmsted kept nature within the city. I'll be curious to see how Birkenhead Park continues, and I should really get out there in the next year or two.
Also, glad you got to see the Guggenheim! Not my favorite FLW building, but it was interesting to see inside. I'm not sure I'll need to go back when the spiral ramp reopens.
Jay T 22 October 2023
Glad you enjoyed your visit to New York City! I'm glad to hear an outside perspective on Ellis Island. Immigration is a big part of what makes the U.S. the U.S. (and I wish our politicians would remember that more), but I suppose it may not translate as well for those who don't have family that emigrated to the U.S. I also hadn't considered that the visit on Ellis Island is a lot more constricted than that of Liberty Island.
Nan 22 October 2023
Re NYC skyline, I think the relevant skyscrapers are later than those in Chicago. There is a big batch of Art Deco skyscrapers (Flatiron, Chrysler, Empire State, ...) that probably deserve a place on the list.
Other sites I could see: The traditional neighborhoods in Brooklyn (redstones). The UN Building.
Zoe 22 October 2023
New York City is the greatest city in the world! :)
Blog WHS Visits
WHS #872: Poverty Point
On my recent trip to the eastern half of the USA, I visited all three ‘mounds’ or earthworks WHS: Cahokia, Hopewell and Poverty Point. During my preparations, I found the last one the most intriguing. And although it probably has the least remaining visible remains, after my visit I still think Poverty Point is the most interesting of the three sites. Reviews of the other two will be published as well in the coming weeks, but I will now put the spotlight on Poverty Point.
The site isn’t visited that often as it lies in the middle of nowhere deep in Louisiana. I ‘did’ it as a day trip from Dallas by rental car – it’s 5 hours each way, which is long of course but it’s a straight shot east on cruise control and without much traffic. ‘Poverty Point World Heritage Site’ (this name is used on road signs to distinguish it from a nature park also called Poverty Point) lies just outside the cute towns of Delhi and Epps where everybody seems to live in a prefab house and have his or her own church.
Poverty Point is the oldest of the inscribed earthworks in the US. It was made by prehistoric hunter-gatherers who (at least seasonally) lived on the earthen ridges. In this lies the big distinction with the other two WHS that were merely ceremonial sites: because it was lived in, many artifacts have been left and rediscovered. The visitor center has display cases full of very sharp-looking spearheads, engraved objects, figurines that may have been fertility symbols and decorated clay objects. Some are so-called “Poverty Point Objects” – stones that were heated for use in cooking.
You can choose to visit the outdoor part of the site by car or on foot – for each, they give you a booklet with explanations of the waymarks. I chose the 4km long hike. Before you arrive at the visitor center you’ll notice what looks like farmland on both sides of the road – these are the main Earthworks! It took me strolling through the grass on the first part of the trail to understand that what I was walking on actually was ‘it’. This is the area where the concentric, C-shaped earthen ridges were made. Differential mowing of the grass makes them stand out more, and they are visible if you look hard. White markers indicate where traces of wooden post circles have been found. But this WHS truly is best seen from the sky: it wasn't until archeologist James Ford in the 1950s examined aerial photographs that he recognized the geometric design.
Similar to Cahokia, a fairly busy road cuts through the site (and the Earthworks). ICOMOS gave Poverty Point a Deferral advice (which was overturned at the WHC meeting) because it wanted to have the road diverted. I must say it did not bother me as much here as in Cahokia - at least they have a pedestrian crossing here. On the other side of the road from the visitor center, you can find the main mounds. These weren’t burial mounds and their use is unknown. A boardwalk will lead you up to the top of Mound A, with distant views of another earthwork, Lower Jackson Mound.
The trail then continues through a forest. The prehistoric people found berries here, there was water from a river and wildlife still uses it so it would have been good for hunting. It also has native pawpaw plants that carry edible fruits, which nowadays are used in fancy foods.
Overall it was a pleasant walk and I think the site management of Poverty Point has made the most out of the interpretation of this enigmatic site with its colossal earthworks. The site was only nominated under criterion iii, while Hopewell (with younger and smaller earthworks and oh, an active golf course instead of a road) this year also managed to get in under criterion i (a masterpiece of human creative genius) for the "enormous scale...and geometric precision" of its earthworks, which seems unfair to Poverty Point.
Els - 15 October 2023
Comments
Jay T 15 October 2023
I'm glad you enjoyed your visit to Poverty Point, because I had thought it might be the most challenging of the three earthworks to appreciate. Like Kyle mentioned, it's great to see the perspective of someone who saw all three sites in one go!
