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Val d'Orcia was one of the amazing experiences of traveling. We didn't have any exaggerated expectations, but the experiences were really worth it. We were accommodated in Rocca d'Orcia, a little below the tower and we had a wonderful view from the terrace, we didn't expect that Tuscany is so hilly (not just the towns on the hill). The evenings were wonderful, a glass of wine and the only thing we wished was that it wouldn't end. We went on trips around the area and the towns were also wonderful, just enough tourists. The natural thermal springs were not as warm as we expected, but the rocks were beautiful. What I don't recommend is the cypress circle, on private land, parking the car in a dangerous place and the circle itself is not much.

With a trip to Chicago and Wisconsin in October 2024, I was finally able to complete visits to all the UNESCO inscribed Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. I was only able to view the Jacobs house from the streets, but took a tour of Taliesin, a very worthwhile visit.

The highlight of the trip, which included Chicago, the Oak Park neighborhood and viewings of various other Wright sites was the Estate Tour of Taliesin, which ran from 9:15-1:15. This seemed to the be most comprehensive tour being offered at the time. It included the residence, but also the school, his sister’s home, and an opportunity to view many of the other Wright designed out buildings – barns, a windmill, and more.

On the same trip, I visited Madison for a view of the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House and some of the other Wright designed buildings in Madison, including the Unitarian Meeting House (recommended). The Jacobs House is viewable from two sides.

Before leaving the Chicago area, I also revisited a few sites including Wright’s Oak Park Studio and Home and the Robie House. On my prior visit I had not entered Unity Temple, something I made up for this day. 

It was a beautiful autumn day (before the election, Halloween decorations up) and I was able to explore the neighborhood seeing around two dozen Wright designed home from the street in Oak Park and neighboring River Forest. The Oak Park Studio offers a walking self-guided audio …

Unfortunately, due to my then wife damaging my phone in the Dead Sea and our subsequent divorce (unrelated events), I don’t have any photos of our trip to the Holy Land.  

Jericho is at least 10,000 years old, probably 12,000, maybe older. Americans have trouble wrapping our heads around such long ago time periods. Jericho dates back to the beginnings of agricultural settlements around the Fertile Crescent of Mesopotamia. The last Ice Age was ending and a warming world enabled people to settle permanently. Jericho as a community likely predates those first agricultural settlements, although such simple groups leave no traces. The walls are 9,000 years old—the oldest known walled city in the world—, and that’s of course what made the city so famous. But the Bible story of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-27) only dates back 3,500 years, and the song less than 200 years. I find it powerful that it was enslaved Americans who created the song, Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho, before the Civil War, perhaps dreaming of the day when the walls that confined them might come tumbling down, that the ram’s horn, trumpets and children’s shouts would be enough to bring down the plantations of their oppressors. So, that dream popularized the song that made the Old Testament story known to all Sunday school kids about the Bible story that drove archeologists to dig in Jericho that found the walls that brought my family here.  

Our visit was several years ago, but I …

Visit date(s): May 10, 2025

Nearby sites on trip: Over 2 weeks: Frontiers of the Roman Empire, German Limes; Bamberg; Potsdam; Primeval Beech Forests, Serrahn; Stralsund and Wismar; Lübeck; Green Belt (T), Schaalsee; Berlin Modernism Housing Estates, Wohnstadt Carl Legien; Museumsinsel.

Overnight location: Lübeck before, Schwerin (outside the zone) after.

Location(s): There was a concert and race the day we visited, so the Marktplatz was loud and crowded. As a result we couldn’t get good views. Other areas of the city were much easier to visit.

• Burggarten
• Schloss exterior
• Schlossgarten (photo)
• Arsenal
• Pfaffenteich
• Schelfkirche
• Dom
• Marktplatz

Travel method(s): car to core, then on foot

Travel duration: about 2 hours drive from Lübeck (via Green Belt, Schaalsee) and to Berlin

Visit duration: half day

OUV: Various architectural styles can be seen both in the construction of the castle itself and in other parts of the city. Water ties the neighbourhoods together, as it is never very far away. The overall effect is complementary and attractive.

Best of: The gardens and views of the Schloss and lakes are quite beautiful. It is fortunate that the building has been repurposed and has not fallen into ruin. Parking in the centre is relatively easy.

Worst of: Although it did not affect us, there was a run through the old city that was snarling traffic badly in some directions.

