Recent Activity

• January 31, 2011 oksana_m added The Cairo Genizah
  

  Cairo, Egypt

  The Cairo Genizah

  Hundreds of thousands of ancient documents offer a unique glimpse into Jewish life in Cairo

  The Ben Ezra Synagogue was built in al-Fustat, the first capital of Egypt under Arab rule. Today, al-Fustat is part of Old Cairo. Abraham ibn Ezra of Jerusalem purchased the land for the synagogue... »

  Rites and Rituals, Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by oksana_m and Nicholas Jackson

• January 30, 2011 oksana_m added Pullman Historic District
  

  Pullman Historic District

  First planned industrial community in the United States

  Built in 1880 on 4,000 acres of land that was outside of the Chicago city limits Pullman, Illinois, was the first industrial planned community built in the United States. Built by George... »

  Architectural Oddities | Edited by oksana_m, Nicholas Jackson and others

• January 29, 2011 oksana_m has been to New York Transit Museum
  

  New York Transit Museum

  Ride the subways of yesteryear

  The New York Transit Museum is operated by the folks who know it best - the MTA. Who better to collect and display the history of the New York Transit system? The museum features "Steel, Stone,... »

  Unique Collections | Edited by M Rebekah Otto

• January 27, 2011 oksana_m added Maltese Catacomb Complexes
  

  Saint Paul's Catacombs, Malta

  Maltese Catacomb Complexes

  Burial grounds for more than 1,000 bodies deep under the modern town of Rabat

  From the 3rd to the 6th centuries CE, the Roman city of Melite developed a complex system of burial grounds on its outskirts under the modern town of Rabat, a village outside of Mdina, the... »

  Natural Wonders, Curious Caves, Memento Mori, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Cultures and Civilizations , Rites and Rituals, Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Subterranean Sites | Edited by oksana_m, Nicholas Jackson and 2 others

• January 19, 2011 oksana_m added St. George Icon Museum
  

  Parroquia d'Ordino, Andorra

  St. George Icon Museum

  Extensive Orthodox icon collection in Andorra

  Andorra, a remote European microstate situated between Spain and France in the eastern Pyrenees mountains, has strong historic ties to the Catholic Church. Tradition holds that Charlemagne granted... »

  Museums and Collections, Unique Collections, Architectural Oddities, Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by oksana_m and Nicholas Jackson

• January 19, 2011 oksana_m liked Pneumatic System of the New York Public Library
  

  Pneumatic System of the New York Public Library

  One of the few places in Manhattan which still employs a pneumatic system

  When a young man in Manhattan writes a letter to his girl in Brooklyn, the love letter gets blown to her through a pneumatic tube—pfft—just like that. — E.B. White, “Here Is New York” The... »

  Inspired Inventions, Retro-Tech, Repositories of Knowledge | Edited by michelle

• January 18, 2011 oksana_m added Mir Diamond Mine
  

  Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya), Russia

  Mir Diamond Mine

  World's largest open pit mine

  Mir Mine (it means both world and peace in Russian) is the world’s largest open pit diamond mine. Located in Eastern Siberia, Mir is 1,722 feet deep and has a diameter of 3,900 feet. Mir is the... »

  Natural Wonders, Martian Landscapes, Inspired Inventions, Instruments of Science, Architectural Oddities, Subterranean Sites | Edited by oksana_m and Nicholas Jackson

• January 18, 2011 oksana_m added Amir Timur (Tamerlane) Museum
  

  Tashkent, Uzbekistan

  Amir Timur (Tamerlane) Museum

  Looking for a unifying history, Uzbekistan finds its answer in a 14th Century Turco-Mongol conqueror... despite the fact he wasn't Uzbek

  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

• January 17, 2011 oksana_m liked Atlantic Avenue Tunnel
  

  Atlantic Avenue Tunnel

  In the middle of downtown Brooklyn lies a 165 year old secret hidden right below the surface (closed to the public indefinitely)

  UPDATE: Closed by New York department of transportation until 2018 Unbeknownst to the thousands of people who walk and drive along the busy streets of downtown Brooklyn every day, they are... »

  Subterranean Sites | Edited by Dylan

• January 13, 2011 oksana_m added Christ Church in Jerusalem
  

  Jerusalem, Israel

  Christ Church in Jerusalem

  Oldest Protestant church in the Middle East, designed to resemble a synagogue

  The 19th century was marked by British colonial and evangelical ambitions in lands controlled by the crumbling Ottoman empire. Christ Church was established on land purchased by the Church of... »

  Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by oksana_m, mrobscurity and others