Today, we picture the caravans traveling along the Silk Road from China to the Middle East as a rather romantic image. This romanticized portrayal conceals the real dangers that the journey... »

Cultures and Civilizations , Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Tawsam and Rachel

Imagine an American-centric, worst nightmare portrayal of the peak of the Cold War. It probably looks a little like hazard-suited Soviets, tinkering with terrifying diseases we long thought were... »

Intriguing Environs, Disaster Areas | Edited by atimian, Dylan and others

This huge, magnificent palace complex, built in 1871, was constructed in the traditions of Central Asian architecture. Visitors will find, as one knowledgeable about such things might expect to, a... »

Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes | Edited by Nicholas Jackson

On the edge of the Fergana Valley, a region in Central Asia where Taikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan all meet that is packed with enclaves, tiny territories completely surrounded by foreign... »

Memento Mori, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Nicholas Jackson

A geographical territory that is completely surrounded by foreign territory, an enclave is often a place filled with political and cultural complications. For this reason and others, most... »

Cultures and Civilizations , Lost Tribes | Edited by A Facebook user and Nicholas Jackson

It can be difficult for a country created out of whole cloth to find a unifying identity. Such is the case with Uzbekistan. One of two doubly landlocked countries in the world -- a landlocked... »

Unique Collections, Strange Statues | Edited by oksana_m and Dylan

For nearly half a millennium, the remains of one of the greatest observatories ever built lay hidden in Central Asia. A product of one Muslim prince's devotion to science, the observatory was the... »

Astounding Timepieces, Instruments of Science, Retro-Tech, Incredible Ruins, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Trevor and wythe