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Kandy is a green city with 100.000 inhabitants. It is dominated by a large, central lake. Compared to the capital Colombo a stay here is a relief. There are several shrines to visit, and it is also a good place for walking tours.

The Temple of the Tooth of course is the major sight. Watching the pilgrims even more ... each day the room where the tooth is saved is opened up to let the numerous visitors catch a glimpse

The ancient, magic bo tree welcomes you as you enter the main complex. Its age (2300 years?!) is something to dwell on, although we were not really sure which one of the two prominent trees was the legendary one.

The rest of the monuments are spread out over a large area. Because of that, and because they are so old, Anuradhapura is not easy to grasp as a day trip (as I did).

In my opinion, Rome is the most beautiful European capital. So much history in such a small area, without being turned into an amusement park ... where else in Europe can you still find that?

One of the lesser-known sights is San Clemente, a pretty 11th-century church. Stairs lead you down to the remains of a 4th-century basilica, which was devastated by Northmanns. Via another pair of stairs you arrive at a Roman house from the 2nd century, that served as a shrine for Mithras.

In 1994, I travelled around Yunnan Province for one month. It was one of the best trips of my life, and still at the right moment. Kunming was just starting to become a big, modern city and Lijiang and Dali saw the first influx of tourists. However, I did visit more remote places during that trip, of which Zhongdian stands out the most. We arrived after a long bus trip by night through the mountains. The air was thin, making the climb to the first floor of our hotel already difficult.

In the next days, we explored the surroundings. With a car and a female driver (I still clearly picture her immaculate white gloves), we went on a day trip to (what I now think was) Napa Hai. Writing this review, over 10 years later, the memories of the heavenly landscape all come back. The fresh mountain air, the endless views over the plateau, the yellow hey stacks, the rivers and lakes, numerous yaks. Still sunny in October, we enjoyed just strolling around, having small talk (the mime-type) with local women doing their laundry in the streams (members of the minority groups that populate this area).

I have been hesitant to add this site to my Visited list, mainly because it's not very clear what exactly belongs to the "Three parallel rivers of Yunnan protected areas" and because I didn't write down the names of the places visited in 1994. After some research, I believe the place I …

Lijiang is situated in the remarkable Yunnan province, in the Southwest of China. I went to Lijiang via a very long bus trip through the mountains. Nowadays, there even seems to be an airport.

The little city certainly deserves a stay of a few days from tourists that are interested in culture and history. The food also is recommendable: I still remember the baked cheese with sugar (?!!).

The Walled City of Jaipur has (after some debate) received WH status this year. The city in Northern India already has 2 WHS within its borders: Jantar Mantar and Amer Fort (the latter as part of the Hill Forts of Rajasthan). The city authorities however still seemed to have longed for the recognition of its historic center in general. The core zone of the proposed WHS will be limited to the area within the old city walls – this leads to an exact location inscribed twice connection for Jantar Mantar, but not for Amer Fort which lies in a separate village within the municipality some 11km away.

I visited Jaipur in 1993, arriving by Pink City Express train from Delhi. The city was part of a whirlwind group tour across Northern India and Nepal and I think we stayed for 1 night only. My photo album of the trip shows that we covered the City Palace, Nahargarh Fort, the observatory, Amer Fort and a cinema. It would have been hard to have not seen the Hawa Mahal (the Pink Palace) as well, but I have no photos of this landmark left.

The Nahargarh Fort and cinema lie just outside of the walled city. This leaves the City Palace (dating from 1732) for me to describe. This was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur and thus a core element of the 18th century planned city that is to sustain the Outstanding Universal Value of the nominated site. It …

In 1993 I visited one of these forts: Amber Fort. It was my first trip to India, and I was completely overwhelmed by its street life and visible poverty. Jaipur, the nearest city to Amber Fort, also was the first place we visited on our tour.

The Fort is located on the top of a hill, and we walked there in the late afternoon. I remember that it was getting dark when we returned and that there were lots of local kids yelling at us, walking with us, or wanting to hold hands.

The fort was built from 1592 and "shows the evolution from the purely defensive fort settlements of the early medieval period to the palace fortress type of architecture typified in the 16th century." It is quite an extensive complex, with several courtyards, gardens, a temple, audience halls and living quarters.

My visit was so long ago that I cannot really argue if this is a viable WHS or not. But certainly "palaces" in general are still a very prominent feature of Indian history and culture.

As you could expect from a ghost town, the atmosphere is somewhat dead. It clearly is a monument and not a place where people live (or even have been living). Only the big Mosque with the tombs of saints is regularly visited by pilgrims.

Fatehpur Sikri is located only 40 kilometers distance from Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. When you are in the area, Fatehpur deserves a visit of a few hours. But beware: it can get terribly hot there.

Khajuraho is a little town somewhere in Northern India. The little town aspect has stuck in my memory more than the monuments. It is an ideal getaway from overcrowded Indian cities. Rent a bike, visit the surrounding countryside, relax ...

Hattusha only is an interesting place to visit when you know its history. The remains are really old, so not much is left. Also, the heat on this plain can be burning.

For more interesting examples of Hittite culture, visit the Anatolian Museum in Ankara.

The most beautiful places always seem to be the most remote. Nemrut Dag is a good example for this theory. It is situated near the little town of Kahta, deep in the heart of Turkey.

From there you have to drive 1,5 hour by jeep through inhospitable surroundings. Finally a half hour-climb of the mountain itself awaits you, before you can see the magic sight with your own eyes.

Considering the history between Turkey and Armenia, this is a controversial nomination. I won’t go into detail here about the current Turkish political scene and its complicated opinions on what happened in 1915. But behind the scenes, the acceptance of Ani as an important part of the heritage of this region has been in the making for almost 20 years. The site finally entered Turkey’s Tentative List in 2012.

I visited Ani way back in 1992, during a 3-week-long group tour that took us all over Turkey by bus. I don’t remember much about Ani, only the remoteness (and exoticness!) of the whole of eastern Turkey is a clear memory. Ani itself for me is symbolized by that one ruined church and the deep gorge next to it that divides the two countries.

Since then quite a lot seems to have changed. While looking for additional photos to accompany this post I noticed all kinds of buildings that I do not remember from 1992, some including interior murals. The website Virtual Ani covers all of them. Recent visitors confirm that it still is an off-the-beaten-track destination though. Minor Sights describes his visit in 2012 as a lonely experience and helpfully suggests "Don't mention the war!" A Tripadvisor report from June 2015 hints at the very vast size of the site, the need to bring plenty of drinking water, and the entrance fee of 8 Turkish Lira.

I stayed for 4 weeks in Salamanca, and like most people, I did a Spanish course there. Classes were in the evening (16.30-20.30), so you had all day off.

Most remarkable though were the (long) evenings and nights: late-night dinner around 11 pm, and the rest of the night on the fabulous Plaza Mayor.