marcvsn's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Istanbul, Turkey

Kaiser Wilhelm Fountain

A fountain standing as a testament to a doomed alliance.
Washington, D.C.

International Spy Museum

Home to items never before seen by the public.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Eastern State Penitentiary

World's first "penitentiary," meant to be humane, drove men insane.
Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle

Eccentric concrete mansion and museum designed and built by hand from the inside out.
Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania

The Sonorous Stones of Ringing Rocks Park

Mysterious rocks that ring musically when struck.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Wanamaker Building

The first American department store, and home to the largest operating musical instrument in the world.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mummers Museum

A museum dedicated to the strange and extravagant costumes and memorabilia of the mummers, a tradition older than Philadelphia itself.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Giant Ants

Ant sculptures march up the side of what used to be an iconic spot in punk rock lore.
Lima, Peru

Convento de San Francisco Ossuary

The mortal remains of an estimated 70,000 people lie in the basement of a monastery in Lima, Peru.
Lima, Peru

Pizarro's Tomb

Now containing the bones of the actual conquistador, instead of someone else.
Aguas Calientes, Peru

Machu Picchu: The Lost City of The Inca

The intricate stonework of Machu Picchu serves as a testament to Incan engineers.
Istanbul, Turkey

Piri Reis Map at Topkapi Palace

1513 Turkish world map, full of European state secrets and snarky commentary.
Denizli, Turkey

Pamukkale Water Terraces

Roman ruins top white travertine terraces formed by ancient hot springs.
Denizli Merkez, Turkey

Pluto's Gate

A deadly ancient portal to the underworld.
Chicago, Illinois

The DNA Discovery Center

At Chicago's revered Field Museum, visitors are invited to learn about and literally explore DNA.
Rome, Italy

The Head of St. John the Baptist at San Silvestro in Capite

One of several skulls claiming to belong to the beheaded St. John the Baptist is on display at this Roman church.
Istanbul, Turkey

Basilica Cisterns of Istanbul

A marvel of Byzantine engineering under the streets of Istanbul.
Selçuk, Turkey

The Public Toilets of Ephesus

The ancient latrines of the Greeks, in all their public glory.
Chichen Itza, Mexico

El Caracol

No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.
Istanbul, Turkey

Minyatür’s Nautical Instruments

Turkish adventurer antiques in the heart of the Grand Bazaar.