17.5.12

Ghost Towns Around The World

I have always been fascinated with ghost towns.  Maybe it's the calm quiet that surrounds them or the many stories of lives that are left behind.
The monkeys love to go fossil hunting around the Mojave Desert where there are several abandoned mining towns.  Some of them are really remote and hard to get to which makes me nervous.  Others have been made into 'Old West' touristy towns and a lot of the solitude that draws me is lost.
We are in the midst of mapping out and planing a few excursions in the coming months to some abandoned (read quiet) ghost towns.
Here are some ghost towns around the world that I would love to visit:


Chaiten, Chile is a fairly new Ghost Town having been abandoned in 2008 when a nearby volcano started spewing ash. Plans to relocate and compensate the residents are still on going. 


Varosha, Cyprus was once a thriving tourist town known as the Maras district until the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.  The whole area was sealed off and became a no man’s land.  To this day a small part of the beach resort is still considered ‘occupied’. 





Prypiat, Ukraine is one of the abandoned Ghost Towns that used to house (over 50,000) workers from the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.  When disaster struck in 1986 the town was abandoned.  Because of the nuclear contamination residents were only permitted to take paper documents making it a unique glimpse into life in the Soviet era.  (Okay- I wouldn't really want to visit here but the photos fascinate me!)







Belchite, Spain this Ghost Town was the site of war between General Franco’s troops and the Spanish Republican Army in 1937.  Completely destroyed instead of rebuilding a new village was built near the ruins of the old one.  



Do you like Ghost Towns? 
Have you visited any Ghost Towns? 

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Very interesting post! Spooky...


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A Crimson Kiss said...

WOW–how striking and incredible!

Jessica @ Stay at Home-ista said...

Fascinating! I've never been to a ghost town, but I've been to Caesarea in Israel with and archeological site from waaay back, so it's a bit like that. Or not at all, but that's the first thing that came to mind:)

Jessica
stayathomeista.com

Nicole said...

This is so cool. I love ghost towns too. I really hope to visit a town as such one day. I provided a link below of Pompeii. Apparently, many of the decease bodies are still there. Literally all frozen in time..


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii

The Polka Dot Closet said...

I'm not brave enough for ghost towns. Even though we wouldn't go there, Chernobyl would be interesting.

Carol

cpcable said...

This would make an excellent family book project. Travel the world and document ghost towns. :)

Corinna said...

I'd like to go someday and see what used to be around. There is a history in something weather you believe it or not.

Nat said...

Really intriguing places... the Ukrainian one is very freaky as you feel the photographer shouldn't be there with the radioactivity still around.
I've been to Calico near Death Valley - very touristy but it was still an interesting visit :-)

Tereza {Drastic Plastic} said...

We have a few Ghost Towns here in Romania too, but I feel so sad when I visit them.

Mama Gone Green said...

Ghost towns fascinate me as well. Why is that? What is the allure? I guess it is just like a piece of history stopped in time... Most of the ghost towns I have visited have been pretty run down... some only the foundations left. I think seeing a more modern-one would be really bizarre.

Unknown said...

WOW this is truly fascinating Ren!!! I'd be afraid to go though...

Anonymous said...

wow, when I started reading I didn't expect the ghost towns to be located all over the world. I'd love to see those, too. I don't know what it is, but there is something to exploring places like this that no museum can compete with.

Clair said...

Ghost Towns look sad.

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