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
#64 491 0 20
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
-
50Oct. 30, 2025Curonian Spit, Kernavė, Modernist Kaunas, Struve Geodetic Arc, Vilnius
-
20July 14, 2025Cambodian Memorial Sites, Minoan Palatial Centres
-
40March 8, 2025Island of Gorée, Kunta Kinteh Island, Saloum Delta, Stone Circles of Senegambia
Top 10 Missing
Completed Countries
- Albania
- Andorra
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Cyprus
- Dominican Republic
- Gambia
- Holy See
- Lesotho
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Moldova
- Morocco
- North Macedonia
About Joyce van Soest
- Member since
- December 2005
- Country of Origin
- Netherlands
Visits
- Rank
- #64
- WHS
- 491
- Tentative Sites
- 0
Website Participation
- Reviews
- 31
-
Ratings
Ratings
World Heritage Sites
- Serengeti 5.0
- Angkor 5.0
- Petra 5.0
- Persepolis 5.0
- Wadi Rum 5.0
- Göreme NP and Cappadocia 5.0
- Baalbek 5.0
- Istanbul 5.0
- Venice and its Lagoon 5.0
- Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks 5.0
- Ngorongoro 5.0
- Ancient Kyoto 5.0
- Himeji-jo 5.0
- Acropolis 5.0
- Borobudur 5.0
- Hoi An 5.0
- Machu Picchu 5.0
- Medina of Fez 5.0
- Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras 4.5
- Sigiriya 4.5
- Palmyra 4.5
- Amsterdam Canal Ring 4.5
- Hollókö 4.5
- Taj Mahal 4.5
- Meidan Emam, Esfahan 4.5
- Arequipa 4.5
- Great Wall 4.5
- Vienna 4.5
- Vatican City 4.5
- Salamanca 4.0
- Maloti-Drakensberg Park 4.0
- Prambanan 4.0
- Nikko 4.0
- Hal Saflieni Hypogeum 4.0
- Hahoe and Yangdong 4.0
- Luang Prabang 4.0
- Jantar Mantar 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
- Itsukushima Shrine 4.0
- Fujisan 4.0
- Su Nuraxi di Barumini 4.0
- Pompei 4.0
- Paris, Banks of the Seine 4.0
- Schönbrunn 4.0
- Versailles 4.0
- Victoria Falls 4.0
- Anuradhapura 4.0
- Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple 4.0
- Glacier parks 4.0
- South China Karst 4.0
- University of Coimbra 4.0
- Shirakawa-go and Gokayama 4.0
- Yazd 4.0
- Split 4.0
- Wulingyuan 4.0
- Mount Emei, including Leshan Giant Buddha 4.0
- Mahabalipuram 4.0
- Chola Temples 4.0
- Eisinga Planetarium 4.0
- Santo Domingo 4.0
- Verona 4.0
- Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou 4.0
- Medina of Marrakesh 4.0
- iSimangaliso Wetland Park – Maputo NP 4.0
- Westminster 4.0
- Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing 4.0
- Rietveld Schröderhuis 4.0
- Hallstatt-Dachstein 4.0
- Agra Fort 4.0
- Okavango Delta 4.0
- Kremlin and Red Square 4.0
- Brugge 4.0
- Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch 4.0
- Tierradentro 4.0
- Old Havana 4.0
- Jaipur City, Rajasthan 4.0
- Hué 3.5
- Damascus 3.5
- Tchogha Zanbil 3.5
- Safi al-Din Ensemble in Ardabil 3.5
- Stone Town of Zanzibar 3.5
- Dinosaur Provincial Park 3.5
- Robben Island 3.5
- Shushtar 3.5
- San Agustín 3.5
- Cartagena 3.5
- Mammoth Cave 3.5
- Matera 3.5
- The trulli of Alberobello 3.5
- Longmen Grottoes 3.5
- Kaeng Krachan Forest 3.5
- Lima 3.5
- Caral-Supe 3.5
- Huascaran National Park 3.5
- Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas 3.5
- Yungang Grottoes 3.5
- Serra de Tramuntana 3.5
- Masjed-e Jâme' 3.5
- Golestan Palace 3.5
- Old Town of Lijiang 3.5
- Pirin National Park 3.5
- Central Highlands 3.5
- Jeju 3.5
- Al Ain 3.5
- Kii Mountain Range 3.5
- Phong Nha - Ke Bang 3.5
- Olympic National Park 3.5
- Phu Phrabat 3.5
- Schwerin Residence Ensemble 3.5
- Amami-Oshima Island 3.5
- Saloum Delta 3.5
- Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai 3.5
- Nasca Lines 3.5
- Xidi and Hongcun 3.5
- Medina of Tunis 3.5
- Wooden Churches of Southern Malopolska 3.5
- Rhaetian Railway 3.5
- Olympia 3.5
- Red Fort 3.5
- Medina of Essaouira 3.5
- Sighisoara 3.5
- Kinderdijk 3.5
- Ancient Nara 3.5
- Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes 3.5
- Polonnaruva 3.5
- Lübeck 3.5
- Megalithic Temples of Malta 3.5
- Skocjan Caves 3.5
- Kotor 3.5
- City of Bath 3.5
- Chan Chan 3.5
- Crac des Chevaliers 3.5
- Namib Sand Sea 3.0
- Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region 3.0
