Namibia has been done by Svein.

Update after week 2:
352 / 1753 pictures (20%)
493 / 1753 intro texts (28%)

A round of applause for Hubert, for finishing France (38 sites!).
Photos and texts will be uploaded shortly.

seems to be flying by. sorry for not being more of help here, but with lockdown i spend too much time in front of the screen already. :(

Turkey is done!

As it has been such an effort, it deserves a write-up of my main findings about this list of no less than 83 TWHS,

Why a list of 83 sites?
It would take them 83 years at least to go through them, probably more like 100 as Turkey hasn't been successful with yearly inscriptions. I get the idea that it is mostly done to please regional cultural heritage authorities and getting a place on the T List is already an accomplishment in itself. Also they generate publicity, like the many news items about archeological findings.

There are hardly any natural sites among them, which is remarkable.

Cleaning up
The T List comprises 3 clusters of sites that both are there as single TWHS entries as well as (possible) serial TWHS. These are the Wooden roofed mosques, Mountainous Phrygia and the Ottoman towns Mudurnu, Odunpazarı, Birgi and Beypazarı.

There's a seemingly neverending queue of Hellenistic/Roman sites. I could almost create a template like "X is a city of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. It holds a stadium / theatre / temple". Termessos or the Kaunos rock-cut tombs still may have a chance.

Future WHS
Turkey now has 18 WHS and I believe there is room for more. It is a large country and it was a crossroads of civilizations. All current WHS are ranked above 2.5 stars. So which ones could be worthy?
- From the ones I was unfamiliar with, I mostly became intrigued by Eflatun Pinar, Gordion, Malabadi bridge, Tombs of the Pontic Kings, Yesemek Quarry and the Ahlat tombstones (the latter based on photos, there's little description).
- From the ones I visited myself I still support: Ishak Pasha Palace, Sumela monastery, Harran.

Great, Turkey was undoubtedly the biggest chunk. But there are a few more waiting. The letter "I" is a dangerous area - India, Iran, Italy...

France is done.
I will continue with G, but want to skip Gabon for now. If none of our francophile friends want do that, I'll come back to it later.
For now I claim Gambia, Ghana, and Greece.

I'll take the easy Netherlands next. Yesterday I already added the photos and the Limes locations, taking a break in the Turkey assignment.

In light of the new project it would probably make sense to clean up the connection
Extensions on tentative list.

A few comments on the French tentative list:
A revision would be required: 24 out of 38 TWHS date from 1996 to 2002. In most cases little or very little text on the UNESCO website. And little potential for WHS.
One big exception: Carnac - one of only a handful of must-be-inscribed sites in Europe, in my opinion.
But who knows, the Phare de Cordouan is nominated for 2020 without an update of the T-list entry.

A strange case is Fontainebleau:
Castle and gardens are on the WH list, we all know that. The Forest of Fontainebleau was on the T-list as an extension since 1996.
In 2019, parts of the forest (seven sub-locations) were included in the extension of Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests, though Fontainebleau is certainly neither an ancient nor a primeval forest, and though only 10 percent of the trees are beeches.
In 2020, the original T-list entry was renewed and renamed in "Domaine de Fontainebleau: château, jardins, parc et forêt" indicating future plans independent of the Beech forest extension.
Hard to see a convincing strategy, if there is one.

What can be expected in the near future:
nominated for decision: Great Spas (2020), Le phare de Cordouan (2020), Nice (2021), Beech forests (2021)
scheduled: Martinique (2022), Alpes de la Méditerranée (2022)
pending: Nimes (deferral 2018)
postponed: DDay beaches, WWI memorials
active with nomination website: Charolais-Brionnais (cattle farming for WHS?)

Almost finished with Georgia.
I will claim Kirghistan and Tadjikistan next.
And then I could have a look at French speaking countries

Great job on France and Turkey, Hubert and Els!

I'm still working on Venezuela and Vietnam, but could I put in a request for New Zealand? After Vanuatu I'm curious to examine more tentative Pacific sites on the list.

Netherlands done by me, Venezuela by Colvin.

Gambia done by Hubert.

I will continue with Chad

Finished Chad, Costa Rica and Cyprus.

Regarding Cyprus, this holds mostlt old entries from 2002, with bad descriptions or none at all. There's a controversial mine at Mathiatis South. Furthermore, 7 of the 11 TWHS actually belong to 1 serial site - the Troodos ophiolite (Malounta, Mathiatism, Olympus, Klirou, Kionia, Khandria).