I visited As-Salt in February 2025 from Amman. By asking some very helpful men, I managed to find the very cheap minibus to As-Salt from the North bus terminal in Amman. The minibus dropped me off directly at the entrance to the city. For the return journey, the logistics were just as simple, but it's worth noting that the minibuses leave from down the hill, after the flea market.

I began my stroll through the city on Prince Hasan Bin Talal Street, where you'll find a few rather pretty buildings (the Mismar House at number 21, but see also the one at number 37 with its twisted columns). I then moved on to the city's most impressive mansion, the Abu Jaber Museum (on the left in the photo, with its reddish roof). Here you'll find a tourist information center and some rather uninteresting exhibits. The maps described by previous reviewers were only available in Arabic when I visited. I then climbed up to the Haj Hamdi Mosque Alanis to enjoy the plunging views over the city (photo). The amazement was not there, however. As-Salt isn't particularly pretty, with its faded buildings and exposed electric wires. The architecture and use of yellow stone didn't even strike me as harmonious. I then went back downstairs and visited St George's Church. The houses in the streets of this area are probably the prettiest in As-Salt, some with colorful shutters, doors or balconies. I continued with a visit to the souk on Al …

Having visited Versailles on two prior occasions during the off-months, I decided to spend the last day of my recent vacation at Versailles, even though it was a Sunday and likely to be crowded. Because of the timing of my earlier visits, I had not been able to appreciate the gardens and their fountains. My first visit many years ago had been on a cold overcast December day, so I spent little time in the gardens.

My Passport ticket was 32 euros and required selection of a time slot for entry into the palace. It was a relatively late decision so entry times to the palace were all booked before the mid-afternoon. That was fine with me as I can find the crowds thin out some in the late afternoon, with fewer large groups.  

I selected 4 pm but arrived in late morning spending the rest of the day in the gardens and the more distant Grand Trianon and Petite Trianon, both historic architectural gems.

As others have commented, the gardens are vast. QR codes on signs near the fountains provide the times for the fountain displays. I tried to see several of these and ended taking a fairly shambling route through the gardens for most of the day.   

I'd toured the palace before so was generally familiar with the layout of the rooms. I particularly wanted to get a picture of the Hall of Mirrors without too many people, which was possible by taking it …

"I liked it better before I saw the cave churches in Cappadocia," I said to my friend, who didn't really ask for my opinion of the Churches of Ivanovo.

Not the most nuanced assessment, I know, but it does reflect the fact that while the church (singular) is interesting, but it can compare less favourably to other old religious sites that are carved into cliffs/mountains/remote areas. To give an illustration, I initially gave Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo a rating of 3.5 stars. After visiting the churches in Cappadocia, however, I revised the rating to 3 stars, even though I know that the ratings do not have to be in relation to other sites.

The frescoes of Ivanovo church are very vivid and, frankly, impressive. However, the totality of the experience does not elevate this UNESCO World Heritage Site to a "must see" (I am clearly speaking from a tourist's perspective and not from someone less ignoble). You can only visit one church, the church is small, there isn't much of a hike to build up excitement to the church (you can see it from the parking lot), and the nature surrounding the church is ordinary.

As for how I went to the rock-hewn church, it was a simple process but tad inconvenient. The village of Ivanovo is a short train ride from Ruse. I did not see any taxis at the village, but to be fair, I did not look very hard for one either. I instead walked to the …

I visited this WHS in Spring 2025. The big international car rental companies are now available near Davao airport. For the time being (till the airport enlargement works are completed), you are greeted upon arrival (excellent communication via email and whatsapp prior to arrival) and a shuttle takes you to the car rental office in Davao. This will make you waste at least 30 minutes to 1 hour in total as getting in and out of the city is slow with heavy traffic at most times of the day.

Since we were arriving quite late in Davao, we decided to visit the Philippine Eagle Sanctuary/Centre first (which is not part of the WHS but we wanted to support their invaluable work and make sure to see this magnificent bird). It is a good 1.5 hours drive to get there and 4 hours away from the Mount Hamiguitan Natural Heritage Museum or Visitor Centre. A good resort near the sanctuary is the Malagos Garden Resort with its own bird show (no Philippine Eagles here), butterfly garden, etc. and a must stopover point if you'd like to taste and buy the excellent Malagos chocolate.