- Pont du Gard 3.0
- Altamira Cave 3.0
- Amphitheater of El Jem 3.0
- Dengfeng 3.0
- Colonies of Benevolence 3.0
- Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley 3.0
- Las Medulas 3.0
- Banska Stiavnica 3.0
- Bourges Cathedral 3.0
- Crespi d'Adda 3.0
- Elvas 3.0
- Desembarco del Granma National Park 3.0
- Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios 3.0
- Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple 3.0
- Québec 3.0
- Castel del Monte 3.0
- Selimiye Mosque 3.0
- Kew Gardens 3.0
- Saint-Emilion 3.0
- Viñales Valley 3.0
- Thracian tomb of Kazanlak 3.0
- Sinharaja Forest 3.0
- Cape Floral Region 3.0
- Old Town of Galle 3.0
- Piazza del Duomo (Pisa) 3.0
- Humayun's Tomb 3.0
- Waterton Glacier International Peace Park 3.0
- Kairouan 3.0
- Van Nellefabriek 3.0
- Stonehenge and Avebury 3.0
- Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs 3.0
- Volubilis 3.0
- Horyu-ji Area 3.0
- Bellinzone 3.0
- My Son 3.0
- Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro 3.0
- Warsaw 3.0
- Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal 3.0
- Tyre 3.0
- Holasovice 3.0
- Kandy 3.0
- Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 3.0
- Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River 3.0
- Stralsund and Wismar 3.0
- Mount Taishan 3.0
- Naples 3.0
- Beijing Central Axis 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
- Wadden Sea 3.0
- Belfries 3.0
- Beemster Polder 3.0
- Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex 3.0
- Flemish Béguinages 3.0
- Grand Place, Brussels 3.0
- Genbaku Dome 3.0
- Aleppo 3.0
- Angra do Heroismo 3.0
- Rabat 3.0
- Würzburg Residence 3.0
- Gusuku of Ryukyu 3.0
- Huangshan 3.0
- Dutch Water Defence Lines 3.0
- Tower of London 3.0
- Komodo National Park 3.0
- Wooden Churches of Maramures 3.0
- Trinity Sergius Lavra 3.0
- City of Luxembourg 3.0
- Mozu-Furuichi Kofun 3.0
- The Four Lifts 3.0
- Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution 3.0
- Island of Gorée 3.0
- Quseir Amra 3.0
- Bardejov Town 3.0
- The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier 3.0
- Ohrid Region 3.0
- Botanical Garden, Padua 3.0
- Delos 3.0
- Vicenza and the Palladian Villas 3.0
- Chavin 3.0
- Funerary and memory sites of the First World War 3.0
- Medina of Tétouan 3.0
- Tiwanaku 3.0
- Cuenca 3.0
- Vigan 3.0
- Avignon 3.0
- Medina of Sousse 3.0
- San Cristobal de La Laguna 3.0
- Coffee Cultural Landscape 2.5
- Sintra 2.5
- Qadisha Valley 2.5
- Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries 2.5
- Persian Garden 2.5
- Gyeongju 2.5
- Cienfuegos 2.5
- Bosra 2.5
- The Persian Qanat 2.5
- Malbork Castle 2.5
- Anjar 2.5
- Butrint 2.5
- Lushan National Park 2.5
- Durham Castle and Cathedral 2.5
- Painted Churches in the Troödos Region 2.5
- Moravian Church Settlements 2.5
- Torun 2.5
- Churches of Moldavia 2.5
- Garajonay 2.5
- Litomysl Castle 2.5
- Mining Sites of Wallonia 2.5
- Vall de Boi 2.5
- Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona 2.5
- Mystras 2.5
- Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng 2.5
- Statue of Liberty 2.5
- Vézelay 2.5
- Antequera Dolmens Site 2.5
- Spissky Hrad and Levoca 2.5
- Mountain Resort, Chengde 2.5
- Villages with Fortified Churches 2.5
- Trang An 2.5
- Western Ghats 2.5
- Zamość 2.5
- Pienza 2.5
- Primeval Beech Forests 2.5
- Mountain Railways of India 2.5
- Byblos 2.5
- Lake Baikal 2.5
- Kenya Lake System 2.5
- Takht-e Soleyman 2.5
- Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 2.5
- Atapuerca 2.5
- Ferrara 2.5
- Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles 2.5
- Monastery of Horezu 2.5
- Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan 2.5
- Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo 2.5
- Three parallel rivers of Yunnan 2.5
- Thracian tomb of Sveshtari 2.5
- Sangiran Early Man Site 2.5
- Camagüey 2.5
- Euphrasian Basilica in Porec 2.5
- Manu National Park 2.5
- Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academies 2.5
- Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump 2.5
- Provins 2.0
- Vlkolinec 2.0