Blog WHS Visits
Chicago Meetup
The US City of Chicago was the venue for the 2023 WHS Meetup. It’s a great city that can hold anyone’s interest for a couple of days. It’s very walkable as well - we walked over 11km on the first day for example, on wide, clean and relatively quiet sidewalks. Its public transport, although maybe not fully appreciated by its residents, also is convenient and inexpensive. To the WH Traveller, it has two locations of the Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings WHS to offer and the Early Chicago Skyscrapers TWHS.
We started on Day 1 with a pre-tour walk at 8 a.m. through the Oak Park neighborhood. This lovely residential area is home to numerous Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, including his home and studio. Some of his designs were easy to spot, others a bit harder as they were more conservative than his signature Prairie Style. Also, I counted at least one squirrel in every garden and many of the historic buildings were showing subtle Halloween decorations.
Our first tour of the day was at Union Temple. This has always been an active church, but it is far from a traditional church building. Wright ‘won’ this commission because he lived in the area and was well-known to the clients. Dating from 1905, relatively early in his career, it consists of two symmetrical reinforced concrete cubes. One is used for community congregations, the other for religious services.
The guide from the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust pointed out the characteristics to us, such as the standard Wright colour scheme (a ‘calm’ brown, green, and gold), the Japanese influences, and the use of wood. The church ‘cube’ has a very intimate feel due to its square layout and seating arrangement. Outside noise also was cleverly blocked.
We then moved on to the center of Chicago, known as The Loop. Here another guided tour was waiting for us: at The Rookery. This office building from 1888 nicely connects Frank Lloyd Wright with the Early Chicago Skyscrapers TWHS. It was Wright who modernized the building some 30 years after its conception.
It isn’t hard to find the early skyscrapers in Chicago’s cityscape as they usually are a bit lower than the current highrise buildings (see The Rookery in photo 2), are often burgundy in colour, and have more ornamentation. The architects used many tricks to convince the people at the time that these skyscrapers wouldn’t fall on them. We visited about a dozen of these buildings, admiring the facades but also trying to enter as often as possible. There are some interesting interiors at the Marquette Building and the Palmer House for example.
All buildings have found a new (private) use, such as department stores, which might be an obstacle to a future nomination. Still, I think the Early Chicago Skyscrapers would be a worthwhile addition to the list, as the ensemble of buildings has an interesting narrative (linked to the Great Fire of 1871 and the Chicago World Fair of 1893).
On Day 2 we visited the second inscribed Frank Lloyd Wright building in Chicago: Robie House. This lies in the southeast of the city, virtually on the campus of the University of Chicago. It’s a pleasant walk from the nearest L-Train station to get there, as it will take you along the pseudo-historical University buildings with ivy growing all over them. The University existed already when Wright built the house, but Robie House wasn't encroached by its buildings as it is nowadays.
We had a guided tour booked here as well. Robie House seems to be a more popular site to visit than Unity Temple – our tour had 12 participants, and other tours were right before and after us. There’s a nice gift shop as well. Robie House is considered the highlight of Wright’s Prairie Style houses, but somehow it failed to captivate me the same way his other buildings did. Fallingwater, which I visited years ago, remains my favourite.
Special thanks go out to Jay T and Frédéric for being such good companions and map readers during the Chicago visit. And to Kyle, who unfortunately could not make it at the last moment but who planted the seed of Chicago in our minds and was responsible for the itinerary.
Els - 8 October 2023
Comments
Els Slots 14 October 2023
Will change it, Jan. It's indeed called the University of Chicago (easily confused with University of Illinois at Chicago).
Jan Hobson 13 October 2023
The Robie house is on the University of Chicago campus in the Hyde Park Community.
Durian 8 October 2023
This year meeting was a near miss to me as I had seminar at University of Wisconsin-Madison a week before meet-up, but still had one free day before flied back to Asia from O'hare to see Chicago's downtown.
Jay T 8 October 2023
Great to see you and Frederic in Chicago, Els! Sorry to have missed you, Kyle. Chicago is a really neat city, and I’m glad it was easier to get into some buildings this year than it was when I visited during Covid. Hope you enjoy the rest of your travels in the US!
Kyle Magnuson 8 October 2023
Sad I could not make it, but it's nice to get this update about the journey! After reading your thoughts on the FLW sites, I am now pondering the different experience visiting the Robie House and Unity Temple. The later remains functional as it was intended. Robie House had to be saved from near destruction and because of the spartan "empty" interior, your thoughts ring true for me as well. The Robie House is great for pictures though and to highlight FLW's different techniques and signature designs.
Looking forward to a future post about the Mound Building Cultures of the Midwest (Cahokia & Hopewell).
