Recent Activity

• January 11, 2011 Madiha Bataineh added Bet Giorgis Church
  

  Lalibela, Ethiopia

  Bet Giorgis Church

  Church built into stone, in a town frozen in biblical times

  Situated in the small town of Lalibela in Ethiopia, which is home to eleven monolothic churches (or rock-hewn churches, each carved entirely out of a single block of granite with its roof at... »

  Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson

• January 10, 2011 Madiha Bataineh added Emile Taugourdeau’s Zoological Garden
  

  Thoree-les-Pins, France

  Emile Taugourdeau’s Zoological Garden

  One man's fifteen-year diversion lead to a garden of intriguing sculptures

  Visitors are greeted at the entrance of the Zoological Garden by an Indian goddess winded by two hulking snakes, standing by a cement windmill and cement trees. In 1974, Emile Taugourdeau’s... »

  Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson

• January 10, 2011 Madiha Bataineh added Rock Sculptures of Abbe Foure
  

  Rotheneuf, France

  Rock Sculptures of Abbe Foure

  Folklore and history carved into Brittany's coast

  At age 30, Abbe Foure suffered a stroke which left him without hearing and speech, and completely paralyzed one side of his body. After this episode, Foure decided to retreat to a “life as a... »

  Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson

• November 21, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Timbuktu Manuscripts
  

  Tombouctou, Mali

  Timbuktu Manuscripts

  Ancient Manuscripts showcase the civilization of West Africans during the Middle Ages

  Hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts have been collected in Timbuktu, Mali, the legendary city founded as a commercial center in West Africa nine hundred years ago. Hidden in cellars... »

  Unique Collections | Edited by Madiha Bataineh, Annetta and others

• November 14, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Old Stone Fort
  

  Old Stone Fort

  Witness to many historic moments in early Texas history

  Originally “La Casa Piedra,” this historical building is a reconstruction of a famed 18th century structure, used as a multi-purpose building in both the 18th and 19th centuries. With a second... »

  Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson

• November 12, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added The White Horse Tavern
  

  The White Horse Tavern

  Great place to have a drink and a bite to eat in an atmosphere laden with New York's Bohemian past

  The tavern referenced in Gene Raskin’s song “Those Were the Days,” White Horse Tavern is one of few literary and artistic hubs of Bohemian culture from the 50s and 60s that still remains open to... »

  Commercial Curiosities, Bizarre Restaurants and Bars, Architectural Oddities | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson

• November 8, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Mission San Jose
  

  Mission San Jose

  Three hundred years of preserved Spanish colonial history in San Antonio

  Mission San Jose was established in 1720 by Fray Antonio Margil de Jesus, at which time it sustained over 300 inhabitants. It quickly became the largest Texas Mission, and was often referred to as... »

  Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson

• November 8, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Sheffield General Cemetery
  

  Sheffield, United Kingdom

  Sheffield General Cemetery

  Cemetery established by the Victorians as a solution to the overflowing graveyards

  Walking down “Cemetery Avenue” in Sheffield, down a street of ordinary houses, you find yourself confronted by a massive Egyptian Gate, sculpted with two coiled snakes holding their tails in their... »

  Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Madiha Bataineh, Nicholas Jackson and 2 others

• November 7, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Cliveden
  

  Maidenhead, United Kingdom

  Cliveden

  Luxurious hotel designed to stir the imagination of its many visitors

  It is known that visitors are treated royally at Cliveden. Guests have included every British monarch since George I as well as Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan, President... »

  Odd Accommodations | Edited by Madiha Bataineh, Nicholas Jackson and 2 others

• November 2, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Maria Stein Convent
  

  Maria Stein Convent

  One of the largest collections of holy relics in the country

  The Maria Stein Shrine of Holy Relics is the second largest collection of relics in the United Sates. It was founded in 1875 by father J. M. Gartner who entrusted his collection of relics to the... »

  Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson

• November 1, 2010 Madiha Bataineh commented on a blog post: Atlas Obscura's South American Expedition Begins… Now!

  have an awesome journey!!

