Ilya Burlak Profile

I only started prioritizing visiting World Heritage sites a few years ago and with my limited US-based corporate-warrior time-off allocation and family obligations I can only add a handful to a dozen in any given year. Looking forward to visiting them all after I am able to retire...

USA Last Update 02.12.19 150 WHS Visited 78 Reviews 150 WHS Rated 38 TWHS Visited

Visited Sites Ilya Burlak

Toggle Missing/Visited

Legend

●● Cultural
●● Natural
●● Mixed

Recent Reviews Ilya Burlak

Incense Route of the Negev

Ilya Burlak USA - 14-Jan-20

I visited Mamshit and Avdat on my trip to Israel in November 2019. Unlike the Biblical Tels, the archaeological sites of the Nabatean towns offer enough of standing remains to help imagine what the places looked like at the height of their prosperity, and in that respect are more visually interesting. Large portions of the sites are still shapeless piles of rocks, but there are also high walls, defined interior spaces, and some structures that survived in reasonable shape. Where the arches survive, they are definitely among the most eye-catching details. And the temples are usually the places where you can find the best remaining decorative details, such as floor mosaics or columns.

Read On

Bethlehem

Ilya Burlak USA - 11-Jan-20

I arranged for a private half-day guided tour of Bethlehem in November of 2019, which included not just the Church of Nativity, but also a drive through the governorate countryside, several viewpoints, a visit to the Shepherds Field, and a stroll through the center of the town of Bethlehem.

Church of the Nativity itself is not unlike the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, in that it is a major pilgrimage destination that is shared by several Christian denominations. The Bethlehem church is less of a madhouse, though; the stream of visitors is steady, but nowhere near the volume you find at the Holy Sepulchre. You can view the remains of the floor mosaic of the original church from the 4th century, and descend to a number of secondary grottoes where you may even have the space to yourself

Read On

Jerusalem (T)

Ilya Burlak USA - 03-Jan-20

When in Jerusalem, Mount of Olives and Mount Zion are practically unmissable parts of the itinerary, both for the historic and religious sites situated on them, and in case of Mount of Olives for the canonical wide perspectives over the entire Old City.

There are several interesting sights on the slopes of Mount of Olives, such as Dominus Flevit Church, Mary Magdalene Church, Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane, the Tomb of the Virgin. Mount Zion is headlined by the Tomb of the King David and the Abbey of the Dormition, as well as the Room of the Last Supper.

Read On

Old City of Jerusalem

Ilya Burlak USA - 03-Jan-20

I spent about a day and a half in Jerusalem’s Old City on my trip to Israel in November 2019. That appears to be enough to see all of the major points of interest, both in terms of the inscribed WHS and the tentative extension; although in a city with such wealth of historical context, you will feel like you rushed through some of the sights no matter how much time you give yourself.

The very brief Jerusalem WH inscription is all about its significance to the three main monotheistic religions, and being an adherent of one is likely to be an important ingredient for a true spiritual connection to the city. Religious people will surely be awed by being so near the sacred sights, much more so than a secular visitor will ever be.

Read On

Biblical Tells

Ilya Burlak USA - 28-Dec-19

I visited two of the three inscribed tels on my tour around Israel in November of 2019. The biggest and the most popular of them is Megiddo, in the Lower Galilee. It had been settled from Neolithic times through the Bronze and Iron Ages until about 3rd century BC. Excavations in the 20th century unearthed over twenty layers of cities successively built on this site. Beyond the gates to the site, the rest of it is low wall outlines and occasional stand-alone features. A casual visitor is unlikely to be able to find enough visuals to appreciate anything more than the vague yet obvious notion that this place is really really old

