Boj Profile
Boj completed his Masters in Geography, Urban and Regional Planning at the Peking University in China. His specialization is National Park Management and World Heritage Studies.
Recent Reviews Boj
Melka Kunture and Balchit (T)
Boj Philippines - 14-Jan-23
Visited Melka Kunture archaeological site in January 2023 - a quick day trip from Addis Ababa.
The site has an interesting museum exhibiting Ethiopia's rich archaeological heritage. Melka Kunture boasts for recording 1.7 million years of continuous prehistoric human occupation, apart from its rich lithic, flora and fauna fossil records (Photo is from the dig site with in-situ artefacts).
Travelers can arrange a visit to Melka Kunture with a trip to Tiya (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Adadi Mariam Rock Church, the only known rock-hewn church outside of Lalibela.
Read OnLower Valley of the Omo
Boj Philippines - 10-Jan-23
Visited first week of January 2023.
Before arranging this visit, I consulted a number of tour operators, checked blogs, travel tips to figure out how to arrive at the "supposed" core/heritage zone of the property. I managed to reach Omorate, the southernmost point (of my trip) in the area, where I visited Dassanech village and attempted to walk further west, hoping to at least get a glimpse of those mysterious land formations.
Did I manage to visit the property? 50/50 - perhaps in the future, a more definitive map defining core & buffer zones will decide whether I (and many other travelers) did manage to tick off the site. Did I have fun visiting the area? Very much so. The visit to the villages (Karo, Morsi, Hamer and Konso) is the highlight of travel to Ethiopia's southern region
Read OnLe complexe hydraulique romain de Zaghouan-Carthage (T)
Boj Philippines - 07-Jan-23
In December 2022, my brother and I went south of Tunis to visit Zaghouan, along with Uthina and Zriba Olya, an abandoned Berber mountain village. On the way to Zaghouan town, one could stop by and visit portions of the aqueduct.
The property has OUV potential, given its claim to be one of the longest aqueducts ever built in the Roman empire - 132km from the Zaghouan sacred spring and temple (pictured here) to Carthage, using the natural contours and topography of the landscape. The properties however need significant restoration.
Read OnBird Migration Routes (T)
Boj Philippines - 09-Oct-22
Visited Saluga and Ghazal or First Cataract Islands Protected Area during travel to Aswan's Nubian Monuments in early October 2022. Also "visited" another Bird Migration Route, Lake Nasser, during the visit to the Kalabsha Temple, but can't write enough about that brief passage.
Saluga and Ghazal are not actually two Nile islands, but a cluster of twenty or more islands. The park superintendent said that in winter, or when the water level is at its lowest, more rock formations appear, revealing fish nests, sandy beaches and other geologic features.
Read OnSaint Catherine Area
Boj Philippines - 25-Jul-22
I had the opportunity to arrange a 3-day visit to the holy site, which included a hike to Mt. St. Catherine - the highest point in Egypt, through the guidance of Ahmed, a Jebeliya Bedouin. He said his tribe has lived for centuries in the mountains of South Sinai.
Perhaps for most travelers, St. Catherine Area means St. Catherine Monastery, and its impressive museum, church and the Burning Bush. But by venturing out in the valleys and canyon (property is 60,000+ hectares), one discovers other interesting chapels, ruins and archaeological sites most likely related to stories in the Book of Exodus.
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Boj
- Country
- Philippines
- Proposal
- Batanes Cultural Landscape, Chocolate Hills, Mayon Volcano Natural Park & Galleon Sites
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 28.08.23
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Reviewed WHS
- Lower Valley of the Omo
- Saint Catherine Area
- Hyrcanian Forests
- Tassili n'Ajjer
- Sambor Prei Kuk
- Novodevichy Convent
- Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings
- Hani Rice Terraces
- Lenggong Valley
- Singapore Botanic Gardens
- Primeval Beech Forests
- Ancient Tea Plantations of Pu'er
- Mount Hamiguitan
- Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River
- Mount Wutai
- Yin Xu
- Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras
- Royal Joseon Tombs
- Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen
- Budapest
- Hollókö
- Vigan
- Baroque Churches
- Mount Emei, including Leshan Giant Buddha
- Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries
- Imperial Tombs
- Huangshan
- Fujian Tulou
Visited TWHS
- Abydos, city of pilgrimage of the Pharaohs (T)
- Alexandria, ancient remains and the new library (T)
