Religion is of very great importance for the residents of Corfu, as it is for most Greeks, and churches and small chapels can be found everywhere all over the island. Corfu has nearly 800 churches and monasteries altogether! Even the tiniest village in Corfu has a church in its centre and these churches can sometimes…

The Cerrado is a vast tropical savannah that is one of the biggest and most diverse of Brazil’s ecosystems. Not far from the big city of Goiania lies the special jewel of the Cerrado: the historic city of Pirenópolis. It’s the right place to go when you want to escape the hectic big city and it was the destination we had chosen for a brief holiday among friends.

Counted individually, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ghana are more plentiful than in any other country in Africa. They consist of 32 historic forts and castles and 13 traditional Ashanti buildings. There remains one Ghanaian asset of immense cultural and scientific value that needs inclusion on the UNESCO list to save it from destruction: Lake Bosomtwe.

Uzbekistan is a premier cultural heritage destination sought out each year by more and more travellers wishing to immerse themselves in the magic of Central Asia’s Great Silk Road. How do you keep your bearings? Learn the unique stories behind the buildings. In each of Uzbekistan’s three Silk Road cities – Bukhara, Khiva and Samarkand – a landmark minaret has a myth behind it, adding a touch of intrigue to the present-day wonder.

In a place called Shakhrisabz, about 80 kilometres south of Samarkand in Uzbekistan, a giant monument to the 14th-century Mongol khan Temor (Tamerlane) marks the place he was born. The towering statue of Temor cues what is to come: in the city of Samarkand itself, even more references to one of the country’s most important historical figures are to be found, including the heavily-restored mausoleum where he was buried.

While UNESCO approval of seven proposed World Heritage sites in Malta is still pending, their worth is certainly not negated by bureaucratic delays. In fact, their absence from the official list means that they have been kept just outside the UNESCO spotlight and perhaps a little farther off the tourist trail than the three recognised attractions. Here are the additional sites that Malta thinks deserve an equal shot at UNESCO protection and a place in the sun.