driessouvereyns's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Dalat, Vietnam

100 Roofs Cafe

This Vietnamese bar doubles as a multistory labyrinth.
Hương Thủy, Vietnam

The Tomb of Nguyen Emperor Khai Dinh

An extravagant monument to an extravagantly unpopular Emperor.
Hanoi, Vietnam

Hanoi's Train Street

Twice a day a speeding train passes only inches from the homes of this residential neighborhood.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Bibi-Khanym Mosque

Controversially restored in the 1970s, this giant 15th-century mosque is shrouded in legend.
Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan

Kitab State Geological Reserve

The rocks are a time capsule of a 407-million-year-old Earth.
Kaftarhana, Uzbekistan

Fayaz Tepe

The foundation of this ancient stupa dates back to the 1st-century.
Shahrisabz, Uzbekistan

Ak Saray Palace

Home to what was once considered the largest gate in central Asia.
Changikhisarak, Uzbekistan

Physics of the Sun

More than 10,000 small mirrors cover the curved surface of the world's second-largest solar oven, located in a remote village in Uzbekistan.
Bukhara, Uzbekistan

"The Bug Pit" at Zindon Prison

Where Stoddart and Connolly suffered in the infamous Bug Pit.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Tashkent Metro Stations

An underground world of gorgeous, palatial metro stations designed as a nuclear shelter complex.
Kantubek, Uzbekistan

Vozrozhdeniye Island

Former island in the Aral Sea used to be a top-secret Russian bio-weapons facility.
Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Kalyan Minaret

This "tower of death" has acted as an observatory, a religious hub, and an executioner's lair.
Beruni, Uzbekistan

Elliq-Qala

These "50 Fortresses" have been unearthed in the ancient oasis of Khwarezm.
Kokand, Uzbekistan

Khan's Palace

Final palace complex of the last of 29 Kokand rulers.
Xiva, Uzbekistan

Walls of Itchan Kala

Ancient barriers wrap around what was once an important stop along the Silk Road.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Ulugh Beg Observatory

Light still pours into the ruins of this ancient Islamic observatory.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis

The Avenue of Mausolea is a series of grand palatial tombs.
Turkmenistan

Dekhistan Ruins

The remains of a medieval city loom in one of the most isolated desert regions of Turkmenistan.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque

The controversial final resting place of the equally controversial first president of Turkmenistan.
Gokdepe, Turkmenistan

Saparmurat Hajji Mosque

A memorial to the thousands of Turkmen soldiers and civilians who died in a bloody 1881 battle.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The Walk of Health

This harsh mountain path was built as a strange attempt to improve the health of Turkmen citizens.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Wedding Palace

If you want to get married in the White Marble City of Ashgabat, you should do it in this surreal disco ball building.
Gokdepe, Turkmenistan

Köw Ata Underground Lake

This cavernous swimming spot doubles as a home to the largest known colony of bats in Central Asia.
Lhasa, Tibet

Drigung Monastery

This Tibetan monastery has survived multiple attacks and is also a sky burial site.