Siwa Oasis, Egypt rebuilt the Shali fortress that rain dissolved in 1926, using the same kershef, and was named a Best Tourism Village in 2023.

Winton, Queensland, a town of 856, opened a museum billed as the world’s first for a single song in 1998, then found dinosaur bones in 1999.

In Khiva, Uzbekistan, planners declared Itchan Kala a museum-reserve in the late 1960s, and in 1990 it became Uzbekistan’s first UNESCO site.

Gaiman, Argentina, founded in 1874 by Welsh settlers, turned afternoon tea into a draw and was named a Best Tourism Village by UN Tourism in 2024.

Birdsville, Queensland has 110 residents and one pub. Its September races draw around 6,000 and the Big Red Bash close to 10,000.

Mitzpe Ramon, Israel dims its street lights for the Perseids, and its reserve became the Middle East’s first International Dark Sky Park in 2017.

Borrego Springs, California saw its first steel sculptures placed in 2008 and won California’s first Dark Sky Community certification in 2009.

Quorn, South Australia lost its freight in 1957. The Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society, incorporated in 1973, restored 40 kilometres of line.

Uyuni, Bolivia raised a hotel of salt blocks on its salt flat in 1993, pulled it down in 2002, and now takes roughly 60,000 visitors a year.

Truth or Consequences, New Mexico voted 1,294 to 295 in 1950 to rename itself for a radio quiz show, and kept the name in a 1964 vote.