Something to keep in mind when in Mindanao is that when it rains here, it really pours, as can be clearly seen with all the flood advisories along the roads. This is why we didn't want to risk it, so we drove to the visitor centre immediately after visiting the eagle centre and arrived after sunset. …

I've been to the Westminster Abbey for the first time as far back as 2000, and then at least a couple of times while living in London in the later part of the first decade of the millennium. It is undoubtedly among the most important monuments in London and in all of Britain, and the final resting place of a number of major historical figures. My very dated recollection of it somehow includes free entry and the ability to walk in without waits - twenty years hence, the cost is significant and the queues are pretty long all day around. On my most recent trip to London, even as I wanted my youngest child to see the Abbey, we took one look at the line from behind the fence and decided to pass.

We did go for a tour of the Parliament, though. Getting inside the Westminster Palace was a very welcome first for us, all those past years of residing in London notwithstanding. During recess months, self-guided audio tours are possible daily except Sunday (during in-session months, only Saturday is open for touring), with plenty of available time-slots showing up in the online booking systems even just a few days ahead. The cost is pretty steep - £27 per adult - but then London apparently can only do either free (for national museums) or exorbitant (for everything else). 

We showed up for our afternoon time slot almost half an hour early and were waved through the ticket …

The Mausoleum of Mukhammad Bashoro is almost a thousand years old (built 11/12th century). It is a building that combines the function of a mausoleum and a mosque. The central cupola hall has extensions on both sides. The most outstanding feature of the Mausoleum is the arched portal or peshtak with glazed tiles, carved terracotta and brick stones. Since it has undergone very little renovation, the Mausoleum is one of the most authentic religious buildings along this part of the Silk Road. It is located along the Panjakent-Duschanbe highway, with a 10km detour to the village of Mazor. You need your own vehicle. 

I have always wondered how a site that has been ticked by 63 members so far has only had one, tiny review dating back to 2006. I would guess that 90% of the “visits” here were drive-by ones. Even then, the mountain, with its characteristic rugged, glaciated peaks, isn’t always easy to see, as it is often covered in clouds. The best I could get was a silhouette at 7 in the morning from the pool area of my lodge.

Mount Kenya is known for its several vegetation bands with Afro-alpine flora from the base to the peak. I stayed for 3 nights at the Naro Moru River Lodge, a little oasis outside of the park borders, where you can experience the vegetation and wildlife of the lower regions of the mountain at 1,970m altitude. At night, you may hear the screaming of the tree hyraxes, and during the day, you’ll find many birds typical for the region (the lodge’s bird list includes a significant number of 399 species). The Cinnamon-chested bee-eaters put on a good show, but my favourite was the White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher with its distinctive white ring around the eyes (pictured).

To enter the core zone of the WHS, there are three options: Mount Kenya National Park, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and Ngare Ndare Forest. The latter two were extensions and also include the Elephant corridor, where African elephants migrate with the season, away from the mountain when it gets too cold, and back when it gets …

I visited Umm Al-Jimāl during my trip to Jordan and Egypt in the winter of 2025. Since I decided not to rent a car in Jordan, I had to find an alternative solution to reach the sites on the outskirts of Amman. So I hired a driver from the Black Iris Hotel in Madaba. Recommended by Lonely Planet, it was the place where I got the best price, and I can confirm that the service was excellent. We therefore left Madaba early and my driver took me to Qasr Kharana, Qusayr 'Amra, Azraq Wetland Reserve, Qasr al-Azraq, and Umm Al-Jimāl, before finally dropping me off in Amman.

The archaeological sites in Jordan are generally very well laid out and very easy to visit. Umm Al-Jimāl is no exception. The receptionists looked at my Jordan Pass (although entry is free) and then handed me a magnificent map of the site detailing some thirty points of interest and an itinerary to follow (available in this reference). I began my visit in the small museum. It explains the history of the site and displays a few artifacts in reconstructed traditional houses. Umm Al-Jimāl is not a grandiose site having been of capital importance in the region's history. The monuments are not stunning. However, it is a provincial town with traditional black basalt stone architecture whose ruins have survived the passage of time well.

