Colossi of Memnon: Egypt’s Giant Statues of Amenhotep III

On the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, two enormous seated statues stand in the open air, their weathered faces looking out across a landscape shaped by thousands of years of Egyptian history. Known as the Colossi of Memnon, they are among the most recognisable ancient monuments in southern Egypt. Yet the statues are only a surviving glimpse of something much larger: the mortuary temple built for Pharaoh Amenhotep III.

The massive Colossi of Memnon stand near ancient Thebes in Luxor, Egypt.

Larabanga Mosque: Ghana’s Ancient Mud Mosque

In the quiet village of Larabanga in northern Ghana is a mosque unlike any other in the country. One of Ghana’s most important religious-architectural sites, the Larabanga Mosque was built from sand, wood, water, and centuries of local knowledge. Its whitewashed mud walls, timber beams, and sculpted towers make it instantly recognisable and an integral part of the surrounding landscape.

Larabanga Mosque, a historic earthen mosque located in Ghana’s Savannah Region, is a significant religious and architectural site.

White Desert Egypt – Sahara El Beyda

The White Desert of Egypt, also known as Sahara El Beyda, is one of the most unusual landscapes in the country's Western Desert. Instead of endless golden sand, the landscape is covered with brilliant white chalk and strange rock formations that look like giant mushrooms, pillars, and other sculptures. 

Brilliant white chalk formations spread across the White Desert near Farafra Oasis.

Ifrane: The Little Switzerland of Morocco

At first glance, Ifrane can make you wonder whether you have somehow left Morocco. Instead of the ochre-coloured buildings and bustling medinas commonly associated with the country, you find red-roofed houses, carefully maintained streets, green parks, mountain air, and, in winter, snow. This unusual town is located high in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Morocco, about 70 kilometres from Fez. At roughly 1,650 metres above sea level, Ifrane has a cooler mountain climate and a landscape of forests, lakes, and rocky hills. Morocco's National Tourist Office itself calls Ifrane “the little Switzerland”, a nickname inspired by its architecture, greenery and alpine appearance.

Ifrane is renowned for its red-roofed houses and clean mountain setting.

Lake Natron, Tanzania: The World's Red Alkaline Lake

Tucked into the floor of the Great Rift Valley, close to the border between Tanzania and Kenya, sits a lake that looks like nowhere else on Earth. Its water shifts from rust-orange to deep crimson depending on the season, its shoreline can burn the skin of animals that wander too close, and yet it is the single most important breeding ground for lesser flamingos anywhere in East Africa. This is Lake Natron — a place where extreme chemistry and extraordinary wildlife exist side by side.

Lake Natron is renowned for its unusual colours and its extremely alkaline environment.

Ganvié Lake Village: Life on the Water in Benin

Imagine waking up in a house with water beneath it and taking a canoe instead of a bus when you need to go somewhere. That is everyday life in Ganvié, a lakeside settlement in southern Benin. The village stands on Lake Nokoué, where waterways connect houses, markets, and other buildings instead of normal streets. Boats move between them throughout the day.

Ganvie, Africa's largest lake village

African Renaissance Monument: Dakar’s 52-Metre Statue

Rising above the Atlantic coast of Dakar, Senegal, the African Renaissance Monument is difficult to ignore. A muscular man stands with one arm extended, holding a child while a woman follows close behind. Together, the three figures rise above the Mamelles hills, looking out towards the horizon as if stepping into a new chapter of history.

The African Renaissance Monument rises above Dakar, symbolising a vision of African renewal and ambition.

Namib Desert Wild Horses: The Feral Horses of Namibia

At the edge of Namibia's vast Namib Desert, where dry gravel plains stretch toward distant mountains, a herd of horses seems almost impossible. There are no green pastures here and very little water, yet horses have lived around Garub for generations. Known as the Namib Desert wild horses, they have become one of Namibia's most unusual sights.

Desert horses

Sapphire Mining in Madagascar: The Story of Ilakaka

Madagascar is renowned for its strange landscapes and wildlife, but underneath its soil is another kind of treasure. The island is an important source of coloured gemstones, especially sapphires. Among the places most closely associated with the trade is Ilakaka, a small settlement in southern Madagascar that became famous after major sapphire discoveries in the late 1990s.

Artisanal sapphire mining in the Ilakaka region of Madagascar.

Orlando Towers of South Africa

Orlando Towers is a distinctive landmark in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. The original Orlando Towers was a coal-fired power plant. This is also the site of the world's first-ever bungee jump between these 333-foot-tall twin cooling towers. It is almost impossible to miss the two Orlando cooling towers as a stroll through Soweto's Orlando Township. This township was home to many of South Africa's most notorious anti-apartheid clashes during the 20th century. The 33-storey towers dominate the skyline of the entire township, as Soweto is almost entirely made up of single-storey homes.

