Author: Ms. R.

In Old Goa, near the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, there stands a small structure facing north towards the Mandovi River. This historic building is probably the oldest church in Old Goa. It’s known as the Chapel of St. Catherine. It was constructed immediately after the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510. Formerly, on this spot, there stood a gate through which the Portuguese entered the city. Afonso de Albuquerque built the chapel commemorating his entry into Goa……

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How will you celebrate the new year? If you were in Sweden a century ago, you might have chosen a solo walk through a creepy, dark forest. In Chicago this year, you might go for a car rally/urban scavenger hunt (“Creative cheating” encouraged). From the medieval Feast of Fools to origins of “Auld Lang Syne,” here are some fresh ideas from the Atlas Obscura archives. Do Americans Sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ Because of a Frat Party? by April White……

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On the Rauhnächte, the darkest nights of the year, she leads an entourage of women on a wild hunt, accompanied by screeching demons. They fly on distaffs, wooden sticks used in traditional wool-spinning that look very much like brooms. In some tales, she appears as a crone with one webbed foot, like that of a goose or swan, trailed by spirits of unbaptized children, the smallest dragging a pitcher filled with mothers’ tears. In other tellings, she is a……

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At Atlas Obscura, we’re always curious about the unusual, and that doesn’t always lend itself to photos. So we turn to an amazing army of illustrators to bring readers into our stories. This year, we noticed that many of our favorite illustrations were commissioned to depict the dark and the mysterious—pretty on-brand for us—whether it’s of menacing creatures of the spring, un-jolly characters of Christmas, or myths of the Egyptian underworld. Our artists around the globe took on the……

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Iquitos is a city in the heart of the Amazon. It’s unreachable by road, and can only be accessed by water or plane. Which makes it all the more impressive that an iron house arrived in the Peruvian city from France in the late 19th century. This is the Casa de Fierro—literally, “Iron House”—purchased and imported by rubber magnate Julio H. Toots. The city was experiencing a “rubber boom” at the time, and transporting this building to Iquitos’ city……

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In the main square of Khujand, a city once central to the Silk Road trading route, sits an elaborately designed bazaar. Across from a pair of elegant mosques, the Panjshanbe Bazaar makes itself known with an enormous powder-pink facade, a neoclassical confection accented with statues of field workers and an elaborate green dome. It’s an excellent example of the blending of architectural styles and historical present across Khujand: a blend of Soviet grandeur and Islamic detail work. The main……

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As the Germans stormed across Europe, fortifications were hurriedly constructed along the south coast of the United Kingdom to defend against invasion. Fort Henry was one of them. From its location overlooking Studland Bay, on a clear day, you could see for miles along the coastline and easily spot ships sailing into the West Solent. Studland Bay was also a favored location for tank training and Fort Henry was frequently used to oversee these exercises. Tanks rolled up and……

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Dulcinea is a fictional character in Miguel de Cervantes’ novel Don Quixote. She is the idealized and unattainable love interest of the novel’s protagonist, Don Quixote. Dulcinea only exists in his imagination, as he envisions her as a paragon of beauty and virtue, although she is never directly described in the story. In 2013, Argentinian artist Milu Correch painted the largest Dulcinea mural in the world to date. She used the rear façade of the tallest and most controversial……

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This was an exciting year for cookbooks. New releases focused on a diverse variety of cuisines and included the debuts of several exciting authors. Interconnectedness was a key theme, with many books drawing from global influences or emphasizing the fusion of international traditions and groups of people. Gastro Obscura spoke with many authors about how their culture and personal experiences have shaped their goals for developing and sharing recipes. We also explored historical cookbooks and the role they played……

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Anyone who visits San Marino City would not be surprised that getting a railway from the coast into San Marino’s mountaintop location would be difficult. Yet in 1932, a narrow gauge electric railway service was opened from Rimini on the coast of Italy to San Marino City. The railway operated the Italian one-meter gauge, typical of narrow gauge railroads in Italy, with a gap of three feet (950 millimeters) between the inner edges of the rails (1,000 millimeters between……

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In 2023, Gastro Obscura shared dozens of recipes for unusual foods and dishes born out of unlikely circumstances. The recipes that stuck with our editors range from the mystical—a snacking cake that may help the baker recover lost objects—to the nostalgic—a scoop of striped tiger tail ice cream. All of them show that, whether in the middle of Cold War hysteria or amidst the decadence of 1920’s Tijuana, humans like to eat well. Eat Like an Ancient Greek Philosopher……

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Fluorescent tentacles, fiery flames, candid facial expressions—images can pack paragraphs of luminous awe into single frozen moments. Though we at Atlas Obscura love explaining marvels from around the world, sometimes you just have to see them for yourself. Luckily, when we catch the whiff of wonder, our Visuals Editor Winnie Lee finds an international photographer at the ready, armed with a camera, serendipitous lighting, and a good eye. Whether in a small Wisconsin town or an ancient site in……

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