Read On

Profile Data

Name: Ilya Burlak
Country: USA
Website: website

Recently Visited WHS

Update 02.12.19: Old City of Jerusalem

Istanbul

Petra

Masada

Old City of Acre

White City of Tel-Aviv

Biblical Tells

Incense Route of the Negev

Bahá’i Holy Places

Wadi Rum

Bethlehem

Mount Carmel Caves

Necropolis of Bet She'arim

Visited WHS

Rating Stats

Amsterdam Canal Ring 5

Brugge 5

Budapest 5

Cordoba 5

Costiera Amalfitana 5

Florence 5

Granada 5

Kremlin and Red Square 5

Loire Valley 5

Palau de la Musica Catalana & Hospital de Sant Pau 5

Paris, Banks of the Seine 5

Petra 5

Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands 5

Prague 5

Ravenna 5

Rome 5

Segovia 5

Siena 5

St. Petersburg 5

Venice and its Lagoon 5

Vienna 5

Wadi Rum 5

West Norwegian Fjords 5

Works of Antoni Gaudí 5

Acropolis 4.5

Assisi 4.5

Bryggen 4.5

Cracow 4.5

Grand Place, Brussels 4.5

Istanbul 4.5

Oporto 4.5

Piazza del Duomo (Pisa) 4.5

Pompei 4.5

Potsdam 4.5

San Gimignano 4.5

Seville 4.5

Sintra 4.5

Stonehenge 4.5

Toledo 4.5

Vatican City 4.5

Versailles 4.5

Albi 4

Alto Douro 4

Avignon 4

Botanical Garden, Padua 4

Brú na Bóinne 4

Chartres Cathedral 4

Chichen-Itza 4

Cologne Cathedral 4

Convent of Christ in Tomar 4

Delos 4

Drottningholm 4

Dubrovnik 4

Edinburgh 4

Giant's Causeway 4

Gwynedd Castles 4

Kinderdijk 4

Kyiv 4

L'viv 4

Monastery of Alcobaça 4

Monastery of Batalha 4

Mostar 4

Old City of Jerusalem 4

Rietveld Schröderhuis 4

Roskilde Cathedral 4

Schönbrunn 4

Split 4

Tower of London 4

Upper Middle Rhine Valley 4

Urbino 4

Verona 4

Vicenza 4

Westminster 4

Archaeological Site of Delphi 3.5

Arles 3.5

City of Bath 3.5

Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios 3.5

El Escurial 3.5

Ferrara 3.5

Fortified City of Carcassonne 3.5

Graz 3.5

Guimarães 3.5

Kotor 3.5

Kronborg Castle 3.5

La Fortaleza 3.5

Mycenae and Tiryns 3.5

Old City of Berne 3.5

Pienza 3.5

Pont du Gard 3.5

Québec 3.5

Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga 3.5

Tarraco 3.5

Trinity Sergius Lavra 3.5

Villa d'Este 3.5

Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines 3.5

Alcala de Henares 3

Belem 3

Belfries 3

Canterbury 3

Evora 3

Fortifications of Vauban 3

Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings 3

Incense Route of the Negev 3

Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal 3

Kew Gardens 3

Mantua and Sabbioneta 3

Maritime Greenwich 3

Masada 3

Medici Villas and Gardens 3

Modena 3

Reims 3

San Marino and Mount Titano 3

Statue of Liberty 3

Strasbourg 3

Trogir 3

University of Coimbra 3

Val d'Orcia 3

Vézère Valley 3

Beemster Polder 2.5

Bethlehem 2.5

Biblical Tells 2.5

Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik 2.5

Forth Bridge 2.5

Independence Hall 2.5

Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley 2.5

Major Town Houses 2.5

Necropolis of Bet She'arim 2.5

New Lanark 2.5

Novodevichy Convent 2.5

Old City of Acre 2.5

Poblet Monastery 2.5

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy 2.5

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France 2.5

Santa Maria delle Grazie 2.5

Schokland 2.5

Semmering Railway 2.5

Skogskyrkogarden 2.5

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier 2.5

Venetian Works of Defence 2.5

Wadden Sea 2.5

Canal du Midi 2

Defence Line of Amsterdam 2

Frontiers of the Roman Empire 2

Stećci 2

White City of Tel-Aviv 2

Bahá’i Holy Places 1.5

Rock-Art of the Mediterranean Basin 1.5

Van Nellefabriek 1.5

Mount Carmel Caves 1

Stoclet House 1

World Heritage Site

for World Heritage Travellers

Ilya Burlak Profile

Visited Sites Ilya Burlak

Legend

Recent Reviews Ilya Burlak

Incense Route of the Negev

Bethlehem

Jerusalem (T)

Old City of Jerusalem

Biblical Tells

Profile Data

Recently Visited WHS

Visited WHS

Reviewed WHS

Visited TWHS

Reviewed TWHS