Obscure history, dark tourism, urban exploration, art, architecture, photography, urbanism… I document it all right here, on my blog. All views and opinions contained therein are mine.
You can now listen to audio versions of my blog posts here
Decades of appalling vandalism nearly destroyed one of the world’s most endangered monuments in Buzludzha, Bulgaria. I draw from my thoughts on politics, culture and the human condition to come to terms with the inevitability of this catastrophe You’ll think I’m dead, but I sail awayOn a wave of mutilation Wave of Mutilation by The… Read More
Near the village where Santa and his elves work tirelessly to deliver Christmas, there’s a mausoleum containing the remains of thousands of German soldiers who fought in WW2’s northernmost front In summer 2021, I found myself wandering inside Finland’s arctic circle at the northern capital of Rovaniemi, a lively town of just over 60.000 people.… Read More
Morphologies, programmatic adjacencies, and spatial compositions : it’s all Greek to me, as I take a long, hard look at architecture’s Rococo lingo To paraphrase a quote from one my favourite artists, J.M. Basquiat, I’ve first learned about architecture by looking at it. My ongoing fascination with architecture, and the research of its forms, history… Read More
A day spent in Katowice is a day well spent – particularly if you like stunning Socialist Modernism, monumental high rises and coal. In this article, I briefly document episodes from the rich post-war architectural heritage of Upper Silesia. I visited Katowice on a tantrum. I had already been to Krakow for a few days… Read More
You’re a ghost on the highway And I’ll love you forever Ghost Highway by Mazzy Star The derelict station at the corner of Melton St. and Drummond St. is partially hidden behind construction fencing. The craftmanship on display is worth a closer look : purple red sang-de-boeuf terracotta tiles cover the boarded up ticket hall.… Read More
Scythian pagan rituals may have informed this rarely seen set of monumental sculptures, cast using experimental concrete techniques. In 1964, acclaimed British sculptor William Mitchell created a magnificent work of art for the British Cement Association in Wexham Springs, Buckinghamshire. Seeing photos of that sculpture on the internet for the first time was somewhat unsettling… Read More
London’s fantastical Victorian bestiary of prehistoric creatures remains awe inspiring despite its age A few years ago, I spent a morning in south London, looking for the beautiful remains of Crystal Palace – one of the grand feats of engineering that epitomised the Victorian era. Joseph Paxton, the renowned Victorian gardener and architect, was behind… Read More
Aluminium of Greece (AL) was launched in 1960 as a joint venture between the government of Greece and an industrial conglomerate led by the historic French firm Pechiney, a world leader in aluminium manufacturing. As a result, the first aluminium production facility in the country opened on the northern coast of the Corinthian Gulf in… Read More
Agios Dimitrios, (often referred to with its pre-1928 name, Brahami) is one of the most densely populated suburbs of Athens – a density that’s comparable to that of Cairo, or Seoul. The typical expedience and maladministration that characterised post-war Greece has left its indelible mark in the suburb’s architecture: its arbitrarily arranged streets define pocket… Read More
In the sunlit Arcadian plain close to the ancient city of Mantineia in Greece, there’s a church like no other. It’s an astonishing melange of styles, combining elements of Classical, Byzantine and Modern architecture, and yet remaining true to none. Its construction is the life’s work of architect and iconographer Kostas Papatheodorou, who has delivered… Read More
go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie Spartan epitaph at Thermopylae Modernist austerity meets Spartan rigour in a Greek memorial cemetery like no other The new city of Sparta was founded in 1834 at the behest of Otto, the Bavarian prince who became the first King of… Read More
“Blue hotelOn a lonely highwayBlue hotelLife don’t work out my way” Blue Hotel (1986) by Chris Isaac An unassuming old motel next to a motorway outside Athens is an almost forgotten Brutalist gem with a glorious past. In its heyday, the main motorway linking the greater metropolitan area of Athens to the city of Corinth… Read More
“Get out. I need to go to my Mind Palace” Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock, S2 : The Hounds of Baskerville We have been captives of the global COVID-19 pandemic for a while. Forced to stay home in relative isolation, we’ve been deprived of a human experience we all hold dear – travel, a need… Read More
“Go and look for the dejected once proud Idol remembered in stone aloud Then on coins his face was mirrored Take a look it soon hath slithered To a fractured marble slab, renunciation clad His nourishment extract from his subjects That mass production profile” Bauhaus – God in an Alcove (1980) Eodem Tempore – at… Read More
“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” George Orwell, Animal Farm From a popular craze of the Twenties to the brutal wartime encounters of WW2, we have sought to reaffirm our humanity in… Read More
“So many coincidences for the untrammelled fulfilment of a death so clearly foretold.” Gabriel Garcia Marques, Chronicle of a Death Foretold The tall, ghostly tower is a familiar sight at the waterfront industrial zone of Patras, Greece. Visible from the 6 lane motorway upon entering the city from the west, the Peiraiki-Patraiki tower is standing… Read More
The premises of a groundbreaking Jewish boarding school played an active role in both WW1 and WW2, and hide some rarely seen Modernist architecture – but also dark stories of child abuse. The country south of Oxford is simply beautiful, in a typical English way. Gently rolling hills and endless green pastures give way to… Read More
The unique, soulful Greek dance called Zeibekiko is steeped in folk tradition, has no specified steps or moves, and yet captures the essence of Greek character. I attempt to explain what it’s all about. A few years ago, I was invited to capture my nephew’s christening in photography. Christenings, weddings and other family gatherings are… Read More
“What the fuck are they gonna do with all these tubes? What the hell do they need all these tubes for? Should we perhaps carry the oceans inside all these tubes?” from the song Tubes by Lost Bodies *You’re welcome to expand this article by submitting your photo and description to explore@explorabilia.co.uk Let there be… Read More
