Nan Profile

Why?

If you enjoy spending your holidays in a club hotel in the Caribbean drinking Mai Tais, that's fine. It's your holiday and do as you please. And I personally enjoy the occasional Mai Tai on the beach, too. For me, though, spending more than a few days in the aforementioned Caribbean club hotel would be akin to purgatory. Because I like moving around, seeing new things and going to distant places.

As such I have read my fair share of guide books to figure out where to go and what to see. For instance, a few years back I visited Chile. A great place with astonishing nature to explore. Meanwhile Santiago de Chile, the capital, is fairly lackluster, having been destroyed by multiple earthquakes over the centuries. Still, any guidebook you pick up will spend a full chapter on Santiago extolling its virtues.

World Heritage Sites are different. They are as objective as it gets. They make you travel off the beaten path. I will always fondly remember my cab ride in a Czech winter landscape to Holasovice. And while Holasovice is just for the WHS connoisseurs, more often than not WHS are great sites.

Initially, I focused on quantity. And while this may seem stressful, it did give me a good picture and overview. Of late (ever since reaching the magical 300) I collect differently. Now I plan my trips on the truly great sites and pick up any site to the left and right I can visit on top.

So, should you become a WHS traveler, too? My honest recommendation is to do as you please. But if you are going to country anyhow (and be it in a club hotel), then use the map provided on this site and check out if any world heritage site is nearby. It may force to travel a bit off the beaten path, but trust me, it will be worth it.

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Germany Last Update 04.12.22 567 WHS Visited 291 Reviews 567 WHS Rated 161 TWHS Visited

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Recent Reviews Nan

Masada

Nan Germany - 19-Dec-22

As a kid, I loved to read P.M., a German popular science magazine. You would get stories about stealth bombers, ghosts, space lifts, and occasionally history. It was here that I first read the Masada legend.

In 60 CE, Jewish freedom fights (i.e., rebels) had revolted against the Roman occupiers and had valiantly fought for the liberty of their homeland

Read On

Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town

Nan Germany - 09-Dec-22

"What's your religion?" I stood at the entry to the Muslim side of the Cave of the Patriachs/Ibrahimi Mosque and an IDF soldier was asking. I answered: "None, I am an atheist." He was befuddled and repeated the question: "Sorry, but what is your religion?" Again, I truthfully answered "None." At this point, he concluded that asking me for my religion wasn't going anywhere. "Okay, what's the religion of your parents?" Honest answer would have been "None" again. Understanding that he needed an answer, I asserted that they were Christians, culturally. This made him happy, and he allowed me to enter to the site.

Read On

Complex of Sheikh Mukhtar-Vali (mausoleum) (T)

Nan Germany - 16-Nov-22

As a short excursion von Khiva, I visited the Complex of Sheikh Mukhtar-Vali. It's a bit to the East, less than 30min drive, most of it being spent on getting out of Khiva. The mausoleum is situated on a scenic cemetery. It is dedicated to yet another sheikh, the founder of the local town, Ostana.

The mosque is nice and quiet. While I visited a local couple came to pray in the mausoleum.

OUV

While it sure is a nice visit, there really isn't anything outstanding about the site that warrants an individual inscription. At most, seeing the proximity to Itchan Qala I could see it as an extension.

Read On

Samarkand

Nan Germany - 15-Nov-22

Looking at the places on my "to visit" list, Samarkand is the one that made the list first and stayed there the longest. My late aunt sometime in the 80s (or 90s?), had been to Uzbekistan and told me some mythical stories about her visit to Samarkand. I can't remember many details, but I think she was a bit challenged regarding customs and hygiene. In any case, I got Fernweh for the place: Wanting to go to Samarkand has stayed with me ever since.

I had planned to visit in 2020 but then Covid hit. Now, in 2022, I felt was the time to follow up.

Read On

Desert Castles of Ancient Khorezm (T)

Nan Germany - 15-Nov-22

What a difference a different location makes ... Coming from Nukus by shared cab, I had exited my cab at Beruni to visit Pil Qala. It was a 15min walk from the junction to the ruins and I figured I could always get a ride to Urgench and Khiva (I managed).

Pil Qala was fairly underwhelming. It's pretty small, surrounded by a town and itself heavily reconstructed. Admittedly, the castle being made of clay means it has to be reconstructed regularly. But still: This felt underserving of being on the list. Too little.