Blog Index
Books
- Book: Saving Yellowstone (10 September 2023)
- Book: Natural Wonders of the World (30 July 2023)
- Book: Heaven on Earth (21 May 2023)
- Book: World Heritage Craze in China (26 March 2023)
- Possible Antarctic WHS (5 February 2023)
- Book: Cultural Heritage and Mass Atrocities (25 September 2022)
- Book: India: UNESCO World Heritage Sites (3 April 2022)
- Book: Great World Wonders (7 November 2021)
- Book: Chinese Heritage Sites and their Audiences (13 June 2021)
- Book: Coastal WHS (3 January 2021)
- Book: Atlas Obscura (10 February 2019)
- The Rebirth of Bodh Gaya (10 February 2018)
- Books: Modern African Architecture (18 February 2017)
- Books: Wonders of the World (28 November 2015)
- Book: Chasing 193 (8 July 2015)
- Book: The Heritage Universe (27 June 2015)
- Book: Japan's World Heritage Sites (26 October 2014)
Connections
- Best Visited on a Bicycle (19 November 2023)
- Minor Boundary Modifications (29 October 2023)
- Smaller than they seem (20 August 2023)
- Himalaya (4 June 2023)
- One thousand visitors or fewer (23 April 2023)
- Canopy Walkways (2 April 2023)
- Invention of sweets and pastries (22 January 2023)
- Transnational WHS in the making (16 October 2022)
- Obelisks (21 August 2022)
- Threatened by Oil and Gas Exploration (7 August 2022)
- Byzantine (24 July 2022)
- Critically endangered fauna species (12 June 2022)
- Petrosomatoglyphs (1 May 2022)
- Fossil sites (17 April 2022)
- Cable cars (27 March 2022)
- Erotic Art (19 December 2021)
- Silk Road(s) (14 November 2021)
- Diluted by an Extension (31 October 2021)
- WHS and Beer (12 September 2021)
- Buildable in Lego (22 August 2021)
- WHS Hotspots (15 August 2021)
- WHS affected by Poaching (2 May 2021)
- Epic Subtitles (7 March 2021)
- No Road Access (28 February 2021)
- Expressionist Architecture (17 January 2021)
- Cold War (20 December 2020)
- Dependent Territories (29 November 2020)
- Mammal WHS (15 November 2020)
- Bird Migration WHS (24 May 2020)
- WHS in classic documentaries (12 April 2020)
- Unusual Entry Requirements (29 March 2020)
- WH Travel & Passports (1 December 2019)
- Railway WHS (1 September 2019)
- Why people die at WHS (21 April 2019)
- The Umayyads (17 March 2019)
- Historical Graffiti (3 March 2019)
- Viewable from another WHS (9 June 2018)
- One million or more (3 March 2018)
- WHS On Banknotes (16 December 2017)
- A Silk Roads overdose? (20 November 2016)
- A History of WHS in Danger (5 September 2015)
- WHS & World War I (19 October 2014)
Countries
- Top Tips for Saudi Arabia (3 December 2023)
- Top Tips for Zimbabwe (1 October 2023)
- Top Tips for Madagascar (9 July 2023)
- Tips for Travelling to Western Turkey (14 May 2023)
- Tips for Travelling to Northern Brazil (8 January 2023)
- Tips for Travelling to Chad (20 November 2022)
- Top Tips for Eastern Canada (10 July 2022)
- Top Tips for Tunisia (29 May 2022)
- Top Tips for Northern Mexico (27 February 2022)
- Best Countries (23 January 2022)
- Tips for travelling to Kyrgyzstan (17 October 2021)
- Tips for travelling to Costa Rica (25 April 2021)
- Tips for travelling during a pandemic (14 March 2021)
- Tips for travelling to Iceland (20 September 2020)
- Tips for travelling to Colombia (16 February 2020)
- Tips for travelling to Russia (27 October 2019)
- Tips for travelling to Georgia (4 August 2018)
- Tips for travelling to the Gulf (2 May 2018)
- Value for money WH countries (24 March 2018)
- Tips for travelling to Namibia (3 February 2018)
- Tips for travelling to Ecuador (14 October 2017)
- Tips for travelling to Egypt (30 April 2017)
- Tips for Azerbaijan and Iran (3 June 2016)
- Tips for Rwanda, Congo and Uganda (30 January 2016)