Orlando tower

Chefchaouen: Blue city Morocco

Chefchaouen, aka Chaouen, is a beautiful small city located in the northwest of Morocco, near the Mediterranean, famous for its lovely white houses painted in mellow blues. It has a population of more than 42,000 people. The blue city of Chefchaouen, which is nestled in the mountains and can be called the bluest city in the world, is known for its architecture and the fact that the vast majority of the walls of buildings in it are painted in various shades of blue and blue. Chefchaouen is considered the most beautiful city in Morocco. It looks like the local population's favourite colour is blue – they paint walls, roofs, doors, window frames, benches, and even roads in this colour. All this sight attracts tourists.

Chefchaouen, Blue City, Morocco

Fadiouth, Shell island Senegal

Joal-Fadiouth, a commune and town in the Thies Region near the Petite Cote of Senegal, is southeast of Dakar. It was also the home of Leopold Sedar Senghor's first president during the history of independence. The shell island Senegal, Joal-Fadiut, a fishing village, because the whole island is covered in shells, this place has been renowned for its uniqueness.

Joal-Fadiouth Island

Lake Turkana – Kenya

Lake Turkana, or as it is also called, Lake Rudolf, is an amazing closed drainage body of the Great Rift Valley in the eastern part of the African continent. Standing on its shore, you will be sure that you are on the sea coast. The sandy beach and waves are eye-catching. Fierce winds are blowing, and fishing boats sway nearby.

Lake Turkana

Giant Groundsel: Kilimanjaro’s Strange Giant Plant

Mount Kilimanjaro is home to one of Africa’s most unusual plants. The Giant Groundsel, scientifically known as Dendrosenecio kilimanjari, can grow several metres tall and has a thick stem covered with large rosettes of leaves. Seen among the grasses and high-altitude vegetation of Kilimanjaro, it looks surprisingly tree-like, even though it belongs to the daisy family. Its strange shape is closely linked to the harsh conditions of the mountain, where cold nights, strong winds and high elevation make survival difficult for many plants.

Dendrosenecio kilimanjari, the Giant Groundsel, growing in the high-altitude environment of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Intermodal Container Building in Johannesburg

Intermodal Container Building in Johannesburg → The project of a non-standard residential complex, Drivelines Studios, was developed by the Italian-American architectural studio LOT-EK and implemented in 2017 in the business centre of Maboneng in Johannesburg, South Africa. The seven-storey house, covering 6968 square metres, is built from 140 old sea containers and consists of two separate volumes, each made up of identical containers stacked on top of each other. 

Kyzyl Center of Asia

Kyzyl, the capital city of the Tuva Republic, Russia. The name of the city means "red" in Tuvan. The geographical center of Asia - the point marking the geographical center of the world's largest region. The title of the geographical center of Asia, claim several places, depending on the method of calculation and conditions - whether includes remote island in the list of the extreme points of Asia, or not. One of the "center" is a place located 20 kilometers east of Kyzyl in the confluence of the Biy-Khem (the Big Yenisey) and Ka-Khem ( the Small Yenisey). The first sightseeing to visit here is the Geographical Centre of Asia. Built in 1964, the monument represents a big globe on which the contours of continents are marked. 

Pico Cao Grande

Pico Cao Grande, also known as  "Great Dog Peak", is a prominent volcanic plug peak with a needle shape in Sao Tome and Principe. It can be found in the Caue District on Sao Tome Island in Parque National Obo de Sao Tome. Its summit rises to 663m above sea level  and is approximately 370m above the surrounding terrain. The nearest village is Vila Clotilde, 3 km to the east. The district seat Sao Joao dos Angolares is 9 km to the east. To accommodate such a resounding geologic shape as the eruption of the volcano whose crater is at the top of this peak had to be sudden, violent and very concentrated. Upon cooling, it left as a souvenir this column a kind of skyscrapers in the middle of the jungle.

Wall of Tears Ecuador: The Dark History of Isabela Island

On Isabela Island in the Galápagos, not far from Puerto Villamil, an old wall of volcanic rock still marks a painful chapter in the island's history. It is known as the Wall of Tears, or Muro de las Lágrimas in Spanish.

The Lakes of Ounianga in the Sahara Desert, Chad

Lakes of Ounianga are a series of 18 lakes in the Sahara Desert, in northeastern Chad. They are found in a basin between the mountains of Ennedi East and West Tibesti. Names of nearby villages are used to name the lakes. The lakes were created as an addition to the original. The lakes were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. 

Lake in the Ounianga Serir, northern Chad (© George Steinmetz Corbis). 

Hoba Meteorite: The World’s Largest Intact Meteorite

A giant piece of metal sitting quietly in a field may not sound like the sort of thing that draws visitors from around the world. But the Hoba Meteorite is no ordinary piece of metal. Near Grootfontein in northern Namibia sits a roughly 60-tonne iron meteorite, an object that came from space and eventually landed on Earth. It was discovered in 1920, and unlike many large meteorite impacts, it did not leave a clearly identifiable crater behind.

The Hoba Meteorite is located at its original site in Namibia.