Upper Svaneti, Georgia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Upper Svaneti, Georgia

Weather: Sunshine and clouds mixed, 29/47F.

Route: From Gelati Monastery 171 km north on SH-11.

Significance: There are over 200 tower houses in the town of Chazhashi. These houses were built mostly for defensive purposes as the region faced endless waves of invaders over the centuries.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site 

Images:

Aerial view of the area (from whc.unesco.org)

The town of Chazhashi with its tower houses (from whc.unesco.org)

Gelati Monastery, Georgia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Gelati Monastery, Georgia

Weather: Sunny, 47/71F.

Route: From Ani 399 km north on 8.

Significance: The monastery was at its height in the 11th to 13th centuries. It was one of the largest Orthodox monasteries in the world - as well as a center of science and education. Many of the buildings are still standing.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The monastery (from whc.unesco.org)

The interior of the church with beautiful frescoes (from whc.unesco.org)

Ani, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Ani, Turkey

Weather: Mostly cloudy skies, 27/50F.

Route: From Divrigi 626 km ENE on D100.

Significance: Now an abandoned archaeological site, Ani was once a great city on the Silk Road, home to over 100,000 people in the 10th and 11th centuries.  By the 14th century it had been mostly destroyed by the Mongol invasion and an earthquake.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The city walls (from whc.unesco.org)

The ruined Church of the Redeemer (from whc.unesco.org)

Divrigi, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Divrigi, Turkey

Weather: Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies, 38/65F.

Route: From Hattusha 406 km east on D200 and E88.

Population: 10,824

Significance: This small town is best known for it's 13th century mosque and hospital.  It's architecture and decoration are unique among Muslim buildings of the times.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

Highly decorated entrance (from whc.unesco.org)

The vaulted interior (from whc.unesco.org)

Hattusha, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Hattusha, Turkey

Weather: Light rain early, breaks of sun in the afternoon, 42/61F.

Route: From Safranbolu 298 km SE on D100 and E80.

Significance: During the bronze age the two greatest powers were the Egyptians and the Hittites. Hattusha was the capital of the Hittite Empire. At this archaeological site there are remains from 6,000 BC - although the height of the empire was between 1900 and 1200 BC.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The Lion Gate (from whc.unesco.org)

The 12 Hittite gods of the underworld (from whc.unesco.org)

Safronbolu, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Safronbolu, Turkey

Weather: Partly cloudy, 50/67F.

Route: From Constantinople 403 km east on O-7, O-4, E80.

Population: 43,060

Significance: Safronbolu was an important stop on the trade route between Europe and Asia from the 13th to 20th centuries. There are several buildings that date back to the early Ottoman Empire in the 14th century.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Image:

Aerial view of central Safronbolu (from whc.unesco.org)

Istanbul, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Istanbul, Turkey

Weather: Light rain, 53/62F.

Route: From Bursa 153 km north on O-5.

Population: 15,149,358

Places to visit: Dolmabahce Palace, Hagia Sophia Mosque, Sultanahmet District, Suleymaniye Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Gulhane Park, Galata Tower, Rahmi M. Koc Museum, Emirgan Park, Chora Museum, Eyup Sultan Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Blue Mosque, Beylerbeyi Palace, Rumeli Fortress, Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Video:

Images:

The Hagia Sophia (from whc.unesco.org)

Walls that were built in the 5th century to protect the city of Constantinople (from dailysabah.com)