The Jameh Mosque is the third World Heritage Site in the beautiful city of Esfahan (Meidan Emam en Sotun Palace (part of the The Persian Garden World Heritage Site) are …
Joyce Van Soest
Netherlands \ Member since December 2005
#62 486 0 18
My most impressive site: Decani Monastery, Kosovo (it is not only a beautiful monastery, but going to the monastry protected by armed soldiers is an experience by itself)
Recent Visits
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20July 14, 2025Cambodian Memorial Sites, Minoan Palatial Centres
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40March 8, 2025Island of Gorée, Kunta Kinteh Island, Saloum Delta, Stone Circles of Senegambia
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80Dec. 2, 2024Amami-Oshima Island, Fujisan, Genbaku Dome, Gusuku of Ryukyu, Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region …
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About Joyce van Soest
- Member since
- December 2005
- Country of Origin
- Netherlands
Visits
- Rank
- #62
- WHS
- 486
- Tentative Sites
- 0
Website Participation
- Reviews
- 31
-
Ratings
Ratings
World Heritage Sites
- Baalbek 5.0
- Serengeti 5.0
- Persepolis 5.0
- Himeji-jo 5.0
- Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks 5.0
- Ngorongoro 5.0
- Ancient Kyoto 5.0
- Palmyra 4.5
- Arequipa 4.5
- Meidan Emam, Esfahan 4.5
- Amsterdam Canal Ring 4.5
- Sigiriya 4.5
- Vienna 4.5
- Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras 4.5
- Hollókö 4.5
- South China Karst 4.0
- Su Nuraxi di Barumini 4.0
- Verona 4.0
- Santo Domingo 4.0
- Hahoe and Yangdong 4.0
- Eisinga Planetarium 4.0
- Chola Temples 4.0
- Mahabalipuram 4.0
- Shirakawa-go and Gokayama 4.0
- Mount Emei, including Leshan Giant Buddha 4.0
- Yazd 4.0
- Salamanca 4.0
- Prambanan 4.0
- Nikko 4.0
- Luang Prabang 4.0
- Jantar Mantar 4.0
- iSimangaliso Wetland Park – Maputo NP 4.0
- Hill Forts of Rajasthan 4.0
- Fatehpur Sikri 4.0
- Teide National Park 4.0
- Sukhothai 4.0
- Roman Walls of Lugo 4.0
- Okavango Delta 4.0
- Tierradentro 4.0
- Maloti-Drakensberg Park 4.0
- Hal Saflieni Hypogeum 4.0
- Itsukushima Shrine 4.0
- Brugge 4.0
- Fujisan 4.0
- Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch 4.0
- Pompei 4.0
- Schönbrunn 4.0
- Victoria Falls 4.0
- Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple 4.0
- University of Coimbra 4.0
- Anuradhapura 4.0
- Wulingyuan 4.0
- Old Havana 4.0
- Glacier parks 4.0
- Jaipur City, Rajasthan 4.0
- Al Ain 3.5
- San Agustín 3.5
- Xidi and Hongcun 3.5
- Nasca Lines 3.5
- Cartagena 3.5
- Medina of Essaouira 3.5
- Mammoth Cave 3.5
- Damascus 3.5
- Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas 3.5
- Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai 3.5
- Pirin National Park 3.5
- Saloum Delta 3.5
- Kii Mountain Range 3.5
- Kaeng Krachan Forest 3.5
- Chan Chan 3.5
- Amami-Oshima Island 3.5
- Schwerin Residence Ensemble 3.5
- Sighisoara 3.5
- Phu Phrabat 3.5
- Huascaran National Park 3.5
- Matera 3.5
- Masjed-e Jâme' 3.5
- Golestan Palace 3.5
- Tchogha Zanbil 3.5
- Dinosaur Provincial Park 3.5
- Polonnaruva 3.5
- Red Fort 3.5
- Olympia 3.5
- Lima 3.5
- The trulli of Alberobello 3.5
- Caral-Supe 3.5
- Longmen Grottoes 3.5
- Stone Town of Zanzibar 3.5
- Safi al-Din Ensemble in Ardabil 3.5
- Robben Island 3.5
- Shushtar 3.5
- Crac des Chevaliers 3.5
- City of Bath 3.5
- Olympic National Park 3.5
- Old Town of Lijiang 3.5
- Central Highlands 3.5
- Hué 3.5
- Phong Nha - Ke Bang 3.5
- Rhaetian Railway 3.5
- Jeju 3.5
- Wooden Churches of Southern Malopolska 3.5
- Serra de Tramuntana 3.5
- Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes 3.5
- Medina of Tunis 3.5
- Yungang Grottoes 3.5
- Elvas 3.0
- Desembarco del Granma National Park 3.0
- Aleppo 3.0
- Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River 3.0
- Vigan 3.0
- Waterton Glacier International Peace Park 3.0
- Angra do Heroismo 3.0
- Wooden Churches of Maramures 3.0
- Komodo National Park 3.0
- Namib Sand Sea 3.0
- Mount Taishan 3.0
- Van Nellefabriek 3.0
- Sinharaja Forest 3.0
- Viñales Valley 3.0
- Dengfeng 3.0
- Naples 3.0
- Tyre 3.0
- Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios 3.0
- Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro 3.0
- Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex 3.0
- Chavin 3.0
- Delos 3.0
- Ohrid Region 3.0
- Botanical Garden, Padua 3.0
- Vicenza and the Palladian Villas 3.0
- Funerary and memory sites of the First World War 3.0
- Medina of Tétouan 3.0
- Stonehenge and Avebury 3.0
- Tiwanaku 3.0
- Trinity Sergius Lavra 3.0
- Huangshan 3.0
- Quseir Amra 3.0
- Cape Floral Region 3.0
- Medina of Sousse 3.0
- Las Medulas 3.0
- Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple 3.0
- Selimiye Mosque 3.0
- Thracian tomb of Kazanlak 3.0
- Old Town of Galle 3.0
- Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 3.0
