Culturally rich Orthodox monastery near the Bulgarian border - Rila Monastery 216 Rila monastery What and Why The Rila monastery ( Bulgarian : Рилски манастир, Rilski manastir ) is one of the greatest monasteries built in Bulgaria (България, Bŭlgariya ) or possibly in the Balkans , and is regarded a s one of the most significant cultural, historical, and spiritual landmarks of the country . The Eastern Orthodox monastery is founded as early as the 10th century and is cont

Mediaeval Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery in a conflict epicentre - Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 724 Visoki Dečani What and Why Visoki Dečani Monastery ( Albanian : Manastiri i Deçanit ) is one of the four mediaeval Serbian Orthodox Christian monasteries in the disputed state of Kosovo ( Kosova ) . The famous historic monastery is commissioned by the King of Serbia (Serbian: Србија, Srbij a ) Stefan Dečanski (Serbian: Стефан Дечански, né Стефан Немањић, Stefan Nema

Venetian fortified town deep in the Mediterranean sea cliff - Natural and Culture-Historical Region of Kotor 125; Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra - Western State Da Mar 1533 Fortification of Kotor What and Why Kotor ( Montenegrin : Котор) is a beautifully landscaped historic fortification built largely by the Republic of Venice (Venetian: Venèçia ) around the Mediterranean inner bay, between the rugged mountains and the serene w

The Pearl of Adriatic as if a page from Games of Thrones - Old City of Dubrovnik 95; Festivity of Saint Blaise, the patron of Dubrovnik 00232; Art of dry stone construction, knowledge and techniques 02106 Dubrovnik What and Why Dubrovnik , known as the ' Pearl of the Adriatic ' by George Byron , is a city that comes out of the page of the mediaeval fantasy stories with the city being beautifully planned and constructed with brown marbles and limestones. The history of the ci

Fusion of Spanish, Oriental and local architecture in churches - Baroque Churches in the Philippines 677; The School of Living Traditions (SLT) 01739 Paoay Church What and Why During the Spanish Colonial Period from the 16th to 19th century, the Spanish missionaries arrived at the Philippines ( Tagalog : Pilipinas ) , spread Christianity and built churches in their new land. The Spanish would like to build new and long-lasting churches to create a proper place to worship an

Asian Spanish colonial city with an old-world charm - Historic City of Vigan 502 Calle Crisologo at night What and Why Vigan is one of the few Spanish East Indies (Spanish: Indias orientales españolas ) colonial towns left in the Philippines ( Tagalog : Pilipinas ) whose old structures have mostly remained intact. The tiny town is well known for its sett and cobblestone pavements, derived from the Spanish Philippines colonial e ra which fuses native Philippine and or

Capital of ancient Silla - Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple 736; Gyeongju Historic Areas 976; Daemokjang, traditional wooden architecture 00461; Knowledge, beliefs and practices related to jang making in the Republic of Korea 01975 Jahamun of Bulguksa What and Why Gyeongju ( Korean : 경주) , formerly Seorabeol ( 서라벌), was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla ( 신라 ) from 57 BCE to 935 CE and hence this city is a definite must-visit if one is interested in Korean Pe

Rock-hewn caves in an island honouring Shiva - Elephanta Caves 244 Elephanta caves - Cave 1 What and Why The Elephanta Caves ( Hindi : घारापुरी गुफाएँ, Gharapuri guphā'ēm̐ ) are a series of rock-hewn cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva (Sanskrit : शिव, Śiva ) . These caves are located a 16 km² island off Mumbai (मुम्बई) , as blogged in Mumbai (मुम्बई) | South . While most of the caves are Hindu, there are a number of Buddhist stupas and temples aroun

Ancient town with 2,000 temples, pagodas and stupas - Bagan 1588 Bagan in evening haze What and Why Bagan ( Burmese : ပုဂံ) is famous for the being the land of thousand temples, and the famous picture of all these temples seemingly floating in a reddish haze can be taken easily, as above. All one needs to do is to go atop one of these temples at dawn, or sometimes dusk and with a simple digital camera or smartphone, voilà! These temples were mostly built during the area's

Once the world's largest commercial canal-based city with a picturesque mediaeval urbanscape - Flemish Béguinages 855; Belfries of Belgium and France 943; Historic Centre of Brugge 996; Safeguarding the carillon culture: preservation, transmission, exchange and awareness-raising 01017; Beer culture in Belgium 01062 Boatrip at Rozenhoedkaai What and Why Bruges ( Dutch : Brugge ) was at one point the commercial heart of the world, due its port and rivers. The city connects wi

A derelict learnt city - Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba 995; Tango 00258; Cuarteto: music, dance and lyrics in the city of Córdoba, Argentina 00243 Cordoba Cathedral What and Why While colonialism carries a negative imperial connotation nowadays, it did bring a major historical impact in establishing the cultural order of a place, and Córdoba is an actual good example of this. With the Spanish conquistadores , the Jesuit order established this city in the late 16th c

Spanish missionaries conversion programme - Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis: San Ignacio Mini, Santa Ana, Nuestra Señora de Loreto and Santa Maria Mayor (Argentina), Ruins of Sao Miguel das Missoes (Brazil) 275; Chamamé 01600 San Ignacio Mini What and Why During the Age of Discovery in the 17th century, the Spanish conquistadores arrived at the Paraná region of Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil ) . Together with the conquistadores, there were Jesuit ( Latin : Societas Iesu ) mi

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

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