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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Istanbul by Ilya Burlak

Istanbul (Inscribed)

Istanbul

Previous reviewers have already covered the main points of visiting Istanbul, so I'll stick to the specific angle of visiting the city on an intraday layover. In November of 2019, …

Semmering Railway by Ilya Burlak

Semmering Railway (Inscribed)

Semmering Railway

In a burst of fairly unusual spontaneity, I traversed the length of the WH-inscribed portion of Semmering Railway twice in both directions on consecutive days in December of 2016. I …

Kotor by Ilya Burlak

Kotor (Inscribed)

Kotor

I visited Kotor area in July of this year on a day-trip from Dubrovnik. I first drove along practically entire perimeter of the uniquely-shaped bay to the town of Kotor, …

Dubrovnik by Ilya Burlak

Dubrovnik (Inscribed)

Dubrovnik

In July 2019 Dubrovnik acted as a base for my exploration of its WHS "hotspot". I spent only one full day in Dubrovnik proper but returned every evening for a …

Stolac by Ilya Burlak

Stolac (On tentative list)

Stolac

In July of 2019, I visited Stolac area with the focus on nearby stećci sites, Radimlja and Boljuni. Both are included on the Stolac ensemble tentative submission, in addition to …

Stećci  by Ilya Burlak

Stecci (Inscribed)

Stecci

I visited two of the properties of this serial site in July of 2019 on the way from Mostar to Dubrovnik. One of the best preserved and best known of …

Mostar by Ilya Burlak

Mostar (Inscribed)

Mostar

Mostar left probably the most vivid impression for me from the entire July 2019 trip to Dubrovnik and Split WHS hotspots. I have had so far very limited exposure on …

Trogir by Ilya Burlak

Trogir (Inscribed)

Trogir

The historic center of Trogir sits on a tiny island – roughly 500 meters long and 250 meters wide – which can be fairly closely explored in the matter of …

Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik by Ilya Burlak

Cathedral of St. James in Sib… (Inscribed)

Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik

Somewhat uniquely for a grand church in a town with uneven topography, Cathedral of Saint James does not occupy a commanding highest point. Stairways run up from the cathedral square …

Zadar - Episcopal complex         by Ilya Burlak

Zadar - Episcopal complex (On tentative list)

Zadar - Episcopal complex

Zadar is already on the World Heritage list, or at least its fortifications are as part of the Venetian Works of Defense serial site. Additionally, a collection of buildings and …

Split by Ilya Burlak

Split (Inscribed)

Split

I had a base in Split for nearly a week on a recent trip to Croatia. Only a single day was budgeted for exploring the town, but I also returned …

Evora by Ilya Burlak

Evora (Inscribed)

Evora

The capital of the Alentejo region, Évora, is a city with more than twenty centuries of history. But its profile is much lower than that of other points of interest …

Sintra by Ilya Burlak

Sintra (Inscribed)

Sintra

Sintra is one of the most impressive and attractive places to visit in all of Portugal. It is also one of the most maddeningly overcrowded. We were there in late …

Pombaline Lisbon by Ilya Burlak

Pombaline Lisbon (On tentative list)

Pombaline Lisbon

It is rather curious that there are two tentative submissions for Lisbon, dated with the same exact day, of which one happens to entirely encompass the other. Pombaline Lisbon is …

Historical Lisbon, Global City by Ilya Burlak

Historical Lisbon, Global City (Removed from tentat…)

Historical Lisbon, Global City

Both the description and the OUV justification on the tentative WH submission for Lisbon outline with significant detail the uniqueness of the city history and its importance in the Age …

Belem by Ilya Burlak

Belem (Inscribed)

Belem

I visited the WHS in Belém on a Portuguese national holiday in April, which was obviously not the best day for sightseeing. There is a corollary of Murphy’s Law, formulated …

Convent of Christ in Tomar by Ilya Burlak

Convent of Christ in Tomar (Inscribed)

Convent of Christ in Tomar

The Convent of Christ in Tomar is the oldest in the Portuguese World Heritage monastic triangle (the other two are Alcobaça and Batalha), founded in the 12th century. It has …

Monastery of Batalha by Ilya Burlak

Monastery of Batalha (Inscribed)

Monastery of Batalha

Batalha Monastery is a masterpiece of Gothic and Manueline art. I visited all three WH monastic complexes in the Centro Region of Portugal in April of 2019, and the contrast …

Guimarães by Ilya Burlak

Guimarães (Inscribed)

Guimarães

The first capital of Portugal way back in the 12th century, Guimarães is recognized on the World Heritage list as an authentic example of the evolution of a medieval settlement …

Bom Jesus do Monte by Ilya Burlak

Bom Jesus do Monte (Inscribed)

Bom Jesus do Monte

The sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte is comparatively young for a religious site – the pilgrimage church dates only from the 17th century, and the current ensemble was fully …

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