In the early 20th century, the French equipped their surface fleet with one of the most unique and formidable weapons in naval history : this is the fascinating story of the 340mm/45 Modèle 1912 gun, which saw service in two wars, both on land and at sea, whether in turrets, emplaced, cradled, or on rails.… Read More
“Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.” Cormac McCarthy, The Road There were no other cars but ours on the long, abandoned motorway to Pripyat. The last living souls we’d seen were the last chance saloon keepers and armed guards at the Exclusion Zone Border about 15 miles ago.… Read More
Revisiting the history of the Keroman U-boot base in Lorient, and the role it played in the Battle of the Atlantic during World War 2. Read More
“..And I, stepping from this skin, Of old bandages, boredoms, old faces, Step up to you from the black car of Lethe, Pure as a baby.” Sylvia Plath, Ariel, November 1962 It’s unthinkable, although not impossible, to knowingly bypass antiquity when it comes to Greece. Whether it’s a quick visit or an extended trip,… Read More
Be a Socialist Modernism, Brutalism, and World War 2 history fanboy like I am. Be in Kyiv during wintertime, and with only 3 hours to spare. What would you do, and where would you even begin? Read More
The use of historic monuments as backdrops in movies and advertising can be as challenging for producers as shocking, or misleading for consumers. Can it be really that hard to draw an appropriate moral line ? Read More
Discovering the remains of a mansion that served as a secret training base for OSS Operatives during World War 2. Read More
Exploring the Cold War episode of the Porkkala Parenthesis, the enforced Soviet occupation of part of Finland’s territory in the aftermath of World War 2 Read More
The bunkers sneak upon you as you enter, exactly as they’re supposed to. The two SK1 type command bunkers are massive, and stand directly across each other along the path leading deeper into the park. Read More
Until recently, I was among those who believed they’d seen it all – and if you are too, please read on : This is one for the initiated, and might pleasantly surprise yet. Read More
In this era of satellite imaging, drone strikes and stealth bombers, it’s hard to imagine an air war the way it was experienced a century ago. I remember myself sitting in front of a TV in the comfort of my living room in January 1991, watching explosion flashes in an eerie green hue – the… Read More
The Hofstad Swimming Pool is one of the most strangely alluring abandoned places I’ve ever been : this is because it was never really supposed to be there by design, but also because after a short but vibrant participation in the history of social recreation, it is currently returning back to oblivion – almost as… Read More
In the aftermath of the Axis occupation of Greece, the quaint Greek village of Meligalas in the southern region of Messinia became the site of one of the darkest pages in Greek history, when communist guerrillas of EAM-ELAS encircled the retreating forces of the right wing Security Battalions, and after defeating them in pitched combat,… Read More
I have been asked recently to reveal my top 5 places someone should be visiting in London in 2018. London is not just about the Big Ben (whose tower will be wrapped in scaffolding for another 3 years) or the Tower of London (I make some allowances, though, for those who like ravens), or even… Read More
Quite often, we find ourselves planning the next big trip, a week long holiday or so in a great destination or such, where we can relax and recharge and take a lot of thigh selfies and food pics to show the world what a great time we’re having.. and starting a vicious circle of envy… Read More
Experience London’s brutalist architecture and social history Read More
“…emerging through a cloud of fumes, the Hayward Gallery rose up on its giant insect-like legs, dust and debris crumbling around it, water from the severed pipes and electric cables crackling in the darkness below. Then a primal roar sounded from the building’s massive ventilation shafts, the sound of a concrete and steel beast, rising… Read More
In the outskirts of Sofia, where I found myself one October, there’s a somewhat secret garden where the state of Bulgaria is hiding away the past. The Museum of Socialist Art is a sombre, poignant affair, tucked away among modern office buildings and the token concrete abandoned factories. It’s a museum dedicated to exiled communist… Read More
4th April 1968. It’s a clear spring afternoon over Athens and one can almost feel the city buzzing with excitement and anticipation for the event that is set to unfold later on that evening. The electrifying atmosphere has been gradually building up since mid-March, the day when the men’s basketball team of AEK Athens reached… Read More
“In the night air they passed the shells of concrete towers, blockhouses half buried in rubble, giant conduits filled with tyres, overhead causeways crossing broken roads [….] In the suburbs of Hell, Travis walked in the flaring light of the petrochemical plants” J.G. Ballard, The Atrocity Exhibition Across the impressive new port of Patras in… Read More
The ongoing, breaking story of Kevin Spacey’s conduct (2017), reminds me of the old legend of Count Belisarius : After commanding the Byzantine Army for 35 years, subduing insurrections at home, defeating barbarian incursions and delivering stunning victories against the Sassanids, the Ostrogoths and the Vandals, even re-conquering Rome for the emperor Justinian, he was… Read More
A poignant and thought-provoking walk around London’s East End Read More
A peek inside a British GHQ Line pillbox in Somerset Read More
Visiting a renowned Parisian squat dedicated to art Read More
London’s unusually scary museum dedicated to childhood Read More
A celebration of London’s revered brutalist masterpiece through reflections on its blue water pools All images © explorabilia
Tales of darkness and mystery with a renowned vampirologist in Paris Read More
Out and about a Belgian city marked with post-industrial decay Read More
when words are not enough, would you let the captions do the talking? I have adored those movie stills, and did so unconditionally. thank you kindly for letting me share those pocket dramas of yours © sozitagood
It didn’t take long to become captivated by the otherworldly photography of Anne Brigman. Very special thanks to [Fütüristika!] for their permission to reproduce their content and gallery.
Discovering the hidden remains of Mussolini’s colonial empire in Rhodes, Greece Read More
A visit at the De-militarized Zone in Nicosia, Cyprus Read More
About the origin of urban exploration Read More
