One day, ceramicist and architect Octavio Mendoza Morales was chatting with one of his nieces. She suggested that he combine his passions by building a house out of clay. Captivated by the idea, Morales set out to turn this whimsical concept into reality. Casa Terracota, located in Villa de Leyva, Colombia, is entirely made of…
A striking pink, 17-story Buddhist temple in Khlong Mai, Thailand, with a green and gold dragon coiled around its exterior, is a surprisingly obscure destination. The design for Wat Samphran—otherwise known as the Dragon Temple—came to a member of the Bhavana Buddho sect during an extended fasting meditation. The dragon, whose face looks towards the…
In the 1500s, a group of Saracen pirates, often erroneously referred to as ‘Turks,’ scaled an enormous cliff in Sicily, marked by natural stone steps, to plunder a town. This cliff, after witnessing similar invasions by various pirate groups over centuries, became known as Scala dei Turchi, or the Turkish Steps. Surrounding the Turkish Steps,…
In 1434, the Dresden City Council received the green light from the powers that be to allow a Christmas Market to take place in Dresden on Christmas Eve. The outdoor Christmas Market sold meats that revelers could purchase to serve on Christmas Day. Dresden’s Christmas Market was so successful that it ultimately became one of…
Neist Point Lighthouse in Scotland is one of the most photographed lighthouses on Earth. Located near the edge of a windswept cliff on the Isle of Skye, the stark white tower of Neist Point never fails to attract crowds of visitors. Although still fully functional, Neist Point Lighthouse does not allow tours of its interior….
An underwater river may seem like a contradiction, but there are a handful of places in the world where underwater rivers actually exist. A flooded cave in Chumkopo, Mexico, known as Cenote Angelita, is home to an eerie underwater river. This phenomenon occurs due to a variance in the salinity of the water and a…
Abel Tasman National Park in New Zealand is home to one of the most curious rock formations in the world. Geologists are endlessly fascinated by Split Apple Rock, a large granite boulder that appears to be perfectly split down the middle. Scientists are puzzled by the formation of this distinctive cleaved boulder. The most plausible…
One of Spain‘s most popular lakes is so pink that it could have easily appeared in the Barbie movie. In addition to being the pinkest lake in Europe, Laguna Salada de Torrevieja is one of the largest and saltiest lakes on the continent. The vibrant pink color of Laguna Salada de Torrevieja results from a…