Read On

Profile Data

Name: Nan
Country: Germany
Most Impressive: Petra, Machu Picchu, Angkor
Proposal: Seoraksan, Korea. Okefenokee, USA.

Recently Visited WHS

Update 04.12.22: Old City of Jerusalem

Masada

Old City of Acre

White City of Tel-Aviv

Biblical Tells

Incense Route of the Negev

Bahá’i Holy Places

Bethlehem

Mount Carmel Caves

Battir

Caves of Maresha and Bet Guvrin

Necropolis of Bet She'arim

Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town

Visited WHS

Rating Stats

Ancient Thebes 5

Angkor 5

Florence 5

Iguazu National Park 5

Los Glaciares 5

Machu Picchu 5

Mesa Verde 5

Old City of Jerusalem 5

Palenque 5

Petra 5

Pyramids (Memphis) 5

Rapa Nui 5

Rome 5

Teotihuacan 5

Vatican City 5

Venice and its Lagoon 5

Acropolis 4.5

Amsterdam Canal Ring 4.5

Chichen-Itza 4.5

Cordoba 4.5

Dubrovnik 4.5

Fatehpur Sikri 4.5

Granada 4.5

Grand Canyon 4.5

Great Wall 4.5

Göreme NP 4.5

Loire Valley 4.5

Los Alerces National Park 4.5

Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor 4.5

Meteora 4.5

Nubian Monuments 4.5

Paris, Banks of the Seine 4.5

Piazza del Duomo (Pisa) 4.5

Ping Yao 4.5

Pompei 4.5

Prague 4.5

Ravenna 4.5

Samarkand 4.5

Sceilg Mhichíl 4.5

St. Petersburg 4.5

Te Wahipounamu 4.5

Vatnajökull National Park 4.5

Versailles 4.5

Vienna 4.5

West Norwegian Fjords 4.5

Yosemite National Park 4.5

Aachen Cathedral 4

Agrigento 4

Ancient Kyoto 4

Arab-Norman Palermo 4

Archaeological Site of Delphi 4

Berat and Gjirokastra 4

Brugge 4

Budapest 4

Castel del Monte 4

Classical Gardens of Suzhou 4

Cueva de las Manos 4

Dengfeng 4

Dolomites 4

El Escurial 4

Ephesus 4

Everglades 4

Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings 4

Guanajuato 4

Ha Long Bay 4

Haeinsa Temple 4

Hal Saflieni Hypogeum 4

Hierapolis-Pamukkale 4

Himeji-jo 4

Historic Cairo 4

Humayun's Tomb 4

Iguacu 4

Imperial Palace 4

Istanbul 4

Itchan Kala 4

Itsukushima Shrine 4

Jantar Mantar 4

Kew Gardens 4

Kinderdijk 4

Kotor 4

Kremlin and Red Square 4

Laponian Area 4

Longmen Grottoes 4

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve 4

Mont-Saint-Michel 4

Nasca Lines 4

Neolithic Orkney 4

Oaxaca and Monte Alban 4

Olympia 4

Peninsula Valdes 4

Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands 4

Rietveld Schröderhuis 4

Riga 4

Selimiye Mosque 4

Siena 4

Sintra 4

Skocjan Caves 4

South China Karst 4

Studley Royal Park 4

Surtsey 4

Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch 4

Teide National Park 4

Temple of Heaven 4

Trang An 4

Tugendhat Villa 4

Upper Middle Rhine Valley 4

Valletta 4

Vicenza 4

Wadden Sea 4

Wadi Al-Hitan 4

West Lake 4

Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines 4

Wooden Churches of Southern Malopolska 4

Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region 4

Works of Antoni Gaudí 4

Altamira Cave 3.5

Assisi 3.5

Auschwitz Birkenau 3.5

Bethlehem 3.5

Bordeaux 3.5

Bryggen 3.5

Brú na Bóinne 3.5

Calakmul 3.5

Caves of Yagul and Mitla 3.5

Central University City Campus of the UNAM 3.5

Cesky Krumlov 3.5

Champagne 3.5

Churches of Chiloé 3.5

Churches of Moldavia 3.5

Churches of Peace 3.5

Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture 3.5

Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape 3.5

Cracow 3.5

Cuenca 3.5

Dacian Fortresses 3.5

Danube Delta 3.5

Edinburgh 3.5

El Fuerte de Samaipata 3.5

Fagus Factory 3.5

Fortified City of Carcassonne 3.5

Fujisan 3.5

Grand Place, Brussels 3.5

Great Spa Towns of Europe 3.5

Gyeongju 3.5

Göbekli Tepe 3.5

High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago 3.5