- Baroque Churches 2.0
- Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans 2.0
- Cilento and Vallo di Diano 2.0
- Keoladeo National Park 2.0
- Peking Man Site 2.0
- Yuso and Suso Monasteries 2.0
- Nessebar 2.0
- Novodevichy Convent 2.0
- Soltaniyeh 2.0
- Kunta Kinteh Island 2.0
- Stone Circles of Senegambia 2.0
- Muskauer Park 2.0
- Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay 2.0
- Royal Joseon Tombs 2.0
- Pannonhalma 2.0
- Pasargadae 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
- Temple, Mansion and Cemetery of Confucius 2.0
- Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae 2.0
- Rideau Canal 2.0
- Trebic 2.0
- Fagus Factory 2.0
- Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor 2.0
- Le Havre 2.0
- Jelling 2.0
- Fertö/Neusiedlersee 2.0
- Qhapaq Ñan 2.0
- Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces 2.0
- Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz 2.0
- Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz 2.0
- Vizcaya Bridge 2.0
- Schokland 2.0
- Classical Gardens of Suzhou 2.0
- Burgos Cathedral 2.0
- Hildesheim Cathedral and Church 2.0
- Messel Pit 2.0
- Santa Cruz de Mompox 2.0
- Aachen Cathedral 2.0
- Tabriz Bazaar 2.0
- Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries 2.0
- Ban Chiang 2.0
- Białowieża Forest 2.0
- Tomioka Silk Mill 2.0
- Fossil Hominid Sites 2.0
- Imperial Tombs 2.0
- Holy Trinity Column 2.0
- Susa 2.0
- Venetian Works of Defence 2.0
- Yogyakarta 2.0
- Persian Caravanserai 2.0
- Kaiping Diaolou 2.0
- Lake Malawi 2.0
- Nice 2.0
- Hortobágy 2.0
- Namhansanseong 1.5
- Minoan Palatial Centres 1.5
- Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye 1.5
- Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape 1.5
- Benedictine Convent of St. John 1.5
- Citadel of the Ho Dynasty 1.5
- Tokaji Wine Region 1.5
- Kladruby nad Labem 1.5
- Madara Rider 1.5
- Bisotun 1.5
- Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen 1.5
- Mazagan 1.5
- Baekje Historic Areas 1.5
- Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region 1.5
- Dacian Fortresses 1.0
- Prehistoric Pile Dwellings 1.0
- Srebarna Nature Reserve 1.0
- Tower of Hercules 1.0
- Lower German Limes 1.0
- Danube Limes 0.5
- Mount Kenya 0.5
- 367 0
- Locations
- 0
- Zones
- 0
Reserved for members.
Reviews by Joyce van Soest
Page 1 of 2
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
20/01/12
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
16/01/11
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
05/07/08
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
05/07/08
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
05/07/08
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
29/07/06
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
29/07/06
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
29/07/06
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
29/07/06
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
29/07/06
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
29/07/06
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.
Keep reading
Joyce van…
20/07/06
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
20/07/06
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
23/02/06
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
23/02/06
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
23/02/06
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 …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
23/02/06
Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (Inscribed)
Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks
Having lived in the town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, I have been hiking through the Rocky Mountains a lot. It is a great place and there's so much …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
28/12/05
City of Luxembourg (Inscribed)
City of Luxembourg
The view from the old city wall is beautiful and you can easily spent some time hanging around there. When you get up early and go to the city wall …
Keep reading
Joyce van…
28/12/05
Page 1 of 2