Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Vrykolakonisia (Vampire Islands)

Discover Vrykolakonisia (Vampire Islands) in Skyros, Greece: The alleged vampires after which these islets are named may have actually been plague victims.

Chania Lighthouse

Discover Chania Lighthouse in Chania, Greece: This stone tower was built to protect Crete from incoming pirates.

Museum of Cycladic Folklore

Discover Museum of Cycladic Folklore in Aliki, Greece: This old museum contains dozens of detailed miniature ships and buildings.

Church of St. Spyridon

Discover Church of St. Spyridon in Corfu, Greece: This Greek Orthodox church houses the mummified body of St. Spyridon.

Pyramid on Mount Taygetos

Discover Pyramid on Mount Taygetos in Laconia, Greece: The top of the holy mountain for the ancient Spartans looks like a pyramid—is it man-made or a natural phenomenon?

Weiler Building

Discover Weiler Building in Athens, Greece: A former military hospital is now used to study and preserve artifacts of the Acropolis.

Nymfopetra

Discover Nymfopetra in Thessaloniki, Greece: Legends hold that these unusual rock formations were once a bridal party, or perhaps a group of hunters.

Church of Agia Pareskevi

Discover Church of Agia Pareskevi in Athens, Greece: This Ottoman-era Greek Orthodox Church was built to honor Agia Pareskevi, a Christian saint.

Abandoned Tropo Station of Lefkada

Discover Abandoned Tropo Station of Lefkada in Lefkada, Greece: The remains of a military communications outpost still stand on this Greek island.

Ziller-Loverdos Mansion

Discover Ziller-Loverdos Mansion in Athens, Greece: One of the best collections of Byzantine art housed in a magnificent, 19th-century neoclassical home.

Suda Bay War Cemetery

Discover Suda Bay War Cemetery in Souda, Greece: 1,500 Commonwealth servicemen of World War II are buried or commemorated in this cemetery.

To Steki Tou Ilia

Discover To Steki Tou Ilia in Athens, Greece: Tear apart fatty, gently charred lamb chops with your bare hands.

Fatsio

Discover Fatsio in Athens, Greece: Since 1969, this restaurant has served up dishes typical of Istanbul's Greek diaspora.

Stani

The last traditional dairy bar in athens

Diporto

Discover Diporto in Athens, Greece: With no menu and no sign, this 130-year-old taverna doles out affordable home cooking.

Kafeneio Oraia Ellas

Discover Kafeneio Oraia Ellas in Athens, Greece: Luminaries of all stripes have sipped strong Greek coffee at this cafe since 1839.

Panta Vrechei Canyon

Discover Panta Vrechei Canyon in Greece: A series of waterfalls create the illusion of perpetual rainfall in this hidden gorge.

Stoa Emporon

Discover Stoa Emporon in Athens, Greece: This abandoned shopping arcade has new life as an art installation.

Menu

i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 474 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 499 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 633 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 135 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 167 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 96 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 166

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