The quest for discovery, both old and new, is part of what separates us from rest of the animal kingdom. Since the world we live in has been largely mapped and plotted, we urban adventurers turn our sights toward the relics of old and the ruins of the recent past. If you find beauty in urban decay, in the crumbling and abandoned places of yesteryear, you’ll want to read on. Here are 10 of the most amazing, beautiful and creepy abandoned places in the modern world.

Abandoned Submarine Base, Ukraine
Decades ago, Varosha (Famagusta) on the island of Cyprus was the top resort destination in the eastern Mediterranean. In 1974, the Turkish intervention in Cyprus brought the area under Turkish control, where it remains off limits to modern Cypriots. While the seaside resort buildings remain mostly in tact, the streets and beaches of Varosha remain empty, save for a single Turkish-only resort along the coast. We saw many amazing abandoned structures in our research, but we never expected to see a completely abandoned beach resort.