Skeletons of life. Abandoned Places of the Earth with Distinct Marks of Civilization
Destroyed and ruined cities, abandoned amusement parks, and the formerly popular hotels on the beautiful coast are among reasons why people leave their hometowns, close resorts and entertainment venues. Many ghost towns emptied due to environmental disasters and terrible epidemics, while the reason for neglecting others were perennial wars and lack of funds for maintenance. Today, every country of the world has abandoned cities, abandoned castles, and other hidden places, which previously were full of life. Despite the fact that now a human voice can be heard in these places rarely, they don’t cease to be attractive for some travelers.
Fengdu Xian, China
One of the most enigmatic and mysterious ghost towns in the world is located in China. Fengdu Xian features fabulous traditional architecture and numerous sculptures. The settlement was founded more than 2 000 years ago. According to one of the legends, it was started by two Taoist hermits. Since ancient times, the city was considered notorious. Locals believe it to be an entry into the otherworldly realm, as well as home of the devil. The famous city gained its ill fame in 7-10 AC, when a large Taoist cemetery was set on its territory.
Not long ago, the ancient abandoned city was partially flooded. The water left only a small island with a temple complex and numerous frightening sculptures. Among them, special attention should be paid to the statue of The Phantom of the King. That’s the largest sculpture in the world carved out of solid rock. Today Fengdu Xian is a popular tourist attraction. Amazing excursions and entertainment options are offered to travelers.
They will be able to look into the old deserted temples, see surviving sculptures and statues, as well as to perform exciting sports that are actually ancient Taoist rituals. Hundreds of years ago, local residents have left their hometown because of the notoriety and fear of ghosts. Since then, the territory of Fengdu Xian served as a burial for people from the neighborhood. The city was situated in a very difficult terrain, so travelers were rare there. After the flood, the place has become more achievable for people. Today, noone is confused with scary legends, nor the tragic history of the city.
Next - Kayakoy
Kayakoy, Turkey
In the south-western part of Turkey, at the foot of the Taurus Mountains, there is Kayakoy ghost town. Today, only ruins remind about its once vivid life. A hundred years ago, this city was home to a large Greek community; a number of residents was about 20 000 people. The town was deserted during the civil war. Locals have been forcibly resettled during the land redistribution and, after that, their homes were destroyed. Today, you can see about 350 stone buildings in the ruined city. There are also ruins of the two churches.
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North Brother Island, USA
Fans of walking through the deserted places have to visit Island North Brother in the United States. This island is located near the airport of La Guardia. Since the late 19th century, New Yorkers tried to avoid the island. Some do not run the risk of walking on it even these days. In 1880, the large hospital was opened here. There were patients with the most dangerous and contagious diseases: typhoid, smallpox, scarlet fever, and leprosy. For years, an unauthorized entry to the territory of the island was not admitted. The hospital has existed here until the 30s of the last century.
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Teufelsberg, Germany
In the western part of Berlin, there is Teufelsberg deserted area, also known to many citizens and tourists under the unofficial name of Devil's Mountain. That’s a vivid reminder of the Cold War. An abandoned radio station is situated on the hill. Once, the base was one of the largest in the world. It served for one purpose - the interception of radio signals from the Soviet Union. Teufelsberg hill is artificial. It was formed in 1963 from the rubble that remained after the end of World War II.
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Plymouth, Montserrat
The deserted city of Plymouth is situated on the Caribbean island of Montserrat that was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. The story of the place is very tragic. The reason for its depopulation is an ecological disaster, which was caused by the eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano. It happened in 1995. The eruption was so heavy, that streets of the once picturesque and bustling town were covered with half-meter of ash.
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Chateau Miranda, Belgium
In Belgium, travelers will have an opportunity to see one of the most beautiful empty castles in the world, Chateau Miranda. The last owners of this luxury castle were members of the Liedekerke Beaufort family. They were forced to leave their home in the Great French Revolution and moved to a neighboring farm. After the Second World War, the castle became the property of the national railway company, which has converted it into a camp for orphans.