- Tips for Travelling to Myanmar (31 October 2015)
- Mongolia's Tentative List (28 February 2015)
- How to visit the (T)WHS of Sudan (22 November 2014)
Exhibitions
- Rietveld Bike Tour (26 November 2017)
- Looking for the Golden Rhino (4 December 2016)
- Vestfold Ship Burials (18 June 2016)
- Rome. Emperor Constantine’s dream. (22 November 2015)
- Carthage (8 March 2015)
TWHS Visits
- Hejaz Railway (26 November 2023)
- WHC 2023: Kuldīga (6 August 2023)
- Gordion (7 May 2023)
- Íznik (30 April 2023)
- Niah Caves (19 March 2023)
- Banteay Chhmar (19 February 2023)
- Via Appia (30 October 2022)
- Valentia's Transatlantic Cable Ensemble (23 October 2022)
- Civita di Bagnoregio (9 October 2022)
- Zagori & Pindos (11 September 2022)
- Talayotic Minorca (21 November 2021)
- Kyrgyz Silk Roads: Uzgen (10 October 2021)
- Historic Center of Parma (29 August 2021)
- Bachkovo Monastery (18 July 2021)
- Mosaics of Philippopolis (11 July 2021)
- Prince-Bishops' Palace in Liège (20 June 2021)
- Lower German Limes: Berg en Dal Aqueduct (30 May 2021)
- Corcovado NP (11 April 2021)
- Guayabo National Monument (24 March 2021)
- San José (21 March 2021)
- Buenos Aires 1880-1920 (21 February 2021)
- The Egyptian Museum (14 February 2021)
- The Meuse Citadel of Namur (7 February 2021)
- The Neanderthal fossil sites of Wallonia (24 January 2021)
- Plantations in West Curacao (13 December 2020)
- Unreviewed TWHS: Hirkan Forests (22 November 2020)
- Sanxingdui in 2007 (8 November 2020)
- Archipelago of La Maddalena (25 October 2020)
- Bouches de Bonifacio (18 October 2020)
- Nice (4 October 2020)
- Mediterranean Alps (27 September 2020)
- Icelandic Turf House Tradition (13 September 2020)
- Mývatn and Laxá (30 August 2020)
- Fjallabak (23 August 2020)
- Old Wastewater Treatment Plant (16 August 2020)
- Mértola (5 August 2020)
- Vila Viçosa (2 August 2020)
- Works of Álvaro Siza (19 July 2020)
- Great Spas: Bad Ems (28 June 2020)
- ShUM city of Worms (21 June 2020)
- Chapultepec (7 June 2020)
- Frederiksoord-Wilhelminaoord (17 May 2020)
- Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (3 May 2020)
- Unreviewed TWHS: Lalish Temple (26 April 2020)
- Unreviewed TWHS: Bahoutdin Complex (5 April 2020)
- New Dutch Waterline (22 March 2020)
- WHC 2021: The Slate Landscape (15 March 2020)
- Unreviewed TWHS: Tansen (8 March 2020)
- Sarlat at Night (1 March 2020)
- Salt Town of Nemocón (5 January 2020)
- Virgilio Barco Library (29 December 2019)
- Irkutsk (20 October 2019)
- Staigue Stone Fort (25 August 2019)
- The Royal Sites of Ireland: Cashel (18 August 2019)
- Hospital of Our Lady with the Rose (11 August 2019)
- WHC 2019: Krzemionki (30 June 2019)
- Chobe (2 June 2019)
- WHC 2021: Sarnath (5 May 2019)
- Olive Grove Landscape of Lucena (14 April 2019)
- Lower German Limes: Xanten (31 March 2019)
- Harran and Sanliurfa (24 March 2019)
- Padova Urbs Picta (10 March 2019)
- WHC 2019: Paraty Culture and Biodiversity (24 February 2019)
- WHC 2019: Walled City of Jaipur (17 February 2019)
- Ancient Quanzhou (26 January 2019)
- Yen Tu: Vinh Nghiem Pagoda (5 January 2019)
- Roman heritage of Nîmes (1 December 2018)
- Raoudha Nilometer (24 November 2018)
- WHC 2019: Danube Limes - Arrianis (31 October 2018)
- Uplistsikhe Cave Town (21 July 2018)
- Tbilisi Historic District (14 July 2018)
- David Gareji Monasteries (23 June 2018)
- Fortress of Ananuri (16 June 2018)
- Gdansk - Town of Memory and Freedom (2 June 2018)
- WHC 2018: Žatec, Town of Hops (12 May 2018)
- Ore Mountains (5 May 2018)
- Dubai Creek (28 April 2018)
- Sharjah: the Gate to Trucial States (18 April 2018)
- Forts of Rostaq and al-Hazm (4 April 2018)
- Kuwait Towers (31 March 2017)
- Teylers (17 March 2018)
