Alikander99 Profile
I love to travel and ithat's probably because of my family. I was justr a few months old when I took my first plane to scotland and just two years later I went to Vietnam. I had the luck of having well off grandparents set head on on travelling the world with their family. So I've been travelling ever since I can remember and well before that.
By the time I was 18 I started building upon my already long list of family trips with a set of my own. Starting slow, I've been gaining my footing, especially in regards to solo travel.
I'm a history geek, an all out foodie, and in general curious of many topics. I think that's why I like the WHL so much. I love learning about obscure facts and the list largely satisfies my hunger for knowledge. I also sync with the fundamental idea behind the list: that there are places humanity at large should attempt to protect.
So for the last few years I've been using this web to make my trips, follow the hijinks of the committee, and in general talk about heritage with other people.
Recent Reviews Alikander99
Medina Azahara
Alikander99 Spain - 25-Feb-25
Well, unfortunately I missed the short window to visit the salon rico, so I won't be adding much new to the fray.
This is a rather polarizing site, with some ultimately disregarding it, while others give it a passing score.
Now that I've visited I understand why. The site itself is poorly preserved, and as pointed out there are some rather terrible past reconstructions standing in the park.
At the same time however, the site has, I think, a lot of unfulfilled potential.
First thing we have to remember is that the city is from the late 10th century. Its state of conservation is not that bad once you take into account its age.
Read OnAranjuez
Alikander99 Spain - 26-Nov-24
Well, after a decade or so I've finally gone back to Aranjuez! here are my thoughts.
First off I think it's interesting noting that aranjuez was proposed fairly late among the Spanish sites and as a cultural landscape.
As many people have pointed out the actual highlight of the site are the gardens.
The palace is indeed kinda ghastly. The rooms were renovated in the 19th century when Spain, and particularly the crown, were in full crisis. The result is some interior design I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. You can actually skip it tbh.
Read OnPlasencia - Monfragüe - Trujillo : Paysage méditerranéen (T)
Alikander99 Spain - 07-Nov-24
I guess I should do justice to the city my father lives in and write a review for this site, even if i doubt it will ever be inscribed.
I have gone to Plasencia more times than I care to count. Tbf to my father, who took me there every 2 weeks, It has a rather monumental historic centre which has been preserved pretty well. The city has kept a big portion of its medieval walls, there's multiple civil and eclesiastical palaces and of course there's the cathedral. Overall it's a pretty solid medieval small city, with a lively atmosphere and an enormous half finished cathedral. It's pretty though rather unremarkable.
Read OnTarraco
Alikander99 Spain - 25-Sep-24
Tarraco is messy proposal with a lot of parts to it, just like the equally hispano roman city of Merida. Over the course of two days I visited the amphitheatre, the circus, the aqueduct and the mausoleum (?) of centcelles. I also visited other properties like the forum and theatre, but their conservation state is pretty terrible.
The most famous element of the site is whithout a doubt the amphitheatre. it's pretty and very photogenic, but it pales in comparison with other city enclosed amphitheatres like arles, verona or pula. This is not all too surprising, afterall Tarraco is inscribed because of its ensemble, but I think the fact that the crown jewel is not overly impressive speaks volumes about the general quality of the site.
Read OnBukhara
Alikander99 Spain - 22-Sep-24
Bukhara is the middle child of uzbekistan's whs cities. Less monumental and lively than Samarkand, but more so than khiva. Less cohesive than khiva, but more so than Samarkand.
It is by far also the most diverse of them too. While khiva and Samarkand almost exclusively shine through a particular period (19th century and 15th century respectively) Bukhara has a bit of everything. It has brilliant pre-timurid architecture (samanid Mausoleum), timurid masterpieces (Ulugh begh madrasa) and later additions up to the 20th century (arq).
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Alikander99
- Country
- Spain
- Ranking
- 527
- Most Impressive
- Chola temples, Petra, Taj Mahal
- Proposal
- David gareja, armenia. Schwedagon pagoda
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 25.02.25
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10 Best Missing
Visited WHS
Rating StatsBagan 4.5Calakmul 4.5Granada 4.5Istanbul 4.5Petra 4.5Rome 4.5Samarkand 4.5Victoria Falls 4.5Budapest 4Cordoba 4Ephesus 4Meteora 4Segovia 4Split 4Toledo 4Uxmal 4Vienna 4Agra Fort 3.5Agrigento 3.5Bordeaux 3.5Bukhara 3.5Cartagena 3.5Chichen-Itza 3.5El Escurial 3.5Itchan Kala 3.5Kotor 3.5Malbork Castle 3.5Qutb Minar 3.5Riga 3.5Seville 3.5Vilnius 3.5Vézère Valley 3.5Albi 3Caceres 3Red Fort 3Salzburg 3Syracuse 3Trier 3Valletta 3Aranjuez 2.5Jantar Mantar 2.5Masada 2.5Medina Azahara 2.5Ohrid Region 2.5Saint-Emilion 2.5Tarraco 2.5Trogir 2.5Wadi Rum 2.5Zamość 2.5Graz 2Reviewed WHS
Visited TWHS
- Amalienborg and its district (T)
- Ancares - Somiedo (T)
- Ancient cities of Upper Myanmar : Innwa, Amarapura, Sagaing, Mingun, Mandalay (T)
- Ayeyawady River Corridor (T)
- Bulwarked Frontier Fortifications (T)
- Centre ancien de Sarlat (T)
- Cetinje Historic Core (T)
- Diocletian's Palace and the Historical Nucleus of Split (extension) (T)
- El Ferrol of the Illustration Historical Heritage (T)
- Historical city of Izamal (Izamal, Mayan continuity in an Historical City) (T)
- Inle Lake (T)
- Knights Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta (T)
- La Rioja and Rioja Alavesa Vine and Wine Cultural Landscape (T)
- Le Palais de Justice de Bruxelles (T)
- Les Alpes de la Méditerranée (France) (T)
- Les témoignages matériels de la construction de l’État des Pyrénées : la Co-principauté d’Andorre (A) (T)
- Maltese Catacomb Complexes (T)
- Mediterranean Wind Mills (T)
- Mining Historical Heritage (T)
- Plasencia - Monfragüe - Trujillo : Paysage méditerranéen (T)
- Roman Ways. Itineraries of the Roman Empire (T)
- Romanesque Cultural Enclave in the North of Castile-Leon and the South of Cantabria (T)
- Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill (T)
- Sigüenza and Atienza Sweet and Salty Landscape (T)
- The Historic Centre of Sibiu and its Ensemble of Squares (T)
- The historic town of Korcula (T)
- The Maritime Heritage of Dragør Old Town and Harbour - A ‘skipper-town’ from the era of the great tall ships in the 18th and 19th centuries (T)
- Ulcinj Old town (T)
- Zadar - Episcopal complex (T)
Reviewed TWHS
- Plasencia - Monfragüe - Trujillo : Paysage méditerranéen (T)
- Mdina (Citta Vecchia) (T)
- Mining Historical Heritage (T)
- Bulwarked Frontier Fortifications (T)
- The Maritime Heritage of Dragør Old Town and Harbour (T)
- The Historic City of Dublin (T)
- Zadar - Episcopal complex (T)
- David Gareji Monasteries and Hermitage (T)
- Sigüenza and Atienza Sweet and Salty Landscape (T)