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Holy Land Park, USA
Today, different countries have not only abandoned cities, but also deserted amusement parks. Holy Land situated in the city of Waterbury is an excellent example. Its founder was the local resident, John Greco. The park has welcomed its first visitors in 1958. The founder has decided to design his park on biblical grounds. At the opening, the site was a unique entertainment venue. Each year, it hosted more than 40 000 visitors.
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Oatman, USA
In the state of Arizona, there is the wonderful town of Oatman that was also abandoned by local residents. Today, this town has a status of a popular tourist attraction. You can see so many cars and people in the streets of the city that information about the abandonment seems very exaggerated. In fact, all the people on the city streets of Oatman are foreigners. They are attracted by the well-preserved architecture and a variety of stories associated with the romantic place.
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Blasket Islands, Ireland
In Ireland, there is the empty Blasket archipelago, which flourished until the middle of the last century. Today, you can only see dilapidated houses and occasional herds of grazing animals. The history of the archipelago is very interesting. The first mention of it dates back to 5-6 AD. The discoverer of the islands was the world famous seafarer Saint Brendan Klonfertsky, who first set his foot on the picturesque island. Already in the 13th century, the fortress was built on the largest island of the archipelago. After that, settlements gradually appeared.
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Stromness Whaling Station, Uruguay
In many cases, the mere mention of the whaling stations causes sad associations. The abandoned whaling station of Stromness located in Uruguay is more than a sad spectacle. The sight is situated on the same-name island, the first mention of which relate to 1916. The expedition of the English explorer Ernest Shackleton has landed on the island. The seafarer along with his companions made a dangerous move on the sea of Scotia on a small seven-meter boat.
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Famagusta, Cyprus
One of the world's most famous ghost town of Famagusta is located in Cyprus. Today, it’s difficult to imagine that a few years ago this place has been a popular holiday destination for thousands of tourists. The popular resort town once completely emptied because of the war between Greece and Turkey. By some quirk of fate, the city was on the border between the two rival states. Today, it is fenced with a barbed wire. For many years, the two countries can not come to an agreement about one that has to own a former resort town.
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Villa Epecuen, Argentina
Equally sad and tragic is the fate of the Argentine town of Villa Epecuen. This resort town was founded on the banks of a large salt lake. It was positioned as a health resort. Since the foundation, its fate was full of obstacles. The town was so attractive that a number of guests attending it increased every year. Gradually, authorities of Villa Epecuen faced the lack of the fresh water and decided to expand the scale of the local reservoir.
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Neftegorsk, Russia
There are many ghost towns in Russia. Once, they were full of life. One of these cities is Neftegorsk. For many of its residents, this thriving industrial city was a last refuge. The reason for that was the devastating earthquake that happened here in 1995. Its capacity was estimated at 10 points on the Richter scale. Only several buildings survived after an earthquake. The city was completely ruined. After a terrible tragedy, a large memorial complex was built at the site of the destroyed residential area. Today, it is one of the country's most important monuments.
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Time Beach, USA
The fate of the now abandoned American town with the beautiful name, Time Beach, was tragic. For many years, the main problem of this miniature city was caused by dusty back roads. Once, the authorities of Beach Time decided to cope with this problem. They hired an expert who promised to spray the road with a fluid reducing an amount of the dust rising into the air. The deal was struck, and a specialist in good faith sprinkled roads with unknown solution. No one would like to get into details.
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Chaiten, Chile
The town of Chaiten situated in Chile also emptied, literally, overnight. The reason for this was a mighty volcanic eruption that occurred in 2008. Fortunately, in this case it was managed to avoid the mass death of people. All the inhabitants of the town were evacuated safely, otherwise an imminent death would happen to them. The volcano was erupting for five months. As a result, literally entire territory of the city was buried under a layer of ash. Only 10 percents of houses survived.
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