Imperial cultural city with the most fascinating bazaar - Medina of Marrakesh 331; Cultural space of Jemaa el-Fna Square 00014; Moussem of Tan-Tan 00168; Tbourida 01483; Date palm, knowledge, skills, traditions and practices 01509; Knowledge, know-how and practices pertaining to the production and consumption of couscous 01602; Arts, skills and practices associated with engraving on metals (gold, silver and copper) 01951 Jemaa el-Fnaa at dusk (from internet) What and Why The

Modest capital of Morocco - Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: a Shared Heritage 1401; Mediterranean diet 884; Moroccan Caftan: art, traditions and skills 02077 Hassan Tower of Rabat What and Why Rabat ( Tamazight : ⴰⵕⴱⴰⵟ, Aṛṛbaṭ ) , meaning 'fortress' or 'stronghold', is a small, modern but low-key capital of Morocco (ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ, Lmeɣrib ) . It is founded formally only in the late 18th century, and is the most recent of the four imperial cities, although the kasbah (Arabi

Labyrinth of medina - Medina of Fez 170; Arts, skills and practices associated with engraving on metals (gold, silver and copper) 01951 Fez tannery What and Why Fez ( Tamazight : ⴼⴰⵙ, Fas ) is the mediaeval capital and imperial city of Morocco (ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ, Lmeɣrib ) founded by Idris bin Abdullah (Arabic: إدريس الأول‎) in the late 8th century, as a great city of high Islamic civilisation. Due to this important origin of the city, the city has grown non-stop since its inceptio

Capital of art nouveau and pickpockets - Works of Antoni Gaudí 320; Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona 804; Human Towers 00364; Mediterranean diet 00884 Parc Guell What and Why Barcelona is now one of the most popular tourist cities, offering its visitors good art, football, food, culture, commerce and even science. It has developed itself as a significant global brand as a city and is considered one of the economic powerhouse in Spain ( Spanish

Time warp to the mediaevals and Game of Thrones - City of Valletta 131; L-Għana, a Maltese folksong tradition 01681 Valletta What and Why Valletta 's 16th-century buildings have now been recognised as the backdrop of the famed television series Game of Thrones . The city main architecture is Baroque , adding elements of neo-classicism really put one back into a mediaeval fantasy. The city was ruled successively by the Phoenicia (Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍, Kenāʿan ) , Ancient Gr

Triangular shaped village houses in a beautiful snow mountain - Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama 734; Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year 00859; Washi, craftsmanship of traditional Japanese hand-made paper 01001; Traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan 01618 Shirakawa-gō What and Why Shirakawa-gō ( Japanese : 白川郷) is located in a

Never say 'kekkō' until you've seen Nikkō - Shrines and Temples of Nikko 913; Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year 00869; Traditional skills, techniques and knowledge for the conservation and transmission of wooden architecture in Japan 01618 Nikko What and Why The first temple in Nikkō ( Japanese : 日光) was founded more than 1,200 years ago. In the early 17th century, the famous dying shōgun (将軍) Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川

Italy seaside city with a rich Greek culture - Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica 1200; Mediterranean diet 00884; Italian cooking, between sustainability and biocultural diversity 02093 Piazza Duomo What and Why Syracuse ( Italian : Siracusa ) was founded in the 8th century by Greek settlers, led by the coloniser Archias (Greek: Ἀρχίας) . The settlement of Syracuse was an exercise of urban planning, as a strong central leader, Archias laid out how properties and

City of Arab-Norman and Mafia influence - Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale 1487; Opera di Pupi, Sicilian puppet theatre 00011 Palermo Cathedral What and Why Welcome to the capital of the Sicilian mafia ! Palermo has since established itself as a fine heritage city, in spite of all the noises of the mafia. The exceptionally infused architecture that reflects the Norman , the Arab and the Roman rule shows a distinct flavour of culture

City of pizza, mobsters and history - Historic Centre of Naples 726; Art of Neapolitan ‘Pizzaiuolo’ 00722 New Castle What and Why Naples ( Italian : Napoli ) means the new city, but as a matter of fact, the city is one of the oldest in Europe and as part of Magna Graecia (Greek : Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς , Megálē Hellás ) , played a very important role in linking the Roman and Greek culture . The place has transformed from the colony of Parthenope (Greek: Παρθενόπη) , meaning pure eye

One of the most scenic and cliff-hanging coastal landscapes in Europe - Costiera Amalfitana 830; Mediterranean diet 00884; Italian cooking, between sustainability and biocultural diversity 02093 Amalfi coastline What and Why The Amalfi Coast ( Italian : Costiera Amalfitana ) is the scenic 50-km stretch of coastline on the northern coast of the Gulf of Salerno ( Golfo di Salerno ) , which clearly possesses unrivalled sceneries and dramatic landscapes. The winding drive along

Trulli amazing little conical huts - The Trulli of Alberobello 787; Art of dry stone construction, knowledge and techniques 02106 Trulli in Alberobello This is my inaugural post, and just for the sake of it, it starts with an A, from the most recent trip I did. What and Why The peculiar dwarf buildings trulli were actually erected according to some kind of local imposition back in the 15th century that all buildings must show some 'tribute', although this form of stone const