What do Timbuktu, Kathmandu, and the Statue of Liberty have in common? They are all World Heritage Sites. As of October, 2004, there are 788 sites designated by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to "encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity."

The attached 1-megabyte KML file locates all UNESCO World Heritage sites with a "star" placemark. Those with a red outline designate "endangered" sites.

Click or right-click any World Heritage placemark for a descriptive "snippet" and up to four clickable links:

• The "pic" link shows a postage-stamp-sized picture of the site. (Hint: Choose "Window/Web" in Keyhole's menu. Adjust the window size to fit the small picture. Now you can easily click to see the pictures as you browse the World Heritage sites, without leaving the Keyhole interface.)
  
  
• The "gg" link takes you directly to a Google image search.. Typically you'll see lots of good photos with links to good web pages. (It may help to edit the search terms a bit.)
  
  
• About 100 sites have "VR" links. Virtual reality! Blue star placemarks identify them. Click for ground-level 360-degree views of the site. (Requires the free Apple QuickTime viewer - You'll be guided through the installation if you don't have it.)
  
  
• The "more" link goes directly to UNESCO's webpage for the site, where you'll find the complete description, links to related documents, and related websites. You'll learn why the site was chosen, and, in some cases, why the site is endangered.
  

Most of these sites are still "low-res." Even so, the World Heritage placemarks and links take you to hundreds of fascinating, beautiful, exotic places. Many of them were completely unknown to me...I suspect many will have been unknown to you as well. Enjoy your journey!

UNESCO's World Heritage Centre

May 13, 2005 - I've (finally) merged in the Nordic placemark corrections. Thanks for your help Moaguten!

Aladdin, what a wonderful service you have done here! This is great in inspiration and in execution. So many virtues--the text, the photos, links to images, coded icons, and the comprehensiveness.

You have helped unwind the Ball of Confusion. This is the fruit of Keyhole that I have always dreamed of seeing!

I'm stunned, Aladdin. This truly is a project of tremendous scope and significant value. You've just made Keyhole worth a lot more. Thank you!

Hmmm....I wonder how many World Heritage Sites have webcams....

Aladdin,
What a hit... Nice work. Ok... Great work!

But, if you had put those into your own Forum, in a gigantic thread, you would have shot right from Explorer through World Explorer to Oracle and become the second ranked poster on this BBS. (297+788 = 1085) Thank You Keyhole for the KML ability.

And St_Louis_Hawk, You made me laugh with the comment about web-cams.

WOW - WOW - WOW!

I am literally stunned... What a fantastic job you have done here Aladdin! As Seer said, this type of work is the reason Keyhole is such a great product, not just from a technical standpoint, but as a wonderful educational tool.

These new features are really bringing so much to the table, I can't wait to see what the community comes up with next!

Just brilliant, brilliant work sir. I second Seer on the nomination of "Best KML of the Year" - See you on the red carpet!

Thanks for this.

Best,

Phred

Aladdin:

What a fabulous collection of placemarks and links. I'm having a great time exploring the sites. Many thanks to you, Earthviewer and UNSECO for making this collection available. It really makes me think about all those folks who made these heritage site in the first place.
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blt

Aladd, I am completely in awe. I doubt that I'll ever have time to work again!

Thank you so much for your hard work on this.

Aladdin, you have produced a living Gazateer, History Text, and Travel Book all wrapped in the magic of Keyhole and the depth of the internet. Phenomenal achievement! Sincere great kudos, congrats and Thanks!!

Thanks for the great response, guys. Of course, credit really belongs with the World Heritage Centre.

I've corrected some location errors in the first upload: Ha Long Bay (Viet Nam), Belize Barrier Reef, the Acropolis (Greece), and Skellig Michael (Ireland.) I also reduced the icon size from 1.6 down to 1. You can re-download from the original post.

For future changes, I added a "Notes" folder, where I'll log what has changed. (That way, you can download, then choose to transfer all, or just the changes to "My Places.")

As you find errors, please send me a message. If the error is an incorrect placement, it will help a lot if you can send me the correct latitude/longitude - as best you can determine!

Well, I'm impressed! We've rubbed the lamp and Aladdin granted our wish! I can see so many of our threads tied up in neat packages a la Aladdin's masterpiece...corporate signs, battleships, airplanes, lighthouses, etc.

Just shows you what happens when you leave for a couple days! Don't know where you found the time, Genie, but thank you for the work. Someday, it will be nice to see all these UNESCO sights in high rez, eh?