Iguazu National Park in a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Argentina and one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. Created in 1934, the park was designed to protect one of Argentina’s greatest natural wonders, which is landlocked by its neighboring countries, both Brazil and Paraguay. The Iguazu Falls are definitely not the biggest waterfalls …
From the Heritage of Mercury: Almadén and Idrija World Heritage inscription: The property includes the mining sites of Almadén (Spain), where mercury (quicksilver) has been extracted since antiquity, and Idrija (Slovenia), where mercury was first found in AD1490. The Spanish property includes buildings relating to its mining history, including Retamar Castle, religious buildings and traditional …
I did an interview with Paul Lasley of On Travel, on the American Forces Radio Network this afternoon to talk about the Cathedral of Notre Dame fire and a wider discussion of cathedrals and cultural preservation.
Curonian Spit Overview From the Curonian Spit World Heritage inscription: The Curonian Spit is a unique and vulnerable, sandy and wooded cultural landscape on a coastal spit which features small Curonian lagoon settlements. The Spit was formed by the sea, wind and human activity and continues to be shaped by them. Rich with an abundance …
From the Vilnius Historic Centre World Heritage inscription: The Vilnius Historic Centre began its history on the glacial hills that had been intermittently occupied from the Neolithic period; a wooden castle was built around 1000 AD to fortify Gedimino Hill, at the confluence of the Neris and Vilnia rivers. The settlement did not develop as …
From the Historic Center of Riga World Heritage inscription: The Historic Centre of Riga is a living illustration of European history. Through centuries, Riga has been the center of many historic events and a meeting point for European nations, and it has managed to preserve evidence of European influence on its historical development, borders between …
From the Historic Center of Tallinn World Heritage inscription: The Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn is an exceptionally complete and well-preserved medieval northern European trading city on the coast of the Baltic Sea. The city developed as a significant center of the Hanseatic League during the major period of activity of this great trading …
From the World Heritage inscription: The capital of the Almoravids and the Almohads played a decisive role in the development of medieval planning. Marrakesh (which gave its name to the Moroccan Empire) is the textbook example of a large Islamic capital in the Western world. With its maze of narrow streets, houses, souks (markets), traditional …
From the World Heritage inscription: Sian Ka’an is situated on the eastern side of the Yucatán Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo. Where possible, boundaries were defined to coincide with natural features: the site is bounded by the Caribbean Sea and the barrier reef to a depth of 50 m in the east; by …