SamS's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Baltimore, Maryland

George Peabody Library

It's not hard to see why the historic Peabody Conservatory of Music's library has been described as a "cathedral of books."
Dakar, Senegal

African Renaissance Monument

This giant statue is the product of a mixture of corruption, Stalinist architecture, and North Korean manpower.
Mauritania

Richat Structure

A geological bull's-eye visible from outer space.
Chinguetti, Mauritania

The Libraries of Chinguetti

Five ancient libraries, little changed for centuries, preserve a medieval archive of Quranic lore and civic documents
Athens, Greece

Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art

Large collection from the 3rd millennium BCE.
Athens, Greece

Antikythera Mechanism

A 2,000-year-old computer demonstrates remarkable engineering and astronomical precision.
Newport News, Virginia

The Mariner's Museum and Park

The maritime museum that boasts the largest nautical library in the western hemisphere.
Berlin, Germany

Tajikistan Tearoom

A slice of central Asia in the middle of Berlin.
Berlin, Germany

Pergamon Museum

The most visited, and possibly most controversial, museum in Germany.
Helsinki, Finland

The National Library of Finland

Architecturally stunning library serves as the hub of Finnish scholarly life and culture.
New York, New York

Nathan Hale Hanging Site

A plaque immortalizes the spot where the early American spy said his famous last words: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
New York, New York

Jefferson Market Library

Named the fifth most beautiful building in America in 1885, this former courthouse boasts the best view in the Village.
Dublin, Ireland

The Long Room Library at Trinity College

The gorgeous library at Trinity College is home to remarkable treasures of Irish identity.
Oxford, England

Oak Beams, New College Oxford

The beams of the New College, Oxford dining hall come with an amazing story.
Oxford, England

Duke Humfrey's Library at the Old Bodleian Library

One of Europe's oldest libraries.
Venice, Italy

Poveglia Plague Island

A small island less than half a mile from Venice is a forbidden island with a dark and twisted past.
Venice, Italy

The Flooded Crypt of San Zaccaria

As can be expected from a centuries old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.
Santa Terezinha, Brazil

Chapada das Mesas National Park

High plateaus and beautiful waterfalls frame this ecologically significant nature preserve.
Brazil

Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara

Site full of incredible prehistoric paintings and archeological findings.
Washington, D.C.

U.S. Naval Observatory Library

A hoard of sky catalogs, astrophysical journals, even the works of Galileo and Copernicus.
Oxford, England

Oxford Museum of the History of Science

An extraordinary collection of scientific instruments - and Einstein's chalkboard - inside the world's oldest purpose built museum building.
Oxford, England

The Story Museum

An Oxford museum where visitors can have tea with the Mad Hatter and climb through the wardrobe to a fantasy land.
Washington, D.C.

Library of Congress Card Catalog

A nostalgic bibliographic gem.
Washington, D.C.

Riggs Library

A wondrous old library overlooking the nation's capital.