- Kairouan 3.0
- Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs 3.0
- My Son 3.0
- Beijing Central Axis 3.0
- Genbaku Dome 3.0
- Gusuku of Ryukyu 3.0
- Mozu-Furuichi Kofun 3.0
- Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution 3.0
- Island of Gorée 3.0
- Cuenca 3.0
- San Cristobal de La Laguna 3.0
- Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region 3.0
- Altamira Cave 3.0
- Amphitheater of El Jem 3.0
- Bardejov Town 3.0
- Colonies of Benevolence 3.0
- Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley 3.0
- Banska Stiavnica 3.0
- Bourges Cathedral 3.0
- Crespi d'Adda 3.0
- Castel del Monte 3.0
- Saint-Emilion 3.0
- The Four Lifts 3.0
- Humayun's Tomb 3.0
- Horyu-ji Area 3.0
- Bellinzone 3.0
- Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal 3.0
- Holasovice 3.0
- Kandy 3.0
- Stralsund and Wismar 3.0
- Urbino 3.0
- Pilgrimage Church of Wies 3.0
- Bryggen 3.0
- Qutb Minar 3.0
- Quedlinburg 3.0
- Wartburg Castle 3.0
- Belfries 3.0
- Durham Castle and Cathedral 2.5
- Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 2.5
- Vall de Boi 2.5
- Atapuerca 2.5
- Mining Sites of Wallonia 2.5
- Painted Churches in the Troödos Region 2.5
- Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona 2.5
- Euphrasian Basilica in Porec 2.5
- Coffee Cultural Landscape 2.5
- The Persian Qanat 2.5
- Lake Baikal 2.5
- Qadisha Valley 2.5
- Takht-e Soleyman 2.5
- Trang An 2.5
- Gyeongju 2.5
- Butrint 2.5
- Churches of Moldavia 2.5
- Manu National Park 2.5
- Litomysl Castle 2.5
- Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academies 2.5
- Cienfuegos 2.5
- Byblos 2.5
- Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng 2.5
- Spissky Hrad and Levoca 2.5
- Villages with Fortified Churches 2.5
- Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump 2.5
- Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries 2.5
- Mountain Resort, Chengde 2.5
- Kenya Lake System 2.5
- Anjar 2.5
- Malbork Castle 2.5
- Persian Garden 2.5
- Garajonay 2.5
- Western Ghats 2.5
- Mountain Railways of India 2.5
- Three parallel rivers of Yunnan 2.5
- Sangiran Early Man Site 2.5
- Mystras 2.5
- Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan 2.5
- Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles 2.5
- Zamość 2.5
- Ferrara 2.5
- Moravian Church Settlements 2.5
- Lushan National Park 2.5
- Pienza 2.5
- Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo 2.5
- Vézelay 2.5
- Antequera Dolmens Site 2.5
- Torun 2.5
- Bosra 2.5
- Monastery of Horezu 2.5
- Camagüey 2.5
- Thracian tomb of Sveshtari 2.5
- Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz 2.0
- Messel Pit 2.0
- Novodevichy Convent 2.0
- Peking Man Site 2.0
- Provins 2.0
- Pasargadae 2.0
- Vizcaya Bridge 2.0
- Temple, Mansion and Cemetery of Confucius 2.0
- Susa 2.0
- Kunta Kinteh Island 2.0
- Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae 2.0
- Stone Circles of Senegambia 2.0
- Muskauer Park 2.0
- Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay 2.0
- Royal Joseon Tombs 2.0
- Schokland 2.0
- Classical Gardens of Suzhou 2.0
- Baroque Churches 2.0
- Burgos Cathedral 2.0
- Pannonhalma 2.0
- Santa Cruz de Mompox 2.0
- Soltaniyeh 2.0
- Hwaseong Fortress 2.0
- La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle 2.0
- Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk 2.0
- Choirokoitia 2.0
- Churches of Peace 2.0
- Tabriz Bazaar 2.0
- Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries 2.0
- Hildesheim Cathedral and Church 2.0
- Ban Chiang 2.0
- Rideau Canal 2.0
- Trebic 2.0
- Fagus Factory 2.0
- Tomioka Silk Mill 2.0
- Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor 2.0
- Białowieża Forest 2.0
- Kaiping Diaolou 2.0
- Le Havre 2.0
- Yogyakarta 2.0
- Persian Caravanserai 2.0
- Hortobágy 2.0
- Jelling 2.0
- Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans 2.0
- Lake Malawi 2.0
- Cilento and Vallo di Diano 2.0
- Fertö/Neusiedlersee 2.0
- Keoladeo National Park 2.0
- Nice 2.0
- Vlkolinec 2.0
- Fossil Hominid Sites 2.0
- Qhapaq Ñan 2.0
- Yuso and Suso Monasteries 2.0
- Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces 2.0
- Nessebar 2.0
- Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz 2.0
- Baekje Historic Areas 1.5
- Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen 1.5
- Madara Rider 1.5
- Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape 1.5
- Mazagan 1.5
- Tokaji Wine Region 1.5
- Citadel of the Ho Dynasty 1.5
- Benedictine Convent of St. John 1.5
- Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region 1.5
- Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye 1.5
- Kladruby nad Labem 1.5
- Namhansanseong 1.5
- Bisotun 1.5
- Lower German Limes 1.0
- Dacian Fortresses 1.0
- Tower of Hercules 1.0
- Srebarna Nature Reserve 1.0
- Danube Limes 0.5
- Mount Kenya 0.5
- 310 0
- Photos
- N/A
- Locations
- N/A
- Zones
- N/A
Reviews by Joyce van Soest


