Author: Ms. R.

Tucked away in a narrow alleyway, this San Francisco institution has been dishing up bamboo steamers of dim sum for more than a century. First opened in 1920, it bears the distinction of being the oldest dim sum restaurant in the United States. Although the prices have inched up ever so slightly—back in the 1930s, a basket of ha gow went for a mere $0.30—the menu of Cantonese stalwarts has remained largely the same for decades. Customers today can……

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Nardane Kuşçu tramps through the green fields at Narköy, her organic farm and eco-property, leading the way to a small, climate-controlled room behind a greenhouse. Inside, sliding plastic containers are meticulously labeled: pazı, lahana, pembe köy domates, karpuz. This isn’t a normal storage space. Each small container holds a selection of Turkish heritage seeds, carefully selected and stored by Kuşçu herself. At Narköy, in the Western Black Sea region, she has more than 1,200 varieties of them—one of the……

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A courtyard at the Catholic University of Leuven is home to a unique globe, a replica of an instrument that a 17th-century Jesuit missionary created for the Chinese imperial court. Astronomy was an important science in 17th-century China, as the emperor drew power and authority from correctly predicting astronomical phenomena like eclipses. If these predictions were incorrect, or phenomena were missed, it could be seen as a sign that the heavens were not agreeing with the emperor’s power. Needless to……

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On the Bender block of Berlin, a Neoclassical building houses the former office of the iconic Claus Von Stauffenberg, the courtyard where he was executed, and a museum that commemorates the German resistance against Hitler.  By the mid 1940s, with the coming defeat of the country seeming inevitable tensions between the German military and Hitler and the Nazis had all but reached a breaking point. A plot to assassinate Hitler and overthrow the Nazi regime was hatched by top military……

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As a society, civilizations erect monuments to commemorate particular events or to honor specific individuals. In the neighborhood of North Oxford, a visitor might encounter a nondescript post box underneath a Blue Plaque recognizing the work Sir James Murray (1837 – 1915) contributed towards the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. What they might not be aware of is the relationship these two objects have on one another. The circular sign correctly identifies Sir Murray as editor to the……

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In the heart of Pune on the banks of the Mutha River stands a memorial. This beautiful structure is shaped like a fortress with four bastions and is dedicated to the memory of Shrimant Balaji Baji Rao, also popularly known as Nanasaheb Peshwa. The memorial is located on the riverbank and one has to walk down a flight of stairs to access it. The memorial stands with the river on one side and a mural-covered wall on the other…….

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For Women’s History Month, Atlas Obscura is living on the edge with Women of Extremes, our series dedicated to those who dared to defy expectations and explore the unknown. It started, as so many things do, with a bet. It ended with a broken arm, a $13,000 purse, and two fingers in the eyes of the patriarchy. “A Boston newspaper woman about twenty-seven years old…will undertake to travel around the world, and at the end of fifteen months return……

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Located on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, Tinuy-an Falls is a multi-tiered waterfall said to be the widest in the country. The falls measure 95 meters (312 feet) wide and 55 meters (180 feet) tall. Tinuy-an Falls cascades over three tiers, with the second being the largest and most impressive.  The name Tinuy-an comes from the Cebuano word Tinuyo-an, which translates as “an intentional act or performance to attain an objective or goal.” The name comes from a……

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Norma Shirley never wrote a cookbook and never had her own television show. Yet the Jamaican chef and prolific restaurateur—despite working in an era when The New York Times dismissed her home region as “an area that was visited for its climate and beaches but not for its cuisine”—forever altered American food culture. Even as Shirley garnered recognition from the likes of Vogue and the James Beard Foundation, the media seemed unsure how to cover her, often resorting to……

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A 17th-century Buddhist temple is one of the gems of the city of Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei Province. Until 2019, Wuhan was a thriving metropolis but virtually unknown outside of Chinese borders. Though the identification of SARS‑CoV‑2 and the subsequent outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic turned Wuhan into a household name, very little is known about this city by the general public. It is impossible to pin down when the city was founded, as the area that……

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One of Brussel’s most iconic landmarks is Manneken Pis, a bronze fountain sculpture of a peeing boy. While the statue itself is naked, you will often find it dressed in some sort of outfit when visiting, often marking a special occasion or the visit of foreign dignitaries. The statue’s wardrobe now contains around 1,000 outfits, with about 20 new costumes donated to the statue each year. This small museum near the fountain features a selection of this vast and……

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To many, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and Árpád Szenes aren’t go-to names when discussing the development of abstract art, yet their life and work reflect the changing styles and events of the 20th-century. The Lisbon-located Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva Foundation sheds light on this artist couple through a collection that reveals the evolution of their work over the years. The former silk factory-turned-museum provides visitors with an intimate perspective on modern art. Both Vieira da Silva and Szenes were……

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