There are several places in different parts of the globe that a person may not think really exist! More than often, one gets really surprised when the person visits there. S/he may also consider those places as destinations with priceless treasures!

The Siwa Oasis in western Egypt has hundreds of saltwater lakes where people can be able to float and to take a dip even if they do not know how to swim! Experts are of the opinion that heavy objects can float in those lakes because of the high level of salt in the water. However, some locals claim that there is a mysterious source of energy inside the Siwa lakes, and many incurable diseases can also be cured if one takes a dip in those lakes! Hence, Siwa, situated around 562km from Cairo, is a highly-recommended tourist spot.

Gangi is a comune (or municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in Sicily, Italy. From a bird’s eye view, Gangi seems an uninhabitable commune as the houses are so close and congested there. However, the beauty of this place is overwhelming. In reality, houses are built step by step from bottom to top in Gangi. The comune is not at all congested and suffocating, as there are open spaces everywhere. Thousands of tourists visit Gangi to enjoy its beauty every year.

The third tallest church in the world is situated in Germany. At 157mt (515ft), the Cologne Cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world, and the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster. Construction of Cologne Cathedral began in 1248, but was halted in the years around 1560. The reconstruction began in 1850 and was completed in 1880. The church was rebuilt for the second time in 1950. The church is carved in such a way that it looks like a painting with the help of modern technology.

There is a beach that is not covered with sand. Instead, one can find glass stones there. Although it sounds like a fairy tale, such a beach exists in reality. The Glass Pebble or Glass Beach is situated in California, the US. It is a unique beach in Fort Bragg, known for its abundance of sea glass created from years of dumping trash into the ocean. The trash has been transformed into smooth, colourful glass pebbles that cover the shore. Tourists from different parts of the world flock to this beach to enjoy its beauty.

There is a sea cave, called Fingal’s Cave, on the uninhabited island of Staffa in Scotland. This cave is known for its natural acoustics. According to some locals, Fingal’s Cave is a mysterious one. Even scientists are not sure about the formation of this cave. They speculate that the Fingal’s Cave was formed due to lava eruptions over a long period of time. When the sea water hits the outer wall of the cave, a strange sound is heard. Scientists are also not sure about the origin of such sound. As the Fingal’s Cave is located on the ocean floor, it seems that the cave is floating on the sea. Even the sea water seeps deep into the cave.

There are more than 5,000 stone columns covering an area of about 5-8km along a lake. The heads of these columns, each 1ft high, are fused with a huge rock, and a pile of grass has grown on that rock. This giant rock with 5,000 columns is located on the eastern side of Crowley Lake in California, the US. Crowley Lake Columns, also known as the Crowley Lake Columns Tuff or the Columns of the Giants, is a geological formation located in the Eastern Sierra region. Scientists are sure that human beings are not behind such perfect craftsmanship in this remote area. Scientific research has found that the rock pillars at the edge of Crowley Lake were actually caused by volcanic eruptions 0.7 million years ago. Later, they took the shape of columns. The Crowley Lake Columns attract thousands of tourists every year.

There is rock formation, called Meteora, in the regional unit of Trikala in Thessaly in northwestern Greece. A settlement is built on the top of the hill. Locals claim that the primary means of conveying goods and people from these eyries was by means of baskets and ropes until the 17th Century. In the 1920s, stairs were carved on the mountain for the convenience of transportation. Meteora is attractive to tourists who love adventure.

The ruins of Sigiriya or Sinhagiri, an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, is one of the tourist attractions in Sri Lanka. According to locals, the history of Ramayana, an ancient Indian epic, is connected with Sigiriya. Many believe that the fortress actually belongs to Ravana, the multi-headed Rakshasa King of Lanka and the chief antagonist in Ramayana! Others claim that King Kashyapa I of Sri Lanka, who ruled the Island Nation from BC 473 to BC 495, built his capital here and constructed his palace on top of the hill. Meanwhile, anthropologists have opined that it was a densely forested area. Later, it became a rocky hill because of storms.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das