In 1998 I obtained a Russian edition of Thomas Veser book “World Treasures. Historical, Cultural and National Monuments under UNESCO Protection”. The forward claimed that – UNESCO( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) concluded in 1972 a Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The Convention started enlisting of various monuments and landscapes of exceptional universal value which were to receive protection in order to be preserved for current and future generations
The selection of the sites should follow a special procedure starting from the national nomination by the state parties for the so called Tentative list to follow by evaluation of the ICOMOS-International Council on Monuments and Sites. The final decision on the site inscription would be of the UNESCO General Assembly responsibility.
In 1978 the first 12 sites were inscribed into the World Heritage List(WHL), these were: the- Galapagos Islands, historical centers of Quito and Krakow, Simien Mountains National Park and Lalibela Rock Churches of Ethiopia,
L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site and Nahanni National Park Reserve (both of Canada), Mesa Verde and Yellowstone National Park of the USA,
Wieliczka Salt Mine(Poland), Aachen Cathedral of Germany as well as the Island of Goree, Senegal.
By the end of 1995 when the Convention had been ratified by 136 countries and Veser’s book went into print in Germany, WHL included around 400 sites. The author presumed the number of sites would never exceed 500 in order to prevent a dilution and scattering of resources required for the sites protection.
It was at this time I became curious how many of the outstanding monuments I had seen. To my surprise, the number was just over 20!My career as a journalist had given me the opportunity to travel and the good fortune to visit many of the sites I was interested in.It was at this point I decide to challenge myself to see as many sites as I could.
As UNESCO had been puffing up the List, I had been adjusting my vacation routes and business trips to visit as many sites as possible. By June, 2010 when the working on this site started I had visited 316 sites, but by now the WHL had reached 890! In July, 2011 the list was extended to include 936 properties. Even this figure does not give a full picture as many sites have multiple location, for example ,13 Fortifications of Vauban in France, 53 belfries of Belgium and France,6 Jesuit Missions around Cordoba in Argentina etc.
The record is currently held by Spain with 727 locations enlisted as a single site of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula which is spread through 6 provinces!
Obviously, the List will continue to increase: of 187 states , 167 have already submitted their nominations for the Tentative list to take the number of 1536 by April, 2012! I have no idea, if the UNESCO officials have sufficient funding and power to protect all that number of sites and the associated facilities, but an ordinary person would never have enough time to put an eye on all of them!
It is absolutely clear, that with so many sites it is impossible to maintain the same standards of quality. Some of the sites I have visited have been exciting, others producing nothing but disappointment. The idea came to me to share my experiences and to introduce a system, similar to the quality rating of hotels and accommodation.
Therefore I suggest the following rating system:.
5 STARS-This is a “must see” site and should be visited at least once in your life.
4 STARS-If you are in the country, try to include the site in your plans.
3 STARS-If you are not far from the place, it is worth visiting.
2STARS-The site is mostly of specialist interest.
1 STAR- Do not visit, there is very little to see there.
My rating is strictly personal to reflect my personal views, someone who trusts his own eyes and experiences rather than the official PR, publicity and hype.
My dear Guest, you are cordially invited to review the photographs and comments, please feel free to express your own opinion and let me know if you share my views or not. Let’s go together through the World Heritage List! Hopefully, my rating may help you to plan your next journey!
Yury Laskin