Hill Forts of Rajasthan 3.5

Huangshan 3.5

Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis 3.5

Kii Mountain Range 3.5

L'viv 3.5

Lake District 3.5

Las Medulas 3.5

Malbork Castle 3.5

Masada 3.5

Matera 3.5

Megalithic Temples of Malta 3.5

Mexico City and Xochimilco 3.5

Mountain Railways of India 3.5

Museumsinsel (Museum Island) 3.5

Mycenae and Tiryns 3.5

Mystras 3.5

Old City of Acre 3.5

Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles 3.5

Pergamon 3.5

Reims 3.5

Rhodes 3.5

Sambor Prei Kuk 3.5

Schönbrunn 3.5

Stari Ras and Sopocani 3.5

Sydney Opera House 3.5

Syracuse 3.5

Tallinn 3.5

The trulli of Alberobello 3.5

Tongariro National Park 3.5

University of Coimbra 3.5

Villa Romana del Casale 3.5

Villages with Fortified Churches 3.5

Visby 3.5

Westminster 3.5

White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal 3.5

Wooden Churches of Maramures 3.5

Xidi and Hongcun 3.5

Çatalhöyük 3.5

Aggtelek and Slovak Karst 3

Agra Fort 3

Albi 3

Amiens Cathedral 3

Ancient Nara 3

Antequera Dolmens Site 3

Aphrodisias 3

Aquileia 3

Archaeological Site of Aigai 3

Arequipa 3

Arles 3

Arslantepe Mound 3

Avignon 3

Avila 3

Bamberg 3

Belem 3

Bellinzone 3

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe 3

Bukhara 3

Bursa and Cumalikizik 3

Canterbury 3

Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik 3

Caves of Maresha and Bet Guvrin 3

Changdeokgung Palace Complex 3

Churches and Convents of Goa 3

Cilento and Vallo di Diano 3

City of Bath 3

Cologne Cathedral 3

Costiera Amalfitana 3

Cuzco 3

Derwent Valley Mills 3

Dorset and East Devon Coast 3

Falun Great Copper Mountain 3

Flemish Béguinages 3

Fontainebleau 3

Forth Bridge 3

Fortifications of Vauban 3

Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz 3

Genoa 3

Giant's Causeway 3

Grand Canal 3

Great Smoky Mountains 3

Greater Blue Mountains 3

Gwynedd Castles 3

Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town 3

Hiraizumi 3

Hoi An 3

Horyu-ji Area 3

Hué 3

Hwaseong Fortress 3

Imperial Tombs 3

Isole Eolie 3

Jaipur City, Rajasthan 3

Jesuit Missions of Trinidad and Jesus 3

Jongmyo Shrine 3

Kaiping Diaolou 3

Kutna Hora 3

Kyiv 3

Luang Prabang 3

Luis Barragán House and Studio 3

Lyon 3

Macao 3

Maritime Greenwich 3

Maulbronn Monastery 3

Mostar 3

Mount Athos 3

Necropolis of Bet She'arim 3

Nikko 3

Ohrid Region 3

Old Rauma 3

Oporto 3

Plain of Jars 3

Plitvice Lakes 3

Poblet Monastery 3

Pont du Gard 3

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal 3

Potosi 3

Potsdam 3

Preah Vihear Temple 3

Qhapaq Ñan 3

Quedlinburg 3

Rammelsberg and Goslar 3

Rjukan / Notodden 3

Rock Carvings in Tanum 3

Rock Drawings in Valcamonica 3

Royal Joseon Tombs 3

Røros 3

Salamanca 3

San Miguel de Allende 3

Santiago de Compostela 3

Segovia 3

Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple 3

Seville 3

Shirakawa-go and Gokayama 3

Silk Roads 3

Southern Öland 3

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District 3

Split 3

Statue of Liberty 3

Stevns Klint 3

Stonehenge 3

Strasbourg 3

Studenica Monastery 3

Su Nuraxi di Barumini 3

Sucre 3

Summer Palace 3

Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona 3

Taj Mahal 3

The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier 3

Tower of London 3

Trebic 3

Trinity Sergius Lavra 3

Urbino 3

Urnes Stave Church 3

Uxmal 3

Valparaiso 3

Vegaøyan 3

Villa d'Este 3

Vilnius 3

Völklingen Ironworks 3

Warsaw 3

Wartburg Castle 3

Würzburg Residence 3

Xochicalco 3

Yaroslavl 3

Zollverein 3

Abbey of St Gall 2.5

