Portuguese fishing harbour and centre of argan oil - Medina of Essaouira (formerly Mogador) 753; Argan, practices and know-how concerning the argan tree 00955; Gnawa 01170 Goats on argan tree What and Why Essaouira ( Tamazight : ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort ) is a fishing port established by the Portuguese during the 16th century. In the early 16th century, the king of Portugal , Dom Manuel I (né Manuel Aviz) , ordered a fortress to be built there and named it Royal Castle of Mogador (

Gateway to Sahara - Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou 444; Date palm, knowledge, skills, traditions and practices 01509 Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou What and Why The ksar (Arabic: قصر, qṣar ) of Aït Ben Haddou ( Tamazight : ⴰⵢⵜ ⴱⴻⵏⵃⴰⴷⴷⵓ) is fortified village along the former caravan trade route between the Sahara (Arabic: الصحراء الكبرى‎) and Marrakesh (ⴰⵎⵓⵔⴰⴽⵓⵛ, Amurakuš ) , as blogged in Marrakesh (ⴰⵎⵓⵔⴰⴽⵓⵛ) . There are a handful of families still living in the ancient village. Inside

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

Whitewashed multicultural city - Medina of Tétouan (formerly known as Titawin) 837 Tétouan cityscape What and Why The story of the city itself gives a hint of the multi-cultural history of Tétouan ( Tamazight : ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⵉⵏ, Tiṭṭawin ) . Founded in the 3rd century BCE, Tetouan became an important centre during the Roman era and it served as the main point of contact between Morocco (ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ, Lmeɣrib ) and Andalusia until the 15th century. After the reconquest (Spanish: Reconq

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

Imperial city of Spanish-Moorish style gates - Historic City of Meknes 793; Archaeological Site of Volubilis 836 Bab Mansour What and Why Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty (Arabic: المرابطون, Al-Murābiṭūn ‎) as a military sentinel, Meknes ( Tamazight : ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas ) became the capital of Morocco (ⵍⵎⵖⵔⵉⴱ, Lmeɣrib ) under Moulay Ismail ibn Sharif (مولاي إسماعيل بن الشريف ابن النصر‎) in the 17th century. Moulay Ismail turned Meknes into an impressive ci

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

Lush and water of royal beauty - Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey 372 Royal Studley Park overview What and Why An absolute delight to the eye and camera, the Studley Royal Park is a huge beautiful park of green, water and a Cistercian (Latin: Cisterciensis ) abbey ruin. It is located in Ripon and offers an enjoyable day of picnic and outing. The abbey ruins go as far as the 12th century while the park is largely built during the 18th century. Th

Subterranean temple since 3000 BCE - Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum 130; Il-Ftira, culinary art and culture of flattened sourdough bread in Malta 01580 Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum What and Why Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum ( Maltese : Ipoġew ) is a large complex of rooms hewn out of the limestone and thought to have been a sanctuary and necropolis , with the remains of more than 7,000 individuals documented by archaeologists. ‘Hypogeum’ means ‘underground’ in Greek, ‘ Ħal ’ means ‘small’ in Malte

Second oldest standing structures on Earth - Megalithic Temples of Malta 132 Ġgantija What and Why The Megalithic Temples of Malta ( Maltese : It-Tempji Megalitiċi ta' Malta ) are several prehistoric temples built during the period 3600 BCE to 700 BCE in various spots in Malta. They were the oldest free-standing structures on Earth until the discovery of Göbekli Tepe of Turkey. Archaeologists believe that these megalithic complexes are the result of local innovations in

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

Park of fire and water; and perhaps the origin of the end of the world - Yellowstone National Park 28 Yellowstone signboard What and Why The fact that I have to do a Part II of this UNESCO WHS shows how much is there to offer from this Park. The Yellowstone volcano is the largest volcanic system in North America and is termed as a ' supervolcano ' because the caldera was formed by exceptionally large explosive eruptions and is one of the seven in the world. The magma chambe

Park of fire and water; and perhaps the origin of the end of the world - Yellowstone National Park 28 Prismatic Spring What and Why Yellowstone National Park possesses two firsts in history: the first national park in the world in 1872 (this might be disputed depending on definition) and the first UNESCO WHS together with 11 others, inscribed in 1978. The park is well known for its geothermal features and extensive wildlife and is so huge (close to 9000 km2, around the siz

Icon of freedom of the new world - Statue of Liberty 307; The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright 1496 Statue of Liberty What and Why The Statue of Liberty or formally 'Liberty Enlightening the World', is the icon of the free world, full stop. The copper statue of Libertas (Latin for liberty), was a gift from France to America in 1886. The statue has seen become literally the signature of America. Why Libertas? In early American history, two female figures

One of the world's best bird parks - Keoladeo National Park 340 Keoladeo National Park (from internet) What and Why Keoladeo National Park ( Hindi : केवलादेव राष्ट्रीय उद्यान, Kevalaadev Raashtreey Udyaan ) is a famous migratory bird sanctuary that hosts thousands of birds, especially during the winter season. Over 300 species of birds are known to be residents. Keoladeo National Park is a man-made and man-managed wetland and is one of the richest bird areas in the world.

Fortress of syncretism of religions - Fatehpur Sikri 255 Fatehpur Sikri What and Why Fatehpur Sikri ( Hindi : फ़तेहपुर सीकरी) was founded as the capital of the Mughal Empire (Persian: امپراتوری گورکانی هند, Mughliyah Saltanat ) in 1571 by Akbar (Persian: ابو الفتح جلال الدين محمد اكبر, né ابو الفتح جلال الدين محمد اكبر (Persian), Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar ) , when he was serving this role during mid to late-16th century as the third Mughal Emperor . Akbar (mea

World most majestic mausoleum - Agra Fort 251; Taj Mahal 252 Tāj Mahal (from internet) What and Why Agra ( Hindi : आगरा) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna (यमुना) river and is the first city in this series to house more than one UNESCO WHS. Most importantly it houses the Tāj Mahal (ताज महल) and the Agra Fort (आगरा का किला, Agra ka qila ) , with Tāj Mahal being arguably the most famous buildings in world architecture, especially exhibiting the extreme beauty and forte o

The holy pilgrimage site for Buddhists - Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya 1056 Mahabodhi Complex What and Why Bōdh Gayā ( Hindi : बोधगया) and its temple complex is the most sacred, religious site and place of pilgrimage for Buddhists. It is famous as it is the place where the Buddha (Sanskrit: बुद्ध, né Siddhattha Gotam a (Pali) ) , is said to have achieved enlightenment (Sanskrit: अनुत्तर सम्यक् सम्बोधि, anuttara-samyak-saṃbodhi ) under what became known as the bodh

One of the first universities in the world and the world's most important Buddhist school - Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) at Nalanda, Bihar 1502 Nalanda T3 What and Why Nālandā ( Hindi : नालंदा) was a Mahāvihāra (Sanskrit: महाविहार) , meaning 'great Buddhist monastery', was established in the 5th century CE during the end of the Gupta Empire (Sanskrit: गुप्त राजवंश, Śri Gupta ) although it was reported that there had been some form of a loos