It’s no secret that Athens is rich in culture and history. Vibrant nighttime excursions, calm strolls through scenic gardens, musical performances by fresh local bands and an eclectic history all can be found in Georgia’s small but populous county. Athens gets a little crowded at times, but there are plenty of unique oddities that saturate our community.

- Helen Burdette and Marie Uhler

Ben Burton’s Rock

Ben Burton Park is one of the most quiet, peaceful parks in Athens.

With open space and miles of trails bordering the Middle Oconee River, it exudes natural relaxation.

“I discovered this place three years ago when I was a sophomore and began coming every week,” senior Jessica Kreunen said.

Follow the entrance trail until you come to a small left fork, sticking close to the river.

Hikers may have to navigate a few fallen trees and wayward branches, but the reward is sweet.

Set on the river banks is a towering stack of rocks that is perfect for a picnic, a nap or watching the water tumble endlessly down its bed. The smell of muscadines is overwhelming and delicious.

When the water is low, Josh Lawrence, an accounting major from Alpharetta, recommends “setting up chairs on the rocks and having a redneck riviera with Coors Light.”

Herb Garden, State Botanical Gardens

Do you have an excellent palate? Can you distinguish a fine tea from Lipton’s or German chocolate from Hershey’s?

Smelling things is a way to slow down. It’s also a form of remembering, as memories are often associated with certain smells.

On Milledge Avenue, going south past Macon Highway, the State Botanical Gardens is a beautiful, well-planned park that is perfect for finding shade away from the sun, walking trails and enjoying lilies and rhododendron.

But a little known herb garden, set next to the Visitor’s Center, is full of medicinal and aromatic plants.

Herbs such as rosemary, basil and thyme are reminders of mom’s kitchen cooking, but there are more exotic plants such as, “chocolate mint” geraniums, aloe vera plants and soft Lamb’s Ear.

Challenge your olfactory senses and bring out your inquisitive nature. There are many benches and trees for sitting, as well as many paths to wander.

World of Wonder Playground

The World of Wonder Playground on Whit Davis Road consists of a castle (with its very own dragon) lifted directly from the imagination.

In November 2002, children in Athens were given the opportunity to design their dream playground.

In March 2004, a team of over 1,600 volunteers made it a reality.

Half of the castle is designated for children under five while the other half is geared towards older kids.

Lurking not too menacingly outside of the castle is the dragon, completed in 2008.

Though the playground hosts a regular crowd of area children, it welcomes the kid in all of us.

The playground is open daily from 8 a.m. until dark.

The Egiptian [sic] Church of Karast

Mysterious, bizarre and abandoned, this building on Broad Street houses many untold stories as a former mansion, lodge and meeting place for the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, a religious group whose leader, Malachi York, is now in jail for over 200 counts of child molestation.

Patrice Howard, probate judge of Putnam County, witnessed the building of another massive Egiptian [sic] compound in her hometown of Eatonton and says the Athens building was part of a “dangerous cult” that was growing quickly in numbers.

In fact, local records show that as recently as 2007, the fourth deputy found to be connected to the Nuwaubians in the Athens police department was fired when he was caught distributing the group’s literature to inmates.

“York claimed himself as a messiah, an extraterrestrial god from planet Rizq,” Howard said. “Scores of people came from all over the country to visit his night club inside of a Styrofoam pyramid.”

After trouble with the sheriff in Putnam County, York moved to Athens and bought the building on Broad Street to expand the group.

“Nurses at the hospital were seeing very young girls with problematic pregnancies that were from the Nuwaubians,” Howard said.

At the group’s peak, there were over 500 people living year round in the Egiptian park, with recruitment coming in due to literature distributed at the Athens headquarters.

Schoolkids Records

Walk in the door, look up and to your right: There’s a lucky deity smiling back at you. The Buddha, hand-painted and donning a chain necklace, predates the current record shop on Clayton Street. “We don’t know who made it, but eight years ago, this used to be Big Shot Records,” owner Russell Sims said.

Pita Pit’s Bank Vault

There is folklore surrounding the bank vault that is part of this health food establishment.

Nick Walling, an economics major from Atlanta and a Pita Pit employee, has to “lock the door every Friday and Saturday to keep the drunk kids out.”

He also says there is another twin safe hidden somewhere on the block.

Jot ‘Em Down

If you blink, you’ll miss seeing this tiny 1924 building on Whitehall Road. The barbecue restaurant serves hickory-smoked pork cooked outside in a shed, and an array of eight sauces from “Cherokee Indian” to “Taylor’s Hot.”

“This is the best barbecue in town,” said Taylor Humphrey, a senior speech communication major from Atlanta. “You can’t beat the $3 sandwiches.”

Georgia Museum of Natural History

Quite literally hidden away beneath the Statistics building at the intersection of Cedar Street and East Campus Road is the Georgia Museum of Natural History.

There is no shortage of fascinating things to look at – exhibits of shells and volcanic rocks from Georgia and around the world, a specimen of the state’s largest salamander and live snakes.

For those seeking creepy crawlies of a more sedentary nature, the upstairs arthropods collection – the largest in Georgia – offers an up-close examination of over 650,000 insects.