Tag Archives: Around The World In 80 Posts

No, that’s not snow you’re looking at. The terraced pools of Pamukkale in southwestern Turkey are naturally occurring hot springs, and the majestic white landscapes you see are actually the result of calcium carbonate, which bubbles up from within the earth and hardens to become travertine, a type of limestone.

Spanning southern Bulgaria and parts of Greece, the Rhodope Mountains were named after Queen Rhodope of Thrace, a figure of Greek mythology. They’re home to such natural wonders as the marble cliffs of the Trigrad Gorge, which leads to a very interesting place: Devil’s Throat Cave. You see, the Rhodope ...

The Vatican is a sovereign city-state in Rome, Italy. It has its own government, led by the Pope and the Holy See, which represents and speaks for the entirety of the Roman Catholic Church. It also has its own small military force, called the Swiss Guard. Oh, and a time ...

Located in Werfen, Austria, the Eisriesenwelt, or the “World of the Ice Giants,” is the largest ice cave on the planet. Officially discovered by scientist Anton Posselt in 1879, the Eisriesenwelt is a winding labyrinth of limestone and ice roughly 42 km (26 miles) long. Its first kilometer is filled ...

l’Ossuaire Municipal. It’s the resting place of the remains of six million people, hidden from sunlight in part of the underground mines of Paris, France. The Catacombs of Paris were created in the 18th century as an answer to the problem of overflowing cemeteries, particularly within the city limits. The ...

It has been described as a “domain of the dead.” Perhaps it existed as a place of worship or healing, or a funerary monument of some kind. A temple to the Earth deities, built by ancient druids, or an astronomical observatory that served as a calendar. Stonehenge, above all else, ...