Dark tourism: The gruesome histories that attract tourists from around the world
White sand beaches and the happiest place on Earth aren't the only popular destinations with tourists.
Each year, millions of people travel to places where — years and decades before — prior generations were only too eager to leave.
French photographer Ambroise Tézenas has been fascinated by dark tourism since 2008, after reading about tourists visiting the region in Sri Lanka where he had been in 2004 when a devastating tsunami struck. More than 30,000 people were killed by the tsunami, and yet there were tourists coming to see a train in the jungle — a relic of the destruction and horror.
He recently released a book, "Tourisme de la Désolation,", focusing on the many horrific sites that are now tourist attractions. These are some of his photos:
For years, the name of Auschwitz aroused fear among the populations of the Nazi-occupied territories. In the span of a few years, it became the site of thousands of murders. Just a few months after the war ended, a group of former Polish prisoners started promoting the idea of commemorating the victims of Auschwitz. The Polish Parliament passed an Act on the preservation "for All Time of the Site of the Former Camp" in July 1947. In 2011, the Auschwitz Memorial was visited by a record 1.4 million people. (Pictured: The main gate of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.)
The ruthless annihilation of the people in Oradour-sur-Glane in 1944 has given this French Village the terrible distinction as "the archetype of the massacre of civilian populations." The provisional French Government decided Nov. 28, 1944 to preserve the ruins of the massacre.
There are group tours that takes a long look at one of the most intriguing mysteries of our time: the history-changing assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Many people are familiar with the Sixth Floor Museum, the site from which Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired the deadly shots, but there are many other recognized places around Dallas associated with the assassination. (Pictured: Dealey Plaza.)
The Oak Cliff rooming house where Oswald was living in November 1963.
In 1970s Cambodia, one of the Khmer rouges created a secret prison in order to detain, interrogate, torture and execute prisoners, called Security 21. In 1979, the government collected evidence from S-21, and it is now on display for Cambodian and international visitors at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
The ground floor of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which was divided into small cells of .8 meters by two meters, where each prisoner was caged.
"Behind Bars: The Show" is an historical interactive reality show in Latvia involving the audience. This building was erected sometime around 1900 and operated until 1997 as a military prison. As different regimes came to power, the prisoners changed — from revolutionaries to seamen to deserters — but the torturous techniques remained the same. The "show" uses true stories to give spectators an opportunity to live the part of a prisoner. (But only if you're over 12, and sign a consent form.)
On "Extreme Night" at the Latvian prison, things get even scarier.
Escaping from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) used to be a matter of life or death — now it's a game. Tourists work together to cross a number of obstacles to get to safety at a submarine.
In the Soviet border zone it is vital to be silent and move unnoticed and in secrecy. If one of the team members is noticed by a border guard, an alarm will sound and the operation will be considered a failure.
The ghost town of Pripyat is in the Chernobyl zone, where there are a lot of green parks and lawns where children no longer play. Tourists must obtain permits to gain access to see the Chernobyl fire department, and the monument to the firemen who died. Visitors can also see the burial place of nuclear waste, then visit a museum explaining the Chernobyl disaster.
This observation platform has a view of the "Sarkofag" — sarcophagus — site, where nuclear waste was buried.
The Gorilla Safari Genocide Memorial tour takes you for a short historical tour of Rwanda in Kigali city, a visit to the Rwanda Genocide memorial sites and Gorilla trekking in the Volcanoes national park of Rwanda.
The Bisesero genocide memorial site, at the Rwanda Genocide Memorial Tour.
The Mleeta Resistance Tourist Landmark in Lebanon is part of an effort to preserve the places where the Mujahideen lived, giving people the chance to learn about the unique experience of Islamic resistance against Israeli forces.
The Mleeta Resistance Tourist Landmark in Lebanon is part of an effort to preserve the places where the Mujahideen lived, giving people the chance to learn about the unique experience of Islamic resistance against Israeli forces.
On May 12, 2008, a large earthquake hit Wenchuan, Sichuan Province. Houses were destroyed, and many people were killed. There are tours here now, which offer a look at the aftermath of the tremendous earthquake.
Политика конфиденциальности | Правила пользования сайтом