In winter, Gibsonton feels like a circus wonderland. The town serves as the perfect winter retreat for circus performers when they're not on the road. Gibsonton has made special accommodations for circus troupes, such as allowing them to keep animals indoors and modifying infrastructure for little people. For decades, Gibsonton has been a popular stop for traveling circus groups and a place where retired performers settle. Visitors can see a giant boot statue, honoring Al Tomaini, the circus giant with feet over 9 feet long. Tourists can also enjoy free street performances and explore the fascinating American carnival museum. Known as the 'Winter Home of the Circus,' Gibsonton is where circuses come during the cold months. The town, also called Gibtown, has passed unique laws to support the circus community, such as lowering mailboxes to accommodate little people. Gibsonton is a quirky town where the circus culture thrives, offering a unique experience for visitors.
Gibsonton, Florida
Gibsonton, Florida2. Manshiyat Naser, Egypt
Sadly, Manshiyat Naser is infamous for its trash. This area handles the waste of over 10 million people in Cairo, Egypt. The residents live amidst an unprocessed, unsorted landfill, struggling daily without access to clean water or electricity. Many of the people in this area make their living by collecting and processing garbage. The city is known as 'Garbage City' because its residents rely on sorting and recycling the waste of Cairo. Life here is incredibly harsh, with no utilities and trash piling up everywhere.
Manshiyat Naser, Egypt
Manshiyat Naser, EgyptNajaf is not a city for the faint-hearted, as much of it is home to Wadi Al-Salam, the largest cemetery in the world, with over 5 million graves. For those with weak nerves, walking the streets here at night might not be a good idea. Najaf, Iraq, houses the largest cemetery on earth, where more than 5 million people have been buried. Burial and living beside the dead is considered sacred here, with residents having been burying their dead for over 1,400 years. Getting a plot in this cemetery is not easy—it costs as much as $10,000. For those who don't believe in the spiritual world, living next to a graveyard is quiet and peaceful, but for those afraid of ghosts, Najaf can feel like a nightmare.
Najaf, Iraq
Najaf, Iraq4. Elista, Kalmykia, Russia
Elista, located in Kalmykia, is known as the chess city. Driven by an endless passion for chess, the city's president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, has transformed the cityscape with chess-themed structures. Among them is the Chess Palace, a grand building with a massive glass dome. Perhaps the World Chess Federation should consider hosting the World Chess Championship here. In Kalmykia's schools, chess is a mandatory subject. Elista's landmarks are steeped in chess culture, including a giant chessboard in the city center. The city even has a district called the Chess City, with its highlight being the Chess Palace. This unique structure, inspired by the traditional yurts of the Kalmyk nomads, serves as both a hotel and a venue for national and international chess tournaments.
Elista, Kalmykia, Russia
Elista, Kalmykia, RussiaRussia is home to 44 so-called ‘closed cities,’ some sources say 42, with a population of about 1.5 million people. These cities are off-limits to foreigners. The concept of closed cities emerged during the late 1940s in the Soviet Union, primarily to serve the interests of major industrial corporations, the military, and top-secret research agencies. These classified communities housed military bases, weapons factories, and secret research facilities, playing a pivotal role in industries like nuclear energy, metallurgy, chemistry, and military development. Authorities kept their existence hidden from the outside world to avoid international scrutiny.
Locating these cities is not easy, as they do not appear on regular maps. Only classified maps, which are highly restricted, reveal the locations of these 'closed cities.' Furthermore, communication with the outside world is highly controlled, with all mail routed through a secure post box at a different location before being forwarded to the recipient. Information about these closed cities is kept secret until decades later, when the veil of mystery is lifted. Zarechny is one such city, located in the west of Russia, with a population of around 60,000. Known as the headquarters for the nuclear giant Rosatom, it is a tightly controlled enclave, surrounded by fences and barbed wire, with entry forbidden to outsiders unless in exceptional cases. Zarechny is a 'closed autonomous zone' for a nuclear technology corporation, offering benefits like high pensions to its residents.
Zarechny, Russia
Zarechny, RussiaIt’s hard to believe that just 32 kilometers away from the bustling city of Shanghai lies an abandoned town: Thames Town. With a name that evokes the British, this entire city was designed in traditional English style, complete with rows of houses, cobbled streets, and vehicles modeled after British designs. However, this British-style architecture clashed with China’s deep-rooted Eastern culture, and the town has been deserted since its completion in 2006. Today, it primarily serves as a backdrop for wedding photo shoots. Thames Town, which is located in the Songjiang District, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Shanghai, was named after the River Thames in London. The town was designed to mimic the look of a quaint English village, with cobblestone streets, red telephone booths, Victorian-style stairways, and corner shops.
Songjiang District, a historically rich area, was intended to attract residents from central Shanghai with the development of Thames Town. One of the original goals was to provide housing for staff at the nearby Tongji University. Since then, other Western architectural styles such as Nordic, Italian, Spanish, Canadian, Dutch, and German have also been incorporated into the development. Despite China’s enormous population, Thames Town remains largely uninhabited to this day.
Thames Town, China
Thames Town, China7. Neft Daslari, Azerbaijan, Russia
This city is famous for being built on an oil platform system, which happens to be the largest and oldest of its kind in the world. At the height of the Soviet oil industry, Neft Daslari was home to over 5,000 residents. Over time, the complex expanded with more oil rigs, roads, bridges, ports, housing, and even a cinema. In 1999, it made a cameo in the iconic James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough.” Initially, Neft Dashlari was just a barren stretch of land facing the sea. But the government later decided to build a system of roads to transport oil from beneath the sea. The foundations for these platforms were laid on seven massive ships, including the Zoroaster, the first oil tanker in the world. Around 2,000 rigs were established around the oil wells, creating a dense network that spanned 30 kilometers. As a result, Neft Daslari became Azerbaijan’s first offshore oil terminal and the world’s first offshore oil platform in operation.