- WHC 2019: Plečnik in Ljubljana (17 February 2018)
- Etosha Pan (10 January 2018)
- Benguela Current (5 January 2018)
- Fish River Canyon (1 January 2018)
- Lechner's pre-modern architecture (9 December 2017)
- WHC 2018: Chaîne des Puys (18 November 2017)
- Hoge Kempen Transition Landscape (21 October 2017)
- Mathildenhöhe (19 August 2017)
- Mid-Atlantic Ridge (6 July 2017)
- Ptolemaic Temples (21 April 2017)
- WHC 2017: Dilmun Burial Mounds (11 February 2017)
- Palau and the Yapese Stone Money (7 January 2017)
- Tet el Bad (Stone Coffin) (1 January 2017)
- Hanyangdoseong (29 December 2016)
- Zadar - Romans and Venetians (12 November 2016)
- Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites (19 October 2016)
- Ngwenya Mines (12 October 2016)
- 1940's - 1950's Architecture of Minsk (7 September 2016)
- 20th Century Ivrea (13 August 2016)
- Waterloo (30 July 2016)
- Agricultural Pauper Colonies (9 July 2016)
- Masouleh (25 May 2016)
- Sheki, the Khan's Palace (2 May 2016)
- Temple of Fire (24 April 2016)
- Fortress Town of Palmanova (12 March 2016)
- WHC 2016: Rediscovering Dosan Seowon (13 February 2016)
- WHC 2016 – Corbusier’s Villa Savoye (7 February 2016)
- Mgahinga – Where Gold Meets Silver (9 January 2016)
- Rwandan Genocide Memorial Sites (29 December 2015)
- WHC 2016: Cetinje (5 December 2015)
- WHC 2016: Ani Cultural Landscape (13 November 2015)
- Sonian Forest’s Beech Cathedral (7 November 2015)
- Ancient cities of Upper Myanmar (24 October 2015)
- Bagan Archaeological Zone (17 October 2015)
- Konbaung Wooden Monasteries (9 October 2015)
- WHC 2015: Christiansfeld (20 June 2015)
- The Mystery of Kokino (14 June 2015)
- Amphitheatre of Durres (3 June 2015)
- WHC 2015: Champagne (14 May 2015)
- WHC 2015: Palermo, Cefalù & Monreale (9 May 2015)
- Two TWHS in Antwerp (6 April 2015)
- Five Dzongs of Bhutan (14 March 2015)
- Granada and its natural environment (20 February 2015)
- Volcan Masaya - Exciting or not? (14 February 2015)
- WHC 2015: Singapore Botanic Gardens (20 December 2014)
- Old Dongola (1 December 2014)
- Great Spas of Europe: the original Spa (15 November 2014)
- WHC 2015: Hagi Castle Town (9 November 2014)
Travel in general
- Parallel planning of multiple trips (27 August 2023)
- My experience travelling ultra-light (20 March 2022)
WH Travellers
- The Value of a TWHS (16 July 2023)
- The 9 WHS Commandments (5 March 2023)
- Nine things I learned in my first year of full-time travel (1 January 2023)
- Revisit needed (27 November 2022)
- Shandos ... planning a WH trip to South America (2 October 2022)
- Michael Ayers ... cycling to over 300 WHS (5 June 2022)
- WH Travel Focus (10 April 2022)
- The quest to 1100 visited WHS in 2030 (2 January 2021)
- Wojciech and Thomas ... In Iraq (28 November 2021)
- Zos M. ... Completing China (24 October 2021)
WHS Visits
- WHS #880: Makli, Thatta (10 December 2023)
- WHS #875: Erfurt (5 November 2023)
- (T)WHS of New York City (22 October 2023)
- WHS #872: Poverty Point (15 October 2023)
- Chicago Meetup (8 October 2023)
- WHS #850: Mana Pools (17 September 2023)
- WHS #848: Great Zimbabwe (3 September 2023)
- WHS #846: Tsingy de Bemaraha (2 July 2023)
- WHS #845: Royal Hill of Ambohimanga (25 June 2023)
- WHS #844: Rainforests of the Atsinanana (18 June 2023)
- WHS #843: Pitons of Reunion (11 June 2023)
- Kraków revisited (9 April 2023)
- WHS #833: Gunung Mulu (12 March 2023)
- WHS #831: Kui Buri NP (26 February 2023)
- WHS #827: Sambor Prei Kuk (12 February 2023)
- WHS #825: Mazagan (29 January 2023)
- WHS #813: Fernando de Noronha (18 December 2022)
- WHS #812: São Luis (11 December 2022)
- WHS #811: Central Amazon (4 December 2022)
- WHS #810: Ounianga Lakes (13 November 2022)