Asturian Monuments 2.5

Australian Convict Sites 2.5

Banska Stiavnica 2.5

Bardejov Town 2.5

Bauhaus Sites 2.5

Belfries 2.5

Belovezhskaya Pushcha / Bialowieza Forest 2.5

Berlin Modernism Housing Estates 2.5

Biblical Tells 2.5

Blaenavon Industrial Landscape 2.5

Blenheim Palace 2.5

Boyana Church 2.5

Burgos Cathedral 2.5

Burgundy 2.5

Butrint 2.5

Caceres 2.5

Camino Real 2.5

Chartres Cathedral 2.5

Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay 2.5

Convent of Christ in Tomar 2.5

Corfu 2.5

Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland 2.5

Diyarbakir Fortress and Hevsel Gardens 2.5

Durham Castle and Cathedral 2.5

Elvas 2.5

Engelsberg Ironworks 2.5

Euphrasian Basilica in Porec 2.5

Evora 2.5

Fortress of Suomenlinna 2.5

Fray Bentos 2.5

Gammelstad 2.5

Gamzigrad-Romuliana 2.5

Genbaku Dome 2.5

Gorham's Cave Complex 2.5

Graz 2.5

Grimeton Radio Station 2.5

Hallstatt-Dachstein 2.5

Heritage of Mercury 2.5

Incense Route of the Negev 2.5

Independence Hall 2.5

Ironbridge Gorge 2.5

Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos 2.5

Jodrell Bank Observatory 2.5

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 2.5

Keoladeo National Park 2.5

Le Havre 2.5

Liangzhu Archaeological Site 2.5

Longobards in Italy 2.5

Lübeck 2.5

Mantua and Sabbioneta 2.5

Margravial Opera House 2.5

Medici Villas and Gardens 2.5

Medina of Tétouan 2.5

Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge 2.5

Melaka and George Town 2.5

Monastery of Alcobaça 2.5

Monastery of Batalha 2.5

Mount Carmel Caves 2.5

Muskauer Park 2.5

Nancy 2.5

Naples 2.5

Nesvizh 2.5

New Lanark 2.5

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai 2.5

Orange 2.5

Palau de la Musica Catalana & Hospital de Sant Pau 2.5

Palmeral of Elche 2.5

Panamá 2.5

Petäjävesi Old Church 2.5

Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk 2.5

Plantin-Moretus Museum 2.5

Popocatepetl monasteries 2.5

Provins 2.5

Puebla 2.5

Qutb Minar 2.5

Red Fort 2.5

Rhaetian Railway 2.5

Rila Monastery 2.5

Rock Art of Alta 2.5

Roman Walls of Lugo 2.5

Route of Santiago de Compostela 2.5

Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans 2.5

Roșia Montană 2.5

Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy 2.5

Saltaire 2.5

San Gimignano 2.5

Santa Maria delle Grazie 2.5

Sarazm 2.5

Sian Ka'an 2.5

Sighisoara 2.5

Singapore Botanic Gardens 2.5

Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution 2.5

Skogskyrkogarden 2.5

Speyer Cathedral 2.5

Spissky Hrad and Levoca 2.5

Stralsund and Wismar 2.5

Tarraco 2.5

Telc 2.5

The Four Lifts 2.5

Thessalonika 2.5

Tiwanaku 2.5

Toledo 2.5

Tomioka Silk Mill 2.5

Tower of Hercules 2.5

Trier 2.5

Trogir 2.5

Troy 2.5

Val d'Orcia 2.5

Val di Noto 2.5

Van Nellefabriek 2.5

Vat Phou 2.5

Villa Adriana (Tivoli) 2.5

Vizcaya Bridge 2.5

Vlkolinec 2.5

Wachau Cultural Landscape 2.5

Western Ghats 2.5

White City of Tel-Aviv 2.5

Wooden Churches of the Slovak Carpathians 2.5

Alcala de Henares 2

Archaeological site of Philippi 2

Benedictine Convent of St. John 2

Canal du Midi 2

Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust 2

Centennial Hall 2

China Danxia 2

Christiansfeld 2

City of Luxembourg 2

Curonian Spit 2

Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios 2

Epidaurus 2

Ferrara 2

Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz 2

Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen 2

Holy Trinity Column 2

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine 2

Jelling 2

Karlskrona 2

Kernavė 2

Kladruby nad Labem 2

Kronborg Castle 2

