Ilya Burlak

United States of America \ Member since January 2017

#319 179 37 5

I only started prioritizing visiting World Heritage sites a few years ago, and with my limited US-based corporate-warrior time-off allocation and family obligations, I can only add a handful to a dozen in any given year. I look forward to visiting them all after I retire...

Check out my website: Burlaki.com

Recent Visits
  • 0
    1
    July 11, 2025
    Greece: Ancient Towers of the Aegean Sea
  • 2
    5
    Dec. 4, 2024
    Hungary: Caves of the Buda Thermal Karst System, Hollókö, Le Chateau-fort médieval d'Esztergom ...
  • 5
    1
    May 14, 2024
    Peru: Arequipa, Cuzco, Lima ...
Completed Countries

About Ilya Burlak

Member since
January 2017
Country of Origin
United States of America
Visits
Rank
#319
WHS
179
Tentative Sites
37
Website Participation
Reviews
123
Ratings

Ratings

World Heritage Sites
Tentative Sites
179 37
Locations
0
Zones
0
Reserved for members.

Reviews by Ilya Burlak

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Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade  by Ilya Burlak

Trading Posts and Fortificati… (On tentative list)

Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade

Only Yoros Castle and Galata Tower were included on my itinerary of Istanbul and Marmara in October of 2023. Furthermore, although I stayed literally around the corner from Galata Tower, …

Bursa and Cumalikizik by Ilya Burlak

Bursa and Cumalikizik (Inscribed)

Bursa and Cumalikizik

In October of 2023, on a brief road trip from Istanbul, I spent an afternoon and stayed overnight in Bursa, while also visiting Cumalıkızık the next morning.

My time …

Íznik by Ilya Burlak

Iznik (Nominated)

Iznik

I spent a bit over three hours in Íznik in October of 2023. That was enough time to stop by three of the town's gates, explore several mosques, peruse the …

Su Nuraxi di Barumini by Ilya Burlak

Su Nuraxi di Barumini (Inscribed)

Su Nuraxi di Barumini

I visited Su Nuraxi in September of 2023 on a self-driven tour around Sardinia. Due to the structure of my itinerary, Su Nuraxi was the fifth Nuragic site that I …

Nuragic monuments of Sardinia by Ilya Burlak

Nuragic monuments of Sardinia (On tentative list)

Nuragic monuments of Sardinia

I visited 4 of this serial site locations in August-September of 2023 on a self-driven tour around Sardinia, in addition to the already inscribed Su Nuraxi di Barumini.

Santu …

Edinburgh by Ilya Burlak

Edinburgh (Inscribed)

Edinburgh

A well-reviewed city such as Edinburgh hardly needs additional adverts, so I will primarily add my voice to the general admiration that it produces from everyone who visits. I've been …

Neolithic Orkney by Ilya Burlak

Neolithic Orkney (Inscribed)

Neolithic Orkney

I visited all four components of this WHS in March 2023. With an asterisk, more on which later.

The two freely-accessible parts, the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones …

Panamá by Ilya Burlak

The Colonial Transisthmian Ro… (Inscribed)

The Colonial Transisthmian Route of Panamá

I visited both components of the site in December 2022 while on a layover in Panama City. I will agree with the previous reviewers that Casco Viejo (or Casco Antiguo …

Nice by Ilya Burlak

Nice (Inscribed)

Nice

In September of 2022, I had a chance to reacquaint myself with Nice, having explored it first over twenty years earlier. As with any reasonably large city, it has quite …

Caves of Maresha and Bet Guvrin by Ilya Burlak

Caves of Maresha and Bet Guvr… (Inscribed)

Caves of Maresha and Bet Guvrin

I am giving Bet Guvrin the same rating as the community average, but I probably would have rated it higher if not for the abbreviated nature of my visit. A …

Venice and its Lagoon by Ilya Burlak

Venice and its Lagoon (Inscribed)

Venice and its Lagoon

Having just returned from my fifth trip to Venice - but the first for nearly a decade - I feel compelled to say something about a timeless place that is …

Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles by Ilya Burlak

Padua’s fourteenth-century fr… (Inscribed)

Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles

It is hard to say anything original about the magnificence of these frescoes. This serial site is definitely one of the most impressive of its kind. Visiting all of its …

Early Chicago Skyscrapers by Ilya Burlak

Early Chicago Skyscrapers (On tentative list)

Early Chicago Skyscrapers

In May of 2022, I took an hour-plus out of my business-trip itinerary in Chicago to visit the buildings in this serial property. In a notable fail of the expedition, …

Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings by Ilya Burlak

Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings (Inscribed)

Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings

I found an opportunity to visit Frederic C. Robie House in Chicago recently, which was my third visited building for this property. True to the inscription, the house exhibits discernible …

Mount Etna by Ilya Burlak

Mount Etna (Inscribed)

Mount Etna

I rarely prioritize nature over culture when traveling. Even with my comparatively short roster of WH sites, Mount Etna is only the fifth natural or mixed site that I visited. …

Syracuse by Ilya Burlak

Syracuse (Inscribed)

Syracuse

Our trip to Sicily in September of 2021 budgeted time only for Ortigia, the historic nucleus of Syracuse that has been continuously inhabited for over 3,000 years. The island is …

Val di Noto by Ilya Burlak

Val di Noto (Inscribed)

Val di Noto

On a trip around Sicily in September of 2021, I stayed several nights in Noto and visited Scicli, Ragusa, Palazzolo, and Catania each for a few hours.

Noto is …

Villa Romana del Casale by Ilya Burlak

Villa Romana del Casale (Inscribed)

Villa Romana del Casale

I visited Villa Romana del Casale in September of 2021. It is undoubtedly among the most unique and impressive monuments of antiquity. The very short WH inscription mentions the richness …

Agrigento by Ilya Burlak

Agrigento (Inscribed)

Agrigento

I visited the archaeological area of Agrigento, officially known as “Valley of the Temples”, in September of 2021. This is, in essence, a collection of stand-alone highlights, of which the …

Arab-Norman Palermo by Ilya Burlak

Arab-Norman Palermo (Inscribed)

Arab-Norman Palermo

On a week-plus trip around Sicily in September of 2021, we started with a day and a half in Palermo. Ended up visiting four components of the serial site: the …

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