- WHS #809: Ennedi (6 November 2022)
- WHS #807: Island of Patmos (18 September 2022)
- WHS #804: Mount Athos (4 September 2022)
- Skellig Michael 2022 (14 August 2022)
- WHS #800: Red Bay (3 July 2022)
- WHS #798: Mistaken Point (26 June 2022)
- WHS #797: Gros Morne NP (19 June 2022)
- WHS #789: Kairouan (22 May 2022)
- WHS #786: Carthage (15 May 2022)
- WHS #783: Lake District (24 April 2022)
- WHS #780: Quirigua (13 March 2022)
- WHS #778: Joya de Ceren (6 March 2022)
- WHS #774: Sierra de San Francisco (20 February 2022)
- WHS #773: El Vizcaíno (13 February 2022)
- WHS #771: EPGDABR (6 February 2022)
- WHS #766: Otumba (30 January 2022)
- WHS #765: Paquimé (16 January 2022)
- Luxembourg revisited (9 January 2022)
- WHS #764: Serra de Tramuntana (5 December 2021)
- WHS #763: Sulaiman-Too (3 October 2021)
- WHS #762: Western Tien-Shan (26 September 2021)
- Silk Roads: Zhetysu region (19 September 2021)
- WHS #761: Bologna (5 September 2021)
- WHS #760: Cordouan Lighthouse (8 August 2021)
- WHS #747: The Prosecco Hills (25 July 2021)
- WHS #746: Kazanlak (4 July 2021)
- WHS #745: Pirin National Park (27 June 2021)
- Wadden Sea: Schiermonnikoog (16 May 2021)
- WHS #744: Guanacaste (18 April 2021)
- WHS #743: Stone Spheres (4 April 2021)
- WHS #742: Talamanca Range (28 March 2021)
- Wadden Sea: Texel (10 January 2020)
- WHS #741: Willemstad (6 December 2020)
- WHS #740: Su Nuraxi di Barumini (1 November 2020)
- WHS #739: Gulf of Porto (11 October 2020)
- WHS #738: Surtsey (6 September 2020)
- WHS #737: Thingvellir (2 September 2020)
- WHS #736: Vatnajökull (26 August 2020)
- WHS #735: Kladruby nad Labem (9 August 2020)
- WHS #734: Bom Jesus do Monte (26 July 2020)
- WHS #733: Mafra (12 July 2020)
- Cologne revisited (14 June 2020)
- Aachen revisited (31 May 2020)
- WHS #732: Vézère Valley (23 February 2020)
- WHS #731: Cartagena de Indias (9 February 2020)
- WHS #730: Mompox (2 February 2020)
- WHS #729: Coffee Cultural Landscape (26 January 2020)
- WHS #728: Tierradentro (19 January 2020)
- WHS #727: San Agustín (12 January 2020)
- WHS #726: St. George, Bermuda (24 November 2019)
- WHS #725: Augsburg (17 November 2019)
- Val di Noto - Catania (10 November 2019)
- WHS #724: Mount Etna (3 November 2019)
- WHS #723: Lake Baikal (13 October 2019)
- WHS #722: Sviyazhsk (6 October 2019)
- WHS #721: Bolgar (29 September 2019)
- WHS #720: Kazan Kremlin (22 September 2019)
- WHS #719: Trinity Sergius Lavra (15 September 2019)
- WHS #718: Church of the Ascension (8 september 2019)
- WHS #706: Tokaj Wine Region (28 juli 2019)
- WHS #705: Hortobagy NP (21 July 2019)
- WHS #704: Hollókő (14 July 2019)
- WHS #703: Bialowieza Forest (23 June 2019)
- WHS #702: Zamość (16 June 2019)
- WHS #701: Victoria Falls (9 June 2019)
- WHS #700: Okavango Delta (28 May 2019)
- WHS #699: Tsodilo (19 May 2019)
- WHS #698: Naumburg Cathedral (28 April 2019)
- WHS #697: Medina Azahara (7 April 2019)
- WHS #696: Fujian Tulou (2 February 2019)
- WHS #695: Kulangsu (19 January 2019)
- WHS #694: Hani Rice Terraces (16 January 2019)
- WHS #693: Chengjiang Fossil Site (12 January 2019)
- WHS #692: Zuojiang Huashan (9 January 2019)
- WHS #691: Ho Citadel (2 January 2019)
- WHS #690: Trang An (29 December 2018)
- Hôtel Solvay (15 December 2018)
- WHS #689: Cave of Pont d'Arc (8 December 2018)
- WHS #688: Wadi al-Hitan (17 November 2018)
- WHS #687: Historic Cairo (10 November 2018)
- WHS #686: the Pyramid Fields (3 November 2018)
- WHS #685: Valtice (27 October 2018)
- WHS #684: Kromeriz (24 October 2018)
- WHS #683: Litomysl Castle (21 October 2018)
- Athens Acropolis revisited (17 October 2018)
- WHS #682: Daphni Monastery (13 October 2018)
