Michael Turtle Profile
I'm a travel journalist and blogger who started counting World Heritage Sites in 2011. Often I try to visit the sites as part of other trips - although sometimes I will go to a country just with the mission to see as many as possible.
Recent Reviews Michael Turtle
Epidaurus
Michael Turtle Australia - 28-Jun-23
In some ways, Epidaurus can be viewed as two different sites in one - the sanctuary and the theatre.
The history of the sanctuary is fascinating and I found it really interesting to see how some of the principles of medicine that we take for granted these days were being used thousands of years ago - but within a religious framework. There is not much to see of the original buildings, but the general layout is here and the small museum has a decent collection of artefacts, so you can piece it all together.
Read OnChangdeokgung Palace Complex
Michael Turtle Australia - 27-Jun-23
There are five royal palaces in Seoul and, although Gyeongbokgung Palace is the largest and most visited, it's Changdeokgung Palace that has been listed as the World Heritage Site. That's primarily because of its authenticity, as the one that is in the most original form and the first to be restored (by 1609) after being razed in the Japanese invasion. It was the seat of government for 270 years until the very end of the Joseon Dynasty.
My sense is that it's actually hard to tell the difference between the centuries-old restoration here at Changdeokgung and the more modern work at the other palaces
Read OnHwaseong Fortress
Michael Turtle Australia - 21-Jun-23
I initially found the description of this as a 'fortress' a bit misleading until I did a bit more research into what that means in Korea. Rather than a single castle, for example, or even a complex of buildings atop a hill, it really means a small city surrounded by a defensive wall. With that perspective, it was a bit easier to plan the best way to visit Hwaseong Fortress at Suwon, where what's left of the fortress is now mixed in amongst a modern urban sprawl.
For anyone planning this day trip from Seoul, I would suggest doing two things
Read OnTemple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae
Michael Turtle Australia - 18-Jun-23
It may well be one of the best preserved monuments of Ancient Greece, but the projects to protect the Temple of Apollo Epicurius both help and hinder your ability to appreciate it. Covered by some kind of tent since 1987, you unfortunately can't get a wider vista of the temple, and you also can't see how it fits in with the broader landscapes up here in the mountains (which is particularly disappointing because that was presumably a big factor in why it was built in such a remote location).
However, I found that being forced to stand close to the temple created a sense of intimacy that I haven't found at other ancient sites in Greece. With the tent around us, I felt even closer to the monument and it seemed larger than it might have otherwise, the columns looming above
Read OnSian Ka'an
Michael Turtle Australia - 17-Apr-23
I often find natural sites to be a bit tricky to visit, especially when they're as large as Sian Ka'an (about the size of the US state of Delaware), have very few roads/trails, and have a range of different ecosystems.
Sian Ka'an is no different, and it does present some difficulties - which is unfortunate because I think it's actually a very important and interesting site, with a reef, other marines areas, dunes along the coast, mangroves, lagoons, forests, and savannahs. It's also home to an impressive collection of animal species, including some that are very uncommon in other parts of the country.
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Michael Turtle
- Country
- Australia
- Most Impressive
- Iguazu
- Proposal
- Bagan, Myanmar
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 03.09.24
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- Beijing Central Axis
- Grand Canal
- Yungang Grottoes
- Summer Palace
- Mountain Resort, Chengde
- Peking Man Site
- Imperial Tombs
11 Countries Complete
Antigua and Barbuda . Belize . Holy See . Kyrgyzstan . Luxembourg . Morocco . Myanmar . Paraguay . San Marino . Singapore . Viet Nam .Visited WHS
Rating StatsReviewed WHS
- Epidaurus
- Changdeokgung Palace Complex
- Hwaseong Fortress
- Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae
- Sian Ka'an
- Modena
- Jongmyo Shrine
- Kakadu National Park
- Willandra Lakes
- Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz
- Kutna Hora
- Stari Grad Plain
- Mont-Saint-Michel
- San Gimignano
- Cesky Krumlov
- Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands
- Pompei
- Petra
- Sintra
- Pont du Gard
- Rome
- Preah Vihear Temple
- Citadel of the Ho Dynasty
- Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago
- Phong Nha - Ke Bang
- Salzburg
- Nikko
- The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier
- Ancient Nara
- Ancient Kyoto
- Los Glaciares
- Cueva de las Manos
- Peninsula Valdes
- Gondwana Rainforests
- Greater Blue Mountains
- Uluru
- Xanthos-Letoon
- Istanbul
- Hierapolis-Pamukkale
- Kotor
- Durmitor National Park
- Tower of London
- Westminster
- Blenheim Palace
- Brugge
- Major Town Houses
- Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai
- Grand Place, Brussels
- Mining Sites of Wallonia
- The Four Lifts
- Plantin-Moretus Museum
- Stoclet House
- Churches of Chiloé
- Sewell Mining Town
- Valparaiso
- Ischigualasto / Talampaya
- Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba
- Jesuit Missions of Trinidad and Jesus
- Iguacu
- Iguazu National Park
- Rio de Janeiro
- Colonia del Sacramento
- Temple of Heaven
- Great Wall
- Yosemite National Park
- My Son
- Hoi An
- Royal Exhibition Building
- Hué
- Flemish Béguinages
- Arequipa
- Qhapaq Ñan
- Lima
- Regensburg
- Maulbronn Monastery
- Prehistoric Pile Dwellings
- Pilgrimage Church of Wies
- Shirakawa-go and Gokayama
- Frontiers of the Roman Empire
- Wadden Sea
- Stralsund and Wismar
- Bauhaus Sites
- Fagus Factory
- Primeval Beech Forests
- Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust
- Messel Pit
- Hildesheim Cathedral and Church
- Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe
- Medina of Essaouira
- Medina of Marrakesh
- Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou
- Bryggen
- Te Wahipounamu
- Baroque Churches
- Sigiriya
- Anuradhapura
- Polonnaruva
- Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple
- Central Highlands
- Kandy
- Old Town of Galle
- Wartburg Castle
- Speyer Cathedral
- Muskauer Park
- Völklingen Ironworks
- Classical Weimar
- Rammelsberg and Goslar
- Potsdam
- Zollverein
- Bamberg
- Upper Middle Rhine Valley
- Lübeck
- Corvey
- Berlin Modernism Housing Estates
- Museumsinsel (Museum Island)
- Luther Memorials
- Würzburg Residence
- Quedlinburg
- Cologne Cathedral
- Medina of Fez
- Mazagan
- Meknes
- Volubilis
- Rabat
- Town Hall and Roland, Bremen
- Aachen Cathedral
- Le Havre
- Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal
- Schokland
- Thang Long
- Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
- Brú na Bóinne
- Robben Island
- Tallinn
- Angkor
- Trang An
Visited TWHS
- 'Biogradska gora' National Park (T)
- Alexandria, ancient remains and the new library (T)
- Ancient cities of Upper Myanmar : Innwa, Amarapura, Sagaing, Mingun, Mandalay (T)
- Ancient Greek Theatres (T)
- Ancient Lavrion (T)
- Ayeyawady River Corridor (T)
- Bregenzerwald (Bregenz Forest) (T)
- Brooklyn Bridge (T)
- Caves of the Buda Thermal Karst System (T)
- Central Park (T)
- Ceský ráj (Czech Paradise) Rock Cities (T)
- Cetinje Historic Core (T)
- Cultural Landscape of Innsbruck-Nordkette/Karwendel (T)
- Etosha Pan (T)
- Fann mountains (T)
- Fishriver Canyon (T)
- Historical Lisbon, Global City (T)
- Inle Lake (T)
- Jerash Archaeological City (Ancient Meeting Place of East and West) (T)
- Levadas of Madeira Island (T)
- Mausoleum of Mukhammad Bashoro (T)
- Mon cities : Bago, Hanthawaddy (T)
- Moulay Idriss Zerhoun (T)
- Mountain Chains (T)
- Old Town of Bar (T)
- Orvieto (T)
- Raja Ampat Islands (T)
- Ramagrama, the relic stupa of Lord Buddha (T)
- Ring of cenotes of Chicxulub Crater, Yucatan (T)
- Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill (T)
- Smederevo Fortress (T)
- Temples, Shrines and other structures of Ancient Kamakura (T)
- The Bodrum Castle (T)
- The early medieval architectural complex of Panauti (T)
- The Karlstejn Castle (T)
- The monasteries of the Arab Desert and Wadi Natrun (T)
- The Old Town of Jakarta (T)
- The Site of Ancient Town of Pyanjekent (T)
- The Tabon Cave Complex and all of Lipuun Point (T)
- Tilaurakot, the archaeological remains of ancient Shakya Kingdom (T)
- Trakai Historical National Park (T)
Reviewed TWHS