Atlas Obscura
There are days when Amadou Ly barely sees the sun. ALF Bakery, located on the subterranean level of Manhattan’s Chelsea Market, opens at 9:00 a.m., but Ly’s day starts hours earlier, in the dark, in his glass-walled work station in front of a piano-sized machine called a dough sheeter. Lamination, the practice of incorporating layers upon layers of...
Few sights are as mesmerizing as that of bakers methodically rolling fresh croissants each morning in this glass-encased kitchen hidden in the lower level of Chelsea Market. As with the best Parisian bakeries, ALF releases fresh batches of pastries and breads throughout the day, meaning the kitchen team works near ceaselessly from before dawn until...
The Patriarchate of Peć is an important religious and cultural institution in Kosovo. It is the historical seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church as well as the Old Serbian Kingdom and Empire, consisting of several medieval Serbian Orthodox monasteries, namely, the Church of the Holy Apostles, the Church of St. Demetrius, the Church of St. Nicolas and...
Castle Video Games, a defunct casino building, definitely stands out in its environment. The castle features a stone exterior, an arched wooden door, a looming knight statue, turrets, and other cliché castle features. Even in its decades-long stretch into neglect, it’s standing strong, and it holds a kind of kitschy allure in its rural South Carolina...
Just west of Glasgow's centrally located George Square and City Chambers (where you can visit the building's ornate, marble-clad staircase) is the Merchant City neighborhood. The 30-square-block neighborhood is bounded by Ingram Street to Argyle Street and Queen Street to High Street. Architecturally, the neighborhood is most known for its former 18th-...
You’re driving on Route 66 in the Mojave Desert and suddenly come across some Chinese guardian lions, or foo dogs. Are they a mirage? What about those giant fruits you spot from the bus on the main road of Konagi in Japan? Or the whimsical tin horses that gallop alongside a highway in Western Australia? Destinations are great, but summer road trips...