SamS's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Hegra, Saudi Arabia

Qasr al-Farid

An unfinished tomb carved into a giant boulder in the Arabian Desert.
Nageezi, New Mexico

Chaco Culture National Historical Park

A phenomenal assembly of pueblos in New Mexico is the most complete example of ancient ruins north of the border.
Bayatbademleri Köyü, Turkey

Termessos

Once described as the "Eagle's Nest," this ruined ancient city rests on a remote mountaintop.
Montségur, France

Château de Montségur

This French castle is said to have once held the Holy Grail but is now a gorgeous mountaintop ruin.
Joliet, Illinois

Joliet Iron and Steel Works (Joliet Iron Works Park)

What was once the second largest steel mill in the US is now a sprawling complex of modern ruins.
Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal

Montemor-o-Novo Castle

This crumbling Portuguese ruin overlooks the populace it once ruled.
Los Alamos, New Mexico

Bandelier National Monument

A small metropolis of Pueblo cave dwellings have been carved right into the hillside of this national monument.
Chiusdino, Italy

Abbey of San Galgano

These gutted monastery ruins still stand proudly in the middle of the Italian countryside.
Paris, France

Parc Monceau

The ruins of a Duke's bucolic dream, where camels once roamed alongside "Dutch" windmills and faux-Italian vineyards.
Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Dun Carloway

A magnificent, iconic stone tower in the Scottish Highlands.
Copán Ruinas, Honduras

Rosalila Temple

A full-size replica of this well-preserved temple lets you take a walk through the Mayan age.
Falkland Islands

The Shipwreck of Lady Elizabeth

This haunting ghost ship stands beached in the waters off the coast of the Falkland Islands.
Glenn Dale, Maryland

Glenn Dale Hospital

An FDR-era tuberculosis sanatorium has stood abandoned in the suburbs of the U.S. capital for over 30 years.
Honolulu, Hawaii

Ruins of Kaniakapūpū

What remains of the summer palace of King Kamehameha III.
Flagstaff, Arizona

Wupatki National Monument

This historic national park is covered in the stunning ruins of red rock pueblos.
Santorini, Greece

Prehistoric Town of Akrotiri

A Bronze age settlement on the Greek island of Santorini might have been the inspiration for Plato's Atlantis.
Kaleüçağız Köyü, Turkey

Kekova Island Sunken Ruins

Hidden just under the waters around this Turkish island are the ruins of a once great city.
Gloucester Courthouse, Virginia

The Rosewell Plantation Ruins

This once-palatial plantation may have been the site where a draft of the Declaration of Independence was written.
Sigüés, Spain

Abandoned Village of Esco

A Franco-era dam flooded (almost) everyone out of this centuries-old Aragonese town.
Sri Lanka

Saint Anthony’s Church and Cemetery

The ruins of this old church are slowing sinking into the sand.
Forks, Washington

Hall of Mosses

Stroll through a wonderland of stupendous moss-covered trees.
Pisgah Forest, North Carolina

Sliding Rock

Who needs fancy modern water slides when this giant North Carolina rock works just as well?
Jadwin, Missouri

Welch Spring Hospital Ruins

Once an ambitious nature spa, these forest ruins now provide a serene monument to failure.
Homestead, Florida

Aerojet Dade Rocket Facility

When this test site was abandoned, they didn't even bother to take the rocket with them.