- Ancient Residences in Shanxi and Shaanxi Provinces (T)
- Apo Reef Natural Park (T)
- Archaeological Sites of the Ancient Shu State: Site at Jinsha and Joint Tombs of Boat- shaped Coffins in Chengdu City, S (T)
- Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Extension) (T)
- Bird Migration Routes (T)
- Butuan Archeological Sites (T)
- Centre historique de Saida (T)
- Chinese Section of the Silk Road (T)
- Chocolate Hills Natural Monument (T)
- City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (T)
- Coron Island Natural Biotic Area (T)
- Dahab (T)
- Dahshour archaeological area (T)
- Desert Wadis (T)
- Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's Home-Study Museum (T)
- Egyptian Museum in Cairo (T)
- El Fayoum (T)
- El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area (T)
- Gebel Qatrani Area, Lake Qaroun Nature Reserve (T)
- Great Desert Landscapes (T)
- Historic quarters and monuments of Rosetta/Rachid (T)
- Jerash Archaeological City (Ancient Meeting Place of East and West) (T)
- Kakum National Park (T)
- Kharga Oasis and the Small Southern Oases (T)
- Lac Abbeh (T)
- Le complexe hydraulique romain de Zaghouan-Carthage (T)
- Le Lac Assal (T)
- Le Parc National de la forêt du Day (T)
- Le paysage urbain historique de la ville de Djibouti et ses bâtiments spécifiques (T)
- Les Îles Moucha et Maskali (T)
- Les Mausolées Royaux de Numidie, de la Maurétanie et les monuments funéraires pré-islamiques (Algeria) (T)
- Mayon Volcano Natural Park (T)
- Melka Kunture and Balchit (T)
- Minia (T)
- Mountain Chains (T)
- Mt. Iglit-Baco National Park (T)
- Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park (T)
- Mt. Pulag National Park (T)
- Necropolises of Middle Egypt, from the Middle Empire to the Roman period (T)
- Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (T)
- Nzulezu Stilt Settlement (T)
- Oasis of Fayoum, hydraulic remains and ancient cultural landscapes (T)
- Pharaon Island (T)
- Pharaonic temples in Upper Egypt from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods (T)
- Ras Mohammed (T)
- Route of Magellan (T)
- Rutho Monastery (T)
- Siwa archaeological area (T)
- Southern and Smaller Oases, the Western Desert (T)
- Surakhany, Atashgyakh (Fire - worshippers, temple - museum at Surakhany) (T)
- Temple of Hator built by Ramses III (T)
- Temples, Shrines and other structures of Ancient Kamakura (T)
- The Ancient Waterfront Towns in the South of Yangtze River (T)
- The Caspian Shore Defensive Constructions (T)
- The Central Axis of Beijing (including Beihai) (T)
- The Chinese Section of the Silk Roads (T)
- The monasteries of the Arab Desert and Wadi Natrun (T)
- The Old Town of Jakarta (T)
- The Tabon Cave Complex and all of Lipuun Point (T)
- Trowulan (T)
- Two citadels in Sinai from the Saladin period (Al-Gundi and Phataoh's island) (T)
- Wooden Structures of Liao Dynasty - Wooden Pagoda of Yingxian County, Main Hall of Fengguo Monastery of Yixian County (T)
- Wudalianchi Scenic Spots (T)
Reviewed TWHS
- Melka Kunture and Balchit (T)
- Le complexe hydraulique romain de Zaghouan-Carthage (T)
- Bird Migration Routes (T)
- The Caspian Shore Defensive Constructions (T)
- Southern and Smaller Oases, the Western Desert (T)
- Great Desert Landscapes (T)
- Lac Abbeh (T)
- Desert Wadis (T)
- Prehistoric Sites of the Cagayan Valley Basin (T)
- Oasis of Fayoum, hydraulic remains and ancient cultural landscapes (T)
- Siwa archaeological area (T)
- Mt. Pulag National Park (T)
- Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (T)
- Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park (T)
- Butuan Archeological Sites (T)
- The Tabon Cave Complex and all of Lipuun Point (T)
- El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area (T)
- Kabayan Mummy Burial Caves (T)
- Chocolate Hills Natural Monument (T)
- Mayon Volcano Natural Park (T)
- Apo Reef Natural Park (T)
- The Historic Towns and Landscape of Taal Volcano and its Caldera Lake (T)
- Spanish Colonial Fortifications of the Philippines (T)
- Mt. Iglit-Baco National Park (T)
- Petroglyphs and Petrographs of the Philippines (T)
- Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Extension) (T)
Top 50 Missing Sites
- Bagan
- City of Herat
- Coron Island Natural Biotic Area
- Dzongs of Bhutan
- El Nido Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area
- Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Frank Gehry
- Infrastructure of the Industrial Revolution in Britain
- Lake Titicaca
- Major Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright
- Mecca, Kaaba
- Panama Canal
- Plain of Jars / Sites Mégalithiques de la province de Xieng Khouang
- Railways of the Andes
- Rainforests of Polynesia
- Silk Roads
- Suez Canal
- Tana Toraja Cultural Landscape
- The Grand Canal
- Transiberian Railway
- Varanasi