Saint Petersburg is one of the two biggest cities in Russia. Many people say it is one of the most attractive cities in the world—and I would agree with them. Even UNESCO called it the eighth most attractive city in the world. It was built for the tsar Peter the Great, who hired the best …
The Isle of Man (also known as the Isle of Mann) is one of the most unique bits of Europe and the British Isles. It’s culturally, historically, linguistically, and geographically different from all the other islands surrounding it and there are a lot of interesting facts many don’t know about it. Outside of the UK …
Turquoise blue waters, palm fringed cabanas as you sip a coconut? Sound like a slice of heaven? During my decade plus of world travels, I’ve visited some of the world’s smallest and most remote island nations—I’ve explored more of the Pacific islands nations than most people—but there’s perhaps nowhere more fun to plan an island …
From the World Heritage inscription for Everglades National Park: Everglades National Park is the largest designated sub-tropical wilderness reserve on the North American continent. Its juncture at the interface of temperate and sub-tropical America, fresh and brackish water, shallow bays and deeper coastal waters creates a complex of habitats supporting a high diversity of flora …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Prambanan Temple Compounds: Prambanan Temple Compounds consist of Prambanan Temple (also called Loro Jonggrang), Sewu Temple, Bubrah Temple and Lumbung Temple. Prambanan Temple itself is a complex consisting of 240 temples. All the mentioned temples from the Prambanan Archaeological Park and were built during the heyday of Sailendra’s …
From the World Heritage inscription: This property is an eminent example of a type of structure illustrating the historical situation of Haiti at the dawn of its independence. These Haitian monuments date from the beginning of the 19th century, when Haiti proclaimed its independence. The Palace of Sans Souci, the buildings at Ramiers, and, in …
From the World Heritage inscription: The Troodos mountain region of Cyprus contains one of the largest groups of churches and monasteries of the former Byzantine Empire. The ten monuments included on the World Heritage List, all richly decorated with murals, provide an overview of Byzantine and post-Byzantine painting in Cyprus and bear testimony to the …
From the World Heritage inscription: Because of their great antiquity, and because they are closely and directly related to the cult and legend of Aphrodite (Venus), who became the ideal of beauty and love, inspiring writers, poets, and artists throughout human history, Paphos is of outstanding universal value. Pre-Hellenic fertility deities were worshipped in Cyprus …
From the World Heritage inscription: Valletta is pre-eminently an ideal creation of the late Renaissance with its uniform urban plan, inspired by neo-Platonic principles, its fortified and bastioned walls modeled around the natural site, and the voluntary implantation of great monuments in well-chosen locations. The capital of Malta is one of the rare urban inhabited …