- WHS #681: Meteora (9 October 2018)
- WHS #680: Philippi (6 October 2018)
- WHS #679: Bursa (29 September 2018)
- Istanbul revisited (26 September 2018)
- WHS #678: Nessebar (22 September 2018)
- WHS #677: Srebarna (19 September 2018)
- WHS #676: Churches of Ivanovo (15 September 2018)
- WHS #675: Tomb of Sveshtari (12 September 2018)
- WHS #674: Madara Rider (8 September 2018)
- WHS #673: Geirangerfjord (26 August 2018)
- WHS #672: Alta Rock Art (18 August 2018)
- WHS #671: Visby (28 July 2018)
- WHS #664: Gelati Monastery (7 July 2018)
- WHS #665: Qalhat (1 July 2018)
- WHS #663: Upper Svaneti (27 June 2018)
- WHS #662: Mtskheta (20 June 2018)
- WHS #661: Malbork Castle (26 May 2018)
- WHS #660: Torun (19 May 2018)
- WHS #659: Cultural Sites of Al Ain (25 April 2018)
- WHS #658: Land of Frankincense (21 April 2018)
- WHS #657: Bat and Al-Ayn (14 April 2018)
- WHS #656: Bahla Fort (11 April 2018)
- WHS #655: Aflaj of Oman (7 April 2018)
- WHS #654: Ibiza (25 February 2018)
- WHS #653: Robben Island (22 January 2018)
- WHS #652: Cape Floral Region (19 January 2018)
- WHS #651: Twyfelfontein (15 January 2018)
- WHS #650: Namib Sand Sea (12 January 2018)
- WHS #649: Pécs Necropolis (3 December 2017)
- WHS #648: Saint-Savin sur Gartempe (11 November 2017)
- WHS #647: Bourges Cathedral (4 November 2017)
- WHS #646: Galapagos Islands (7 October 2017)
- WHS #645: Quito (30 September 2017)
- WHS #644: Sangay NP (26 September 2017)
- Ingapirca (22 September 2017)
- WHS #643: Cuenca (19 September 2017)
- WHS #642: Antequera Dolmens (16 September 2017)
- WHS #641: Tetouan (13 September 2017)
- WHS #640: Gorham's Cave (10 September 2017)
- WHS #639: Neolithic Orkney (27 August 2017)
- WHS #638: Ice Age Art Caves (13 August 2017)
- WHS #637: Røros (30 July 2017)
- WHS #635: Pico Island (15 July 2017)
- WHS #634: Angra do Heroismo (1 July 2017)
- Wooden tserkva of Zhovkva (10 June 2017)
- WHS #633: L'viv (4 June 2017)
- WHS #632: Telc (20 May 2017)
- WHS #631: Cesky Krumlov (13 May 2017)
- WHS #630: Holasovice (6 May 2017)
- WHS #629: Nubian monuments (26 April 2017)
- WHS #628: Ancient Thebes (16 April 2017)
- Paris revisited (27 March 2017)
- WHS #627: Salins-les-Bains (11 March 2017)
- WHS #626: Beaune (Burgundy) (4 March 2017)
- WHS #625: Par force hunting landscape (4 February 2017)
- WHS #624: Royal Joseon Tombs (21 January 2017)
- WHS #623: Baekje sites in Gongju (14 January 2017)
- WHS #622: Namhansanseong (11 January 2017)
- WHS #621: Rock Islands (4 January 2017)
- Westminster Abbey (10 December 2016)
- WHS #620: Plitvice Lakes (5 November 2016)
- WHS #619: Vredefort Dome (29 October 2016)
- WHS #618: Drakensberg (22 October 2016)
- WHS #617: iSimangaliso Wetland (15 October 2016)
- WHS #616: Mapungubwe (8 October 2016)
- WHS #615: Makapan Fossil Hominid Site (3 October 2016)
- WHS #614: Nesvizh (17 Sept 2016)
- WHS #613: Mir Castle (10 September 2016)
- WHS #612: Kernavė (3 september 2016)
- WHS #611: Curonian Spit (26 August 2016)
- Palazzina di Stupinigi (20 August 2016)
- WHS #610: Piedmont Vineyards (6 August 2016)
- WHS #606: Reichenau (2 July 2016)
- WHS #605: Swiss Alps (25 June 2016)
- WHS #604: Rjukan / Notodden (10 June 2016)
- WHS #603: Golestan Palace (28 May 2016)
- WHS #602: Soltaniyeh (21 May 2016)
- WHS #601: Takht-e Soleyman (18 May 2016)
- WHS #600: Armenian Monastic Ensembles (14 May 2016)
- WHS #599: Tabriz Bazaar (11 May 2016)
- WHS #598: Safi al-Din Ensemble (8 May 2016)
- WHS #597: Gobustan Rock Art (5 May 2016)
- WHS #596: Walled City of Baku (29 April 2016)
- A Rainy Day in Oporto (16 April 2016)
- WHS #595: Rock Art of the Coa Valley (2 April 2016)
- WHS #594: Santiago de Compostela (26 March 2016)