The best thing about Umm Al-Jimāl is that you can walk around it like an archaeologist. …

The amount of locations this WHS has might seem first very overwhelming. Which ones to visit when you have only limited time in Kyoto? Especially when considering how much other stuff there is to see and do in Kyoto! I had 2 full days and a morning to explore Kyoto in November 2024 and I think I got good sample of what this WHS offers.

On the first full day in Kyoto I started my day in Arashiyama district and visited Tenryu-ji temple and the social media famous bamboo forest next to it. The temple is most famous for its garden (pictured) and it was my favourite of all the gardens I visited in Kyoto. As it was late November the autumn foliage was very pretty. I bought the ticket that only included visit to the garden, I didn't visit inside the temple itself and I don't think that would have added much to the visit. There were a lot of tourists at the temple, probably most lured there by the next door Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. From Arashiyama I took the small train to Ninna-ji temple. This was the calmest temple I visited in Kyoto, as it seems that all the tour groups skip it. You are first greeted by the massive and impressive gate when you arrive from the train station. The ticket includes visit to the Shinden, which was the residence of the head priest. Shinden was partly in renovation during my visit. Shinden has 2 beautiful …

As a Wadden Sea fan and a native of Schleswig-Holstein, I do have a soft spot for tidal mud flats. It was on my first visit to Korea more than 20 years ago, sitting on the airport train from Incheon to Seoul, that I spotted what looked like Korea’s own “Wadden” Sea along the way: the tidal flats.

On that trip, we never made it to the coast, so I didn’t get to explore the mudflats. On my second trip to Korea, we made it to Yeosu — so we were nearby — but again, we didn’t explore the mudflats, at that point of time not a world heritage site yet. On my third visit to Korea in 2024, we included a stop at Suncheon Bay Nature Reserve. We briefly tried to get from the Gochang Dolmen site to the Gochang Tidal Flats (and it seems you can arrange this at a reasonable price by haggling with a cabbie). But we didn’t make a real effort as our day was packed getting to Pilam and then onwards to very pleasant Gwangju.

Suncheon Bay Nature Reserve is very scenic and offers plenty of activities. Behind the site at the back exit (you can reenter), there’s a bike rental place — you can cycle along the dike and take in the views of the wetlands and mudflats. On site, there’s a museum and plenty of trails, including a walk through the wetland that eventually takes you up a hill to a viewpoint. …

Before I started my Cambodian trip with ICOMOS in 2022, I had one full free day to explore the capital city of this country, and the infamous Killing Field with Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum was one of many attractions I saw in that long day tour. While I was deeply depressed to learn all those sad stories of victims by the atrocities of Khmer Rouge, I was happy to note that with international pressure to Cambodian Government this genocide incident was already inscribed by UNESCO under Memory of the World Program. However, when I learnt that Cambodia Government is pushing to inscribe these memorial sites as a World Heritage Site, I question this move because I am afraid that it will become part of political propaganda.

“The genocide will happen again if there is no peace” was the message I heard every time I went to Cambodia and such message was coincided with “Thanks Peace” a slogan by Hun Sen, the former Prime Minister of Cambodia who himself was a Khmer Rouge. I feel that he uses genocide to fear the people to stay in power and divert their attention from the domestic problem by threaten that without him or his son, Cambodia will be in chaos again. I was not surprised to learn that few Khmer Rouge leaders were brought to justice, since most of them become part of Hun Sen’s political allies. According to my guide, there is only two sentences on genocide …

The Chengjiang Fossil Site, in Yunnan Province, is a must-visit for paleontology enthusiasts and those fascinated by the Cambrian Explosion, a pivotal moment in Earth’s history 520 million years ago.

However, the original fossil site, including key areas like the Maotianshan Shales where the first discoveries were made in 1984, are now permanently closed to the public. This closure, in place to protect the fragile fossil-bearing strata from further disturbance, means you can no longer visit the iconic dig sites or the Chinese Academy of Sciences research building, bellow described as a trilobite-shaped structure (now locked and unused).

Instead, the experience has shifted to the Chengjiang Fossil Site Natural History Museum, located a short distance from the core zone, likely to comply with UNESCO preservation regulations and cater to growing tourism. The museum, opened in 2021, is a modern facility with free admission offering a fascinating window into the Cambrian Explosion, but the permanent closure of the original dig site and limited access to authentic fossil beds slightly diminish the hands-on experience.

