Places Edited by Sommer Mathis

The fine fabric handwoven at Biltmore Industries was once coveted around the world.

On holy holidays, Israel's second president used this room atop Mount Zion as a refuge to read the Torah.

Japan's hottest hot spring has a memorable name.

A monument to the two U.S. officers killed by North Korean troops while trying to trim a poplar tree.

The site of many tense prisoner exchanges across the Military Demarcation Line between North and South Korea.

This architecturally eclectic fortress witnessed centuries of bloody turmoil, including the massacre of its ruling clan.

An early work of the architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, these swimming pools blend into the beach.

A Viking-style brewpub named for a Norse sea giant, in the heart of fjord country.

This 1960s kinetic artwork has been restored and is once again whirling away in downtown Minneapolis.

This dam in the woods, built by Henry Ford with only manpower and oxen, holds no water and serves no purpose.

This awkward aquarium sculpture is one of the strangest statues in Chicago.

One of the smallest bookstores on the planet.

An ancient passage filled with stalls selling used books, once frequented by Vincent Van Gogh.

A hidden church in a hidden courtyard tells the story of the Miracle of Amsterdam.

This kitschy tavern is also home to rare early editions of "Treasure Island."

The best place in the world to buy tinned fish.

Amsterdam's former hotspot for public executions and dissections.

A statue honoring 44 continuous years of greeting passing ships.

The first public building in Savannah to offer air conditioning was a luxurious cinema that still operates today.

Where dioramas can follow you home.

To find the "unicorns of the deep" you've got to go downstairs.

One toy collector's legacy of hundreds of unique items includes the most diverse display of northern indigenous dolls.

An exquisite and eclectic selection of African masks stands out within a massive woodcarving marketplace.

No one knows how many bodies are in this vault in a Chicago public park.