Ilya Burlak Profile

Ilya Burlak
Ilya Burlak.

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...

Visited Sites Ilya Burlak

Load map Toggle Missing/Visited

Legend

  • Cultural
  • Natural
  • Mixed

Recent Reviews Ilya Burlak


Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade Routes from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea (T)

Ilya Burlak USA - 07-Feb-24

Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade Routes from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea (T)

Only Yoros Castle and Galata Tower were included on my itinerary of Istanbul and Marmara in October of 2023. Furthermore, although I stayed literally around the corner from Galata Tower, I never actually set foot in it. There are so many other elevated perspectives that you can find in Istanbul and the lines to enter Galata Tower are so long throughout the day that I expressly decided to skip it. So beyond agreeing that it is a very impressive building - arguably, one of the emblematic sights of Istanbul - I have very little to say about it.

Read On

Bursa and Cumalikizik

Ilya Burlak USA - 06-Feb-24

Bursa and Cumalikizik

In October of 2023, on a brief road trip from Istanbul, I spent an afternoon and stayed overnight in Bursa, while also visiting Cumalıkızık the next morning.

My time in Bursa allowed me to visit four of the WHS components, the central Orhan Ghazi Külliye, the nearby mausoleum of Orhan Gazi in Tophane Park, and Yesil Külliye and Yildirim Külliye. Visiting other components felt a bit of an overkill, but covering all locations looks possible within a full day or maybe a day and a half; distances are not insurmountable on foot but also not trivial away from the central cluster of sights; taxis are inexpensive.

Read On

Íznik (T)

Ilya Burlak USA - 18-Jan-24

Íznik (T)

I spent a bit over three hours in Íznik in October of 2023. That was enough time to stop by three of the town's gates, explore several mosques, peruse the museum collection at the historic soup kitchen building, stroll around the central town a bit, and glance at the Roman theater from behind the fence. I also initially planned to go to the Tile Museum, but that was curtailed due to the amount of time I spent on breakfast in the morning.

Of the gates, the Lefke on the eastern side is the most interesting to explore, while Yenişehir on the southern edge is the most fortress-like

Read On

Nuragic monuments of Sardinia (T)

Ilya Burlak USA - 07-Oct-23

Nuragic monuments of Sardinia (T)

I visited 4 of this serial site locations in August-September of 2023 on a self-driven tour around Sardinia, in addition to the already inscribed Su Nuraxi di Barumini.

Santu Antine was one nuraghe that I would call the most impressive, even more so than Su Nuraxi. Unlike the latter, Santu Antine's defined interior spaces actually allow proper exploration of the main structure, including several fairly walkable covered passages. It is hard to imagine that it would be overlooked for inclusion when and if the decision to extend comes along. It is also more photogenic, IMHO.

Read On

Su Nuraxi di Barumini

Ilya Burlak USA - 06-Oct-23

Su Nuraxi di Barumini

I visited Su Nuraxi in September of 2023 on a self-driven tour around Sardinia. Due to the structure of my itinerary, Su Nuraxi was the fifth Nuragic site that I stopped by, so I already was well familiar with the key information points regarding the ancient civilization and its archetypal edifice. Because of that, I did not mind going on an Italian-language tour, starting within minutes of my arrival, as opposed to waiting for the next English-language tour. That I speak and understand Italian - passably, not fluently - obviously helped, but the relative familiarity with the subject helped even more.

Read On

Profile Data

Name
Ilya Burlak
Country
USA
Website
website

Recently Visited WHS

Update 31.12.23
Rating Stats
Brugge 5
Petra 5
Prague 5
Rome 5
Siena 5
Vienna 5
Acropolis 4.5
Assisi 4.5
Bryggen 4.5
Istanbul 4.5
Kraków 4.5
Oporto 4.5
Pompei 4.5
Potsdam 4.5
Seville 4.5
Sintra 4.5
Toledo 4.5
Albi 4
Delos 4
L'viv 4
Mostar 4
Split 4
Urbino 4
Verona 4
Arles 3.5
Ferrara 3.5
Graz 3.5
Kotor 3.5
Pienza 3.5
Québec 3.5
Tarraco 3.5
Belem 3
Evora 3
Masada 3
Modena 3
Odesa 3
Reims 3
Trogir 3
Bethlehem 2.5
Panamá 2.5
Schokland 2.5
Nice 2
    Expression #1 of ORDER BY clause is not in SELECT list, references column 'whsphp.t.name' which is not in SELECT list; this is incompatible with DISTINCT