Getting there is straightforward: buses from Kunming South Passenger Station to Chengjiang County cost ~CNY 20 (50 minutes), followed by a ~CNY 100 taxi to the museum. (There is also an option to take a public bus from the station to the museum, but I don’t remember the number.)

There's nothing wrong with the site, and I agree that the indentured servant phenomenon that moved so many millions around the globe deserves some sort of World Heritage recognition. There's just so little to see at this site. Just one restored building, really, and a few other foundations/walls. The small rooms do have signage that do a good job of explaining the whole "movement of indentured servants as a solution for getting cheap labor" idea once nations had banned slavery, and it was interesting to learn the history. Unfortunately, the downstairs museum exhibit hall was closed during the hours we visited (even though there were staff at the front desks, as they allowed me in to use the toilet), so we missed seeing that.

I visited this WHS in Spring 2025. Having read through the quite negative reviews online balancing out the mostly national praise for this site as one of the 7 Wonders of Nature, we decided to sleep for a couple of nights at the coastal village of Sabang to beat the early morning and afternoon taxi van hairpin races shuttling visitors from Puerto Princesa to Sabang.

This decision was key to our enjoyment and better appreciation of this WHS. All visitors need to pay a combination of entrance, environmental, audio guide, mooring and boat trip fees at the very organised ticket office in Sabang. The ticket office opens just after 07:30 but officially starts registering and accepting payment at 08:00 sharp. What they do is write down a series of numbers on pieces of paper and the first one to arrive is given number 1, second number 2, etc. and then call out the number for those who were there early (we were there at around 07:00 to make sure we were first before the groups. Having exact change also helps as once you get your permits paid, you'll want to make sure you get the first motorised banka out before any groups who might be already waiting at they quay while their tour operator or guide is taking care of registration for them. When we visited the total cost was 735 pesos + 2,100 pesos for the boat ride (with minimum 6 and maximum 10 passengers). Instead of waiting …

Meknes was the last of the four royal cities of Morocco we visited. Unfortunately, we had really bad luck on multiple levels. It turns out it does rain in Morocco in March - plenty. The rain in Meknes was so persistent that it significantly limited our ability to explore the city. We missed several key parts simply because our clothes were too wet to continue wandering around.

To make matters worse, several major sites were closed for renovation—and have been for quite some time. Neither the granaries/stables nor the Kara prison were open during our visit (March 2025).

We also underestimated the impact of visiting during Ramadan. I had assumed that in a tourist-oriented country, there would always be a café willing to take your money. Turns out, I was wrong. Morocco takes Ramadan very seriously, and most shops and eateries are closed during the day.

That said, we did get lucky in two respects: we found our best riad of the trip—Riad Zidania Meknès—and we appreciated Meknes as a welcome respite from the overcrowded medinas of Fez and Marrakesh.

Layout of the Site

The layout of Meknes can be a bit hard to grasp at first and it's probably helpful to provide a bit guidance:

• The original medina lies northwest of Bab El Mansour, just north of Al-Hadeem Square.
• The King’s Quarter is southeast of Bab El Mansour. It includes the Kara Prison and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. The Avenue Bab Marrah runs between the former royal palace …

During my trip to Egypt in February and March 2025, I spent three nights at the Zad El Mosafer guesthouse in Tunis in the Fayoum and Lake Qarun region. I used Tunis as a base to visit Wadi Al-Hitan, Gebel Qatrani, and Soknopaiou Nesos. I organized all these activities through my guesthouse. What's more, they also arranged transport to Alexandria, with stops at the monasteries of Saint Pishoy and Saint Macarius the Great and Abu Mena.

On my second day in this region, the excursion organized via my guesthouse took us to the north shore of the lake. I had requested an excursion to Soknopaiou Nesos, the petrified forest, and the quarries of Gebel Qatrani. I was again with the driver who had accompanied me the day before to Wadi Al-Hitan, but this time we were sharing the vehicle with a second guide and a Russian tourist who was also able to act as interpreter, as she spoke both Arabic and English. As was the case on several occasions during my trip to Egypt, the excursion organized and negotiated with my guesthouse did not go according to plan.

After visiting Soknopaiou Nesos and the Qasr Sagha temple, we entered the protected zone of Gebel Qatrani. The boundaries of the protected area are well marked, so I'm convinced I've entered the future core zone of this WHS if it is inscribed in 2026 as planned. There are several signs along the roadside, with a map …