However, with the expansion came the need to provide housing for the growing population living there. Neft Dashlari quickly grew and became known as “Oil Rocks.” At its peak, the city could accommodate up to 5,000 people and boasted all the modern amenities of a thriving urban center: an 8-story apartment building, a 300-seat movie theater, public baths, a football field, a bakery, a library, cafes, a laundromat, and even a park with trees brought over from the mainland. Neft Dashlari became the world’s first floating city. Today, however, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the decline of the local oil industry, the city has lost much of its former vibrancy, with only about 1,000 residents remaining. Many of the rigs are now damaged and abandoned, but Neft Dashlari still stands as a proud reminder of the once-mighty Soviet oil industry. When oil was discovered in the Caspian Sea in the late 1940s, Russia built the world’s first offshore oil platform here.
Neft Daslari, Azerbaijan, Russia
Neft Daslari, Azerbaijan, RussiaAuroville is a small city located in eastern India with a population of about 2,000 residents. It’s often considered a paradise for those who cherish peaceful living, harmony with others, and escaping the temptations of material wealth. In Auroville, people live in peace, voluntarily sharing resources and working together for development without the interference of any government or laws. There is no currency in Auroville, and transactions are based on mutual support and care. Perhaps that’s why Auroville is often called the “City of Dawn.” To many, Auroville is a dream realized, while to others, it seems like an impossible ideal. Many people, even without knowledge of Auroville, are searching for a place like it — a place to connect with nature, free from laws, politics, and religion, where everyone contributes to the community according to their ability, while the community takes care of each individual’s needs. Auroville is seen as a door opening to what lies beyond human existence.
Auroville is also known as the “City of the Future.” Though it’s not a major tourist destination on the Indian map, those who do visit Auroville should not miss the Matrimandir, a spherical structure at the heart of the city that is considered its soul. Auroville is not a place for brief visits or sightseeing; instead, it is a community where people come to live in peace, rejuvenate, and explore their true desires in life. About 60% of Auroville’s population comes from outside India, and many international projects, from schools to organic farming initiatives, have provided employment to 4,000 to 5,000 people. Auroville was born from the vision of Mirra Alfassa, known as “The Mother,” and was officially recognized by the Indian government and UNESCO as an important experiment in human unity, deserving of support.
Auroville, India
Auroville, India9. Noiva Do Cordeiro, Brazil
If you've ever wondered whether the Kingdom of Women from the classic Chinese tale 'Journey to the West' truly exists, the answer is yes. There is a real all-female town in Brazil: Noiva Do Cordeiro. This unique community was founded by a woman who was exiled for committing adultery. Over time, the town grew to around 600 residents, nearly all women, and they take charge of every aspect of town life, from economic activities to religious affairs and governance. Some women have husbands, but these men work 100 km away and only visit on weekends. When people think of Noiva Do Cordeiro, they often picture a place filled with beautiful and lively women. While it’s easy to assume that such beauty guarantees marriage, the reality is quite the opposite. The women of this town actually invite men to join them and eagerly seek marriage.
Noiva do Cordeiro, meaning “Bride of the Lamb,” was founded in 1940 by Pastor Anisio Pereira, who married a 16-year-old girl from the town and established a church in the community. He imposed strict moral rules, banning women from drinking, listening to music, cutting their hair, or using birth control. However, when Pastor Anisio passed away in 1995, the women of the town decided they would never again let men rule their lives. One of their first actions was to dissolve the male-dominated religious organization he had created. Since then, Noiva Do Cordeiro has operated under a near-feminist governance structure.
With a shortage of men, the women of Noiva Do Cordeiro have taken on every responsibility—farming, construction, and urban development. Together, they have built a prosperous town. Each woman contributes her talents, whether as a seamstress or a fashion designer, and they live in a tightly-knit community, supporting each other and taking responsibility for their actions.
Noiva Do Cordeiro, Brazil
Noiva Do Cordeiro, Brazil10. Rennes-le-Chateau, France
The most intriguing feature of the small French village of Rennes-le-Chateau is its church, which was renovated in 1885 by the priest Francois Berenger Sauniere. He adorned the church with unusual decorations, including a statue of a demon and the enigmatic inscription "Terribilis Est Locus Iste" ("This place is terrible"). Sauniere became one of the inspirations for Dan Brown’s famous novel, "The Da Vinci Code," which brought an influx of tourists eager to uncover the village’s hidden secrets. Despite being a modest Catholic village, Rennes-le-Chateau is popular among conspiracy theorists and treasure hunters.
The mystery surrounding Sauniere's wealth only deepened when he never explained where his money came from. One widely circulated theory claims that he discovered a treasure of gold belonging to Blanche of Castile, Queen of France in the 13th century, intended as a ransom for her son, Louis IX. Another theory suggests his involvement with the Priory of Sion. However, historians have found no credible evidence to support these claims. Instead, they believe Sauniere's wealth likely came from more mundane sources, including the theft of donations from parishioners. Another more skeptical theory suggests that a local hotel owner may have invented the treasure story simply to boost tourism.
Rennes-le-Chateau, France
Rennes-le-Chateau, France
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