Krzemionki prehistoric striped flint mining region 2

La Lonja de la Seda 2

Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces 2

Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape 2

Lima 2

Litomysl Castle 2

Ljubljana 2

Major Town Houses 2

Mining Sites of Wallonia 2

Modena 2

Monastery of Horezu 2

Monte San Giorgio 2

Morelia 2

Mudejar Architecture of Aragon 2

Mérida 2

Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes 2

Nessebar 2

Nice 2

Novgorod 2

Novodevichy Convent 2

Peking Man Site 2

Pienza 2

Pilgrimage Church of Wies 2

Prehistoric Pile Dwellings 2

Residence of Bukovinian & Dalmatian Metropolitans 2

Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo 2

Roskilde Cathedral 2

Royal Palace at Caserta 2

Saint-Emilion 2

Salzburg 2

Sammallahdenmäki 2

San Marino and Mount Titano 2

Santa Maria de Guadalupe 2

Stećci 2

Struve Geodetic Arc 2

Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae 2

Thracian tomb of Sveshtari 2

Town Hall and Roland, Bremen 2

Venetian Works of Defence 2

Verona 2

Zamosc 2

Úbeda and Baeza 2

Aranjuez 1.5

Bahá’i Holy Places 1.5

Beemster Polder 1.5

Birka and Hovgarden 1.5

Botanical Garden, Padua 1.5

Campeche 1.5

Caves and Ice Age Art 1.5

Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye 1.5

Classical Weimar 1.5

Colonia del Sacramento 1.5

Crespi d'Adda 1.5

Donana National Park 1.5

Drottningholm 1.5

Fertö/Neusiedlersee 1.5

Frontiers of the Roman Empire 1.5

Hedeby and Danevirke 1.5

Holasovice 1.5

Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal 1.5

Ivrea 1.5

La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle 1.5

Luther Memorials 1.5

Madara Rider 1.5

Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt 1.5

Medina Azahara 1.5

Mining Cultural Landscape Erzgebirge 1.5

Mount Etna 1.5

Naumburg Cathedral 1.5

Par force hunting landscape 1.5

Pirin National Park 1.5

Portobelo-San Lorenzo 1.5

Primeval Beech Forests 1.5

Querétaro 1.5

Regensburg 1.5

Reichenau 1.5

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy 1.5

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France 1.5

Semmering Railway 1.5

Shakhrisyabz 1.5

Thingvellir 1.5

Torun 1.5

Verla Groundwood and Board Mill 1.5

Xanthos-Letoon 1.5

Abbey and Altenmünster of Lorsch 1

Battir 1

Colonies of Benevolence 1

Corvey 1

Danube Limes 1

Dutch Water Defence Lines 1

Hildesheim Cathedral and Church 1

Lower German Limes 1

Mafra Palace, Convent and Royal Hunting Park 1

Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 1

Messel Pit 1

Mir Castle 1

Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 1

Old City of Berne 1

Rock-Art of the Mediterranean Basin 1

Schokland 1

ShUM Sites 1

Stari Grad Plain 1

Stoclet House 1

Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine 1

Thang Long 1

The Porticoes of Bologna 1

Tokaji Wine Region 1

Water Management System of Augsburg 1

Hortobágy 0.5

Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro 0.5

Srebarna Nature Reserve 0.5

The Prosecco Hills 0.5

Tlacotalpan 0.5

Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont 0.5

Etruscan Necropolises

Western Tien-Shan

World Heritage Site

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Nan Profile

Why?

If you enjoy this...

Visited Sites Nan

Legend

Recent Reviews Nan

Masada

Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town

Complex of Sheikh Mukhtar-Vali (mausoleum) (T)

OUV

Samarkand

Desert Castles of Ancient Khorezm (T)

Profile Data

Recently Visited WHS

Visited WHS

Reviewed WHS

Visited TWHS

Reviewed TWHS

Top 50 Missing Sites

Top 200 WHS