Places eliaszafrane Wants to Go

A gorgeous, Gaudí-esque stairway constructed in the city of Istanbul by a prominent Jewish family.

An Art Nouveau gem hides beneath the layers of city grime obscuring this once-magnificent building.

1513 Turkish world map, full of European state secrets and snarky commentary.

This remarkably well-preserved Egyptian plinth is pretty well traveled for a giant piece of stone.

Turkish adventurer antiques in the heart of the Grand Bazaar.

Legend says if you stick your thumb in the hole and it gets wet, your wish will be granted.

Five sultans and their families rest in eternal splendor, teeming with overlooked beauty and drama.

A marvel of Byzantine engineering under the streets of Istanbul.

The ornate miniature mansions were built for Istanbul's feathered residents.

A meow-velous tribute to a beloved street cat, made famous on the internet.

A mural recalls a fictional woman who once lived at 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Brussels.

The only gallery in New York dedicated to olfactory art and the exploration of scent in art.

This mosaic dedicated to John Lennon was tended for years by a Beatles super-fan.

Recovered suit of a cannibalistic West African gang.

Ever wanted the laymen's version of your credit card fine print?

Amid the bustle and noise of the Financial District hides a secluded garden oasis above the city streets.

A replica of a 7th-century church hides in plain sight in the middle of the concrete jungle.

In 1986, Keith Haring was arrested for painting this anti-drug mural on a Harlem handball court.

Elevated freight railway turned wildly successful urban park.

Once thought to be the fabled Holy Grail, it is now known to be an oil lamp.

Even for Egyptian royalty, the afterlife was bring-your-own-beef.

This magnificent herd of stampeding elephants has been frozen in time for over a century.

Here be dragons.

This futuristic airport terminal was abandoned for decades before reopening as a hotel—with a vintage plane of its own parked out back.