Max Cortesi's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Tariat, Mongolia

Ovoos at Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake

A jagged silhouette of shamanistic stone heaps rises from the shore of this dazzling mile-high lake.
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Sainshand, Mongolia

Danzanravjaa Museum

Hidden treasures belonging to Mongolia's most revered and multi-talented monk spent decades buried in the Gobi desert.
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Mongolia

Khustain Nuruu National Park

The grassy landscape is home to the world's last truly wild horses.
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Kharkhorin, Mongolia

Erdene Zuu

The oldest Buddhist monastery in Mongolia has survived centuries of invasions, political shifts, and religious purges.
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai Gold Souk

On any given day this sprawling market houses literally tons of government-regulated gold, gems, and precious metals.
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Zekreet, Qatar

Bir Zekreet

Some of the ancient-looking huts among these strange rock formations aren't ancient at all, but built as part of a movie set.
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Qatar

Al Jumail

A 19th century pearling and fishing village abandoned before Qatar's economic boom.
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Borgo Valsugana, Italy

Arte Sella

An open-air museum in a mountain valley features works designed to blend in with—and disintegrate back into—their natural surroundings.
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Ponte Nossa, Italy

Crocodile at the Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime Immacolate

This church, better known for its weeping portrait of the Virgin Mary, also houses the world's oldest existing piece of taxidermy.
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Ulan-Ude, Russia

Ulan-Ude Ethnographic Museum

A uniquely authentic display of traditional Russian culture.
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Shammar, Mongolia

The Mother Tree

This spiritual landmark for practicers of Shamanism is drenched in milk and vodka and covered in blue scarves.
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Sri Lanka

Saint Anthony’s Church and Cemetery

The ruins of this old church are slowing sinking into the sand.
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Puthukkudiyiruppu, Sri Lanka

Sea Tigers Submarine Yard

Remains of military submarines built in secret jungle factories by the Tamil guerrillas' naval wing.
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Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka

Kilinochchi Water Tower

A massive fallen water tank bombed by the Tamil Tigers in the final stages of the long Sri Lankan Civil War.
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Cislano, Italy

Pyramids of Zone

A unique form of erosion created an uncanny landscape of boulders perched atop slender columns of clay.
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Sop Ruak, Thailand

House of Opium

A small museum in the Golden Triangle tells the story of the opium drug trade that gripped Northern Thailand.
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Angeles, Philippines

Clark Air Base Hospital

The remains of an abandoned air force hospital located on a redeveloped Air Force base.
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Hotan, China

Hotan Sunday Market

This weekly market in the remote oasis city of Hotan still has the atmosphere of the old Silk Road.
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Punakha, Bhutan

Chimi Lhakhang

This penis-focused monastery is dedicated to Buddhism's "Divine Madman."
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Sana'a, Yemen

Dar al-Hajar

Yemen's "Stone Palace" looks like it was carved right out of the tall stone column on which it is built.
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Keraniganj, Bangladesh

Dhaka Shipyard

The shipyards along the outskirts of the Bangladesh capital are a flurry dangerous boat breaking and rebuilding.
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Tehran, Iran

Ebrat Museum

This circular Iranian jail was once a political prison run by the country's secret police.
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Beiteddine, Lebanon

Beiteddine Palace

After this one-of-a-kind palace was built the architect's hands are said to have been cut off to keep it that way.
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Marudi, Malaysia

The Pinnacles of Gunung Mulu

These jagged limestone blades cut out through the canopy of the jungles of Borneo.
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