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

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

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

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

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

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

Ancient capital with a recent dark history - Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties 1004; Craftsmanship of Nanjing Yunjin brocade 00200 Xiaoling mausoleum What and Why One of the surprises in travels is really you do not know what to expect. I was travelling to Nanjing ( Chinese : 南京) for work without realising that I step into a UNESCO WHS. For a fetish like me, this is blasphemous that I did not do enough homework. I have to say before I stepped into Nanjing, I o

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

'Not-old' Baroque town with Arab-Norman churches - Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily) 1024; Italian cooking, between sustainability and biocultural diversity 02093 Noto What and Why Noto is a very tiny town but is unexpectedly gorgeous. One of the most photogenic places during this trip. Similar to other Sicilian cities, Noto was occupied by the Arabs in the 9th century and then in late 11th century, it became the last Islamic stronghold in Sicily

A formidable fortress exhibiting a mix of European and Islamic architectural designs - Castel del Monte 398; Falconry, a living human heritage 1708; Italian cooking, between sustainability and biocultural diversity 02093 Castel del Monte What and Why Our next stop took us to Castel del Monte , a formidable fortress standing isolated on a little mount in Andria . As the name suggests, the name means 'castle of the mountain' ( Italian : castel del monte ) in Italian. It was b

A city built on a huge cave - The Sassi and the Park of the Rupestrian Churches of Matera 670 ; Italian cooking, between sustainability and biocultural diversity 02093 Sassi of Matera during the evening What and Why The sassi (singular sasso ), meaning 'rock' in Italian, of Matera is often described as the most unique and picturesque landscapes in Europe, and this is no understatement. While one might imagine an inhabited cave since the Paleolithic age would look derelict