Persian Garden (Inscribed)
Persian Garden
All over Iran you can find beautiful gardens. Nine of them are inscribed on the list and I visited six of them.
To fully appreciate it, you should visit the …

Dengfeng (Inscribed)
Dengfeng
I visited Dengfeng in 2009 and I didn't know it was going to be a WHS at that time. The reason I came here was the famous Shaolin monastery. Besides …

Tiwanaku (Inscribed)
Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco) is a complex of buildings, temples and a pyramid from pre-Inca times and is therefore Bolivia's most important archeological site.
The site consists of two museums and the …

Nasca Lines (Inscribed)
Nasca Lines
Still unknown why they are made, the Nasca lines form an interesting phenomenon. There are several agencies in town that will fly above the lines for an excellent view. Take …

Arequipa (Inscribed)
Arequipa
Ah, beautiful Arequipa, the colonial city surrounded by snowy volcanoes. The city has some beautiful churches and buildings with very ornate facades, there’s a nice vibe on the Plaza de …

Skocjan Caves (Inscribed)
Skocjan Caves
The caves can only be visited on a guided 2-hour tour where you will visit 3 kilometers of the total of 6 kilometers of tunnels and rooms filled with stalagmites …

Mostar (Inscribed)
Mostar
Mostar turned out to be a great surprise and a wonderful city. The famous old bridge was destroyed during the war in 1993, but rebuilt about 10 years later with …

Würzburg Residence (Inscribed)
Würzburg Residence
This grand building is definitely worth a visit. On the outside it might not look very special, but the inside sure is. When you walk up the stairs you will …

Medieval Monuments in Kosovo (Inscribed)
Medieval Monuments in Kosovo
This is probably one of the few WHS where you have to go through military checkpoints (if they even let you) and you'll have several guns and a tank pointing …

Dubrovnik (Inscribed)
Dubrovnik
Dubrovik is quite a big city and even the inner town is pretty big compared to other walled cities along the Croatian coast. It is a beautiful walled city, but …

Kotor (Inscribed)
Kotor
This small city on the slope of a mountain is located in a breathtaking fjord which is the biggest in Southern Europe. The wall surrounding the old city goes high …

Split (Inscribed)
Split
Split is quite an industrial city but the old town is far from that. Everywhere in the old town you can see the remains of the old palace. When you …

Euphrasian Basilica in Porec (Inscribed)
Euphrasian Basilica in Porec
Porec is a cute town on the Adriatic coast, unfortunately way too crowded with tourists. The basilica is nice, and the golden mosaics are stunning.

Cologne Cathedral (Inscribed)
Cologne Cathedral
Yes, it is huge and a good example of gothic architecture, but to me this cathedral wasn't very appealing; the outside is dark and dirty (although they are restoring parts …

Beemster Polder (Inscribed)
Beemster Polder
The Beemsterpolder might be on the Unesco list, but to me, and I guess to every Dutch person visiting it, it looks like any other polder: flat and green. This …

Aachen Cathedral (Inscribed)
Aachen Cathedral
The cathedral didn't look very impressive from the outside and I wondered why it was a WHS, until I stepped inside. The dome is incredible and the golden detailed painting …

Schokland (Inscribed)
Schokland
Driving by Schokland you don't see a significant thing, but when you stop and take some time to look around, it actually is quite an interesting place.
We visited the …

Cologne Cathedral (Inscribed)
Cologne Cathedral
The cathedral didn't look very impressive from the outside and I wondered why it was a WHS, until I stepped inside. The dome is incredible and the golden detailed painting …

Glacier parks (Inscribed)
Glacier parks
These parks are, in my opinion, quite different from each other so I don’t really understand why they are included together, except for the fact that they are beautiful nature …