Dark tourism may not be of the liking of everyone, but if you are still reading till now, here are some spooky places I visited so far :
Would you travel to discover places hunted by historical tragedies, massacres, evil and death? That doesn't sound like a good idea I know, when you are supposed to relax and have fun from your daily routine, which in itself is scary enough! But you probably did already, you just decided to overlook that evil side of the trip. Dark tourism is a relatively new term in the tourism industry. And it's not much about the place, but more about the reasons why people visit them. Those tourists who find pleasure in digging deeper and deeper into the dark side of any city they visit. To discover what lies beneath those flashy happy touristic campaigns and advertisements. Yup, those people exist believe me and they are on the rise. Is it a reminder of human cruelty throughout history? Definitely, but that's not the point of visiting those kind of places. The real lesson is to contemplate the human evolution along the way. How destruction were also faced with people's resilience and perseverance. Who would imagine that the actual Place de la Concorde in Paris, located at the end of the most beautiful and glamorous street in the world (Les Champs Elysees), was actually the place were thousands were decapitated during the French Revolution? And that the vibrant, colorful city center of Warsaw, was just piles of ruins and dust in the 40s? Dark tourism may not be of the liking of everyone, but if you are still reading till now, here are some spooky places I visited so far : Berlin is one of the most vibrant and multicultural capitals of Europe. Just cross to the Eastern side of the city to witness its darkest stories. In the No Man's Land, were the Berlin Wall once stood, people would jump from windows of buildings located just on the borders, or swim the river to escape to the Western part. Few made it alive! Photos of victims are all over the place: young, children and women who failed their attempts. Get into the Ghost Station, called the Nordbahnhof S-Bahn. A metro station were trains were prohibited from stopping in this station, deserted and guarded by soldiers for 28 years. Many memorials, not very visible sometimes, are implanted all over Berlin, telling heartbreaking stories and the terror of the Nazi regime. Don't miss Hitler's Bunter. This is were Hitler and Eva Braun were hiding during the last weeks of the war, till they committed suicide. Maybe you watched already the great movie 'The Pianist', the story of the famous Jewish Polish pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman. If not, go and watch it before visiting Warsaw so you can relate. There are still some fragments of the Warsaw Ghetto remaining. The place where hundred of thousands of Jews were incarcerated, tortured, before being deported to concentration camps to face their final destination. The Museum of Warsaw Uprising is a must visit. Full of a considerable amount of artifacts, photos, audiovisual materials, that plunge you into the daily life under the Nazi occupation, with human and heroic stories of insurgents and Robinsons; those who were hiding in Warsaw ruins for years. One of them is Szpilman, who miraculously survived. Till today, most of Beirut's buildings are still bearing the scars of the terrible civil war. If you look carefully, you will almost find traces of bullets on every construction. At what was called the green line during these days, the line separating the Eastern from the Western part of the city, get lost in the narrow streets of Ashrafieh district. Many buildings are deserted, half destructed, where you can spot sandbags of the militias still as they were, untouched. The famous of them all is baraka building. Although, I read that this building is now under renovation to become a museum in the near future, here is what it looked like back in 2005 when I was living in Beirut. Prague has always been one of my favorite European cities, and the spookiest of them all. This city at night become very dim, obscure, an opportunity for the dark tourist within you to go and explore its charm. Almost every narrow street has a legend, a hunted ghost living, a spooky story to tell! My scariest place though was the famous Charles Bridge. During the day, this bridge is buzzing with painters, artists and tourists. But try it at night! And look up as you cross. You will find the 30 saintly statues of the bridge leaning towards you, looking sharply at you and it will scare the hell out of you. No wonders, on this romantic bridge, people's heads were once hanging after decapitation. Sorry for ruining the moment, but the Redlight District hasn't always been packed with sex shops. The Red color was still a distinctive color of the area, but for totally different kind reasons. De Waag (weighhouse), standing tall in the middle of the District, is where people, especially women accused of witchcraft, were executed. The Bloedstraat (Blood Street), just at the cross of De Waag, was flooded with blood once the executions take place. Yes, even the city of light can be dark sometimes. If you feel like having a soul to soul talk with your favorite writer, musician or singer, go to Pere Lachaise cemetery. The cemetery is huge. You will get lost eventually even with a map. You will feel totally deserted, abandoned finding nothing but beautifully sculptured statues of deceased, reminding you that nothing is eternal. Stop by Oscar Wilde, Chopin and Moliere to say hello. Argue with Marcel Proust, Balzac . Lament on Jim Morisson's tomb and blame him coz rock is unbearable without the Doors. And tell Edith Piaf that La Vie is not always en Rose after all. Sometimes it's dark too, and it's ok :) If black doesn't suit you after reading this, maybe you can read my previous post Travel to Find Your Own Color to discover the true color of the traveler within you.
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Hi, I'm IngyI am a part time traveler from Egypt, and I travel mainly to collect Hats :) I have visited more than 30 countries and around 50 different cities. I am sharing interesting cultural stories, photos, travel tips and itineraries of places I visited that could help you plan your next trip.
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