• October 31, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Finch and Co
  

  London, United Kingdom

  Finch and Co

  English antique dealers with a taste for the unusual

  The Finches are antique dealers. But unlike other antique dealers, they have collected a cabinet of curiosities and antiquities from around the world that not only reflects the diversity of human... »

  Wonder Cabinets | Edited by Madiha Bataineh, Nicholas Jackson and others

• October 30, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Lindow Man
  

  London, United Kingdom

  Lindow Man

  Naturally mummified 2,000-year-old man

  Sir Francis Bacon once said, “There is nothing more certain in nature that it is impossible for any body to be utterly annihilated.” Surely this is true for most everything in the universe, but in... »

  Rites and Rituals, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson

• October 13, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added The Caryatids of Book Tower
  

  The Caryatids of Book Tower

  38-story baroque tower reflecting Detroit's rise, fall, and possible rise again

  Part of J. Burgess Book Junior’s Washington boulevard redevelopment project, which transformed a run-down area of Detroit into one of the world’s most fashionable streets, the Book Tower was... »

  Architectural Oddities | Edited by Madiha Bataineh, Nicholas Jackson and 2 others

• October 10, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Jeju Loveland
  

  Jeju Loveland

  South Korea's only sex-themed park

  Korea's only sexual theme park, Jeju Loveland was created in 2004 by 20 artists who graduated from Honglk University in Seoul. The exhibition halls that house the gift shop and gallery of the park... »

  Outsider Art | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson

• October 9, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added The Percy Skuy Collection on the History of Contraception
  

  The Percy Skuy Collection on the History of Contraception

  Unique collection containing a wide and curious range of contraceptive items

  Taking up a large gallery in the Dittrick Museum of Medical History at Case Western Reserve University is the largest, most comprehensive collection of historical contraceptives in the world.... »

  Museums and Collections, Unique Collections | Edited by Madiha Bataineh, Dylan and others

• October 4, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Museum Carnavalet
  

  Paris, France

  Museum Carnavalet

  A peep into the history of Paris, including a set of Napoleon's toiletries

  Occupying two neighboring historical mansions, the Carnavalet Museum in Paris tells the story of Paris from its founding until the present. One of the mansions, known as "L'hôtel Carnavelet,"... »

  Museums and Collections | Edited by Madiha Bataineh, Dylan and 2 others

• September 29, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added The Musical Instrument Museum
  

  Brussels, Belgium

  The Musical Instrument Museum

  Three floors of musical instruments coming from all corners of the world and hundreds of years of musical history

  Located in central Brussels, the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) is part of the Royal Museum for Art and History. Renowned for its collection of over 1,500 instruments, the museum showcases the... »

  Museums and Collections | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson

• September 26, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added The Osmotheque
  

  Versailles, France

  The Osmotheque

  Perfume museum and library

  Thomas Mann once said, "if you are possessed by an idea, you find it expressed everywhere, you even smell it," and surely the fragrance designers behind the Osmotheque's perfume collection would... »

  Museums and Collections, Unique Collections | Edited by Madiha Bataineh, Nicholas Jackson and others

• September 25, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Museum of Eroticism
  

  Paris, France

  Museum of Eroticism

  Inside a former cabaret, seven floors of erotic art

  As a diversion from Paris' more serious renowned sights is Paris' Erotic Museum. Housed in a former cabaret, the museum fills seven floors with erotic art and artifacts from Europe, the Americas,... »

  Museums and Collections, Unique Collections | Edited by Madiha Bataineh, Nicholas Jackson and others

• September 24, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Shakespeare and Company
  

  Paris, France

  Shakespeare and Company

  Bookstore serves double duty as "Tumbleweed Hotel"

  In 1951, an eccentric American named George Whitman opened a bookstore with the hope of creating a literary hub at the heart of Paris. George, a fervent communist, decided he would welcome all... »

  Odd Accommodations | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Dylan

• September 22, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added Pomze Paris
  

  Paris, France

  Pomze Paris

  Got apples?

  The team at the Pomze Paris restaurant in France are so obsessed with apples that they have built their entire menu around the fruit, which can be found as the core ingredient in every single... »

  Bizarre Restaurants and Bars | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Dylan

• August 22, 2010 Madiha Bataineh added New Hamburg's Curious Guests
  

  New Hamburg's Curious Guests

  Trio of female dolls rotate positions and outfits daily at this strange historic home

  For all those living in the whereabouts of the New Hamburg train station in New York, a strange spectacle piques the interest. Two townhouses before the trains leading south into New York City... »

  Eccentric Homes | Edited by Madiha Bataineh and Nicholas Jackson