amyrluo's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Tipaza, Algeria

Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania

The original resting place of Queen Cleopatra and Mark Antony's only daughter.
Padua, Italy

Pietra del Vituperio (Stone of Shame)

In medieval times this small stone seat was used as a bizarre way to punish insolvent debtors.
Baker, California

Mojave Megaphone

No one's quite sure why there's a metal megaphone bolted on two rocks in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
Oman

Wadi Dawkah Frankincense Trees

These gnarly desert trees produce the prized aromatic resin traded along the ancient incense trail.
Madrid, Spain

El Oso y el Madroño (The Bear and the Strawberry Tree)

This sweet-toothed bear searching for snacks has been a symbol of Madrid for decades.
Stirling, Scotland

Beheading Stone

Legend says this rock was once a chopping block for public executions.
Namibia

Shipwreck Lodge

Ten shipwreck-shaped chalets lie along the sand dunes on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast.
Brooklyn, New York

Bellocq Tea

A charming "tea atelier" hidden away in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Parksville, New York

Parksville

This Central New York ghost town was once a prosperous railroad community.
Delme, France

Gue(ho)st House

This building’s ghostly exterior reflects its former lives as a prison, school, and funeral home.
Qalhat, Oman

Bibi Maryam Mausoleum

This lonely tomb is all that remains of a once-bustling ancient trade hub visited by Marco Polo.
Chicago, Illinois

Terra Cotta Row

In a quiet north Chicago neighborhood rests a stunning relic of the golden age of earthenware design.
Gerlach, Nevada

Fly Geyser

A collision of human error and natural geothermal pressure created this rainbow-colored geologic wonder.
Nassau, Bahamas

Queen's Staircase

This staircase in a lush tropical grotto was built by enslaved laborers and renamed to honor Queen Victoria's role in ending slavery in the British Empire.
London, England

Cecil Court

A charming 17th-century alley is lined with secondhand bookstores and antiquarian shops.
Ávila, Spain

Medieval Walls of Ávila

These magnificent city walls rise from the barren sun-baked Spanish plains like something straight out of a fairytale.
Venice, Italy

Palazzo Dario

Those who own or stay at this 500-year-old, allegedly cursed house often meet terrible fates.
Yekaterinburg, Russia

Psychedelic Salt Mines

It's hard to believe the dizzying patterns covering this abandoned mine are completely natural.
Krakow, Poland

St. Mary's Basilica

St. Mary's features one of the most spectacularly decorated cathedral interiors in all of Europe.
Vienna, Austria

Clock Museum

A small museum filled with over 1,000 clocks, and one particular clock calibrated to run until the year 9999.
New York, New York

Antioch Chalice

Once thought to be the fabled Holy Grail, it is now known to be an oil lamp.
Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn Taxidermy

At this hidden studio, the dying art of taxidermy is alive and well.
New York, New York

Bryant Park Bathroom

The fanciest public restroom in New York City boasts fresh flowers, art, and a classical music soundtrack.
New York, New York

Patent Pending

Nikola Tesla's former home contains an homage hidden from plain sight.