- Another piece of the Longobard puzzle (5 March 2016)
- Venice in one day (27 February 2016)
- WHS #593: Aquileia (21 February 2016)
- WHS #592: Kasubi Tombs (24 January 2016)
- WHS #591: Rwenzori Mountains (20 January 2016)
- WHS #590: Bwindi (15 January 2016)
- WHS #589: Virunga! (4 January 2016)
- A second look at Edinburgh (19 December 2015)
- WHS #588: Forth Bridge (13 December 2015)
- WHS #587: Pyu City of Halin (3 October 2015)
- WHS #586: Wachau (19 September 2015)
- WHS #585: Neusiedlersee (13 September 2015)
- WHS #584: Gammelstad (19 August 2015)
- WHS #583: Laponia (15 August 2015)
- Searching for the Wadden Sea (8 August 2015)
- WHS #582: Wooden Tserkvas (1 August 2015)
- WHS #581: Malopolska Churches (25 July 2015)
- WHS #580: Auschwitz Birkenau (19 July 2015)
- WHS #570: Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (10 June 2015)
- WHS #569: Ohrid Region (6 June 2015)
- WHS #568: Berat and Gjirokaster (30 May 2015)
- WHS #567: Butrint (27 May 2015)
- WHS #566: Corfu Old Town (24 May 2015)
- WHS #565: Vézelay (20 May 2015)
- WHS #564: Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay (17 May 2015)
- Remembering the Kathmandu Valley (3 May 2015)
- Florence in-depth (27 April 2015)
- WHS #563: Medici Villas and Gardens (21 April 2015)
- WHS #562: A Mining Landscape (25 March 2015)
- WHS #561: León Cathedral (6 February 2015)
- WHS #560: Ruins of León Viejo (31 January 2015)
- WHS #559: Portobelo (24 January 2015)
- WHS #558: Panamá (18 January 2015)
- WHS #557: San Cristobal de La Laguna (10 January 2015)
- WHS #556: Teide National Park (3 January 2015)
- WHS #555: Gomera's Garajonay (29 December 2014)
- WHS #554: Magnificent Meroë (13 december 2014)
- WHS #553: Gebel Barkal (7 December 2014)
- WHS #552: The Two Faces of Corvey (2 November 2014)
WHS website
- Things I learned from rewriting the site intros (12 November 2023)
- 10 Bits of Trivia about the WHS of 2022/2023 (24 September 2023)
- Incomplete Dossiers (13 August 2023)
- The WHS Commandments pt.2 (23 July 2023)
- The 10,000th Review (28 May 2023)
- Aspiring TWHS (16 April 2023)
- WHS In the News (15 January 2023)
- 2022 - A Year in Review(s) (25 December 2022)
- Country pages (28 August 2022)
- Perfect Inscriptions (31 July 2022)
- WHS tracking apps (17 July 2022)
- Spring Cleaning (8 May 2022)
- 2021 - A Year in Review(s) (26 December 2021)
- Resources about WHS (12 December 2021)
- 10 Bits of Trivia about the WHS of 2020/2021 (1 August 2021)
- The Global Strategy in 2021 (6 June 2021)
- TWHS project: the wrap-up (23 May 2021)
- WHS Plaques and Certificates (9 May 2021)
- Pimping the TWHS pages (31 January 2021)
- 2020 - A Year in Review(s) (27 December 2020)
- Looking ahead to 2021 (5 July 2020)
- Taking Travel Risks (10 May 2020)
- Remembering Iain Jackson (18 April 2020)
- 2019 - A Year in Review(s) (22 December 2019)
- A free course in World Heritage (8 December 2019)
- WH Travellers meeting 2019 (4 August 2019)
- 10 Bits of Trivia about the WHS of 2019 (7 July 2019)
- Debunking travel blog myths (12 May 2019)
- Leftovers (22 December 2018)
- Official websites of WHS (11 August 2018)
- An improved website (27 January 2018)
- 2017 - A Year in Review(s) (23 December 2017)
- Favourite entrance tickets to WHS (28 October 2017)
- Completing Europe (27 January 2017)
- WH Trip Planning in 5 steps (21 December 2016)
- WH Travellers meeting in Vilnius (31 August 2016)
- 10 Bits of Trivia about the WHS of 2016 (23 July 2016)
- WHS Top 200: The Results (9 April 2016)
- What counts as a visit? (19 March 2016)
- One of our Missing: Shwedagon Pagoda (27 September 2015)
- WH Travellers meeting in Rotterdam (26 August 2015)
- A 17-Year Journey (12 October 2014)