Houses of the dead

Some look like sleek modern apartments, with shiny black marble, crisp, clean glass and silver railings.

Others are more like town monuments or churches and are adorned by grand statues, which hold some sort of significance. There are also those tucked away, almost out of sight, that are either crumbling, broken or covered in a film of dust.Walking up and down the aisles that form the labyrinth that is Cementerio de la Recoleta or Recoleta cemetery, it is possible to forget for a second that what you have come to look at are houses for the dead.The morbid tourist spot is in the predominantly well-to-do suburb of Recoleta, in Buenos Aires.Despite the macabre surroundings, it is an incredible place to explore for a few hours. Argentinians have been laid to rest here since 1822, so there is a lot of history within the walls of this place.Recoleta cemetery is a maze of marble, cement and brick mausoleums with endless names and dates, which hold thousands of interesting stories behind them. It covers four city blocks and there are more than 6000 mausoleums.Whether a history buff, architectural nerd, art appreciator or an aspiring photographer, there is plenty to interest visitors.There is also something mysterious about Recoleta cemetery.Naturally, there are maps and information books about the famous people whose bodies lie here, but it is also the unknown that gets the imagination working. Wondering about the old couple who died in their 80s within days of each other.Or thinking how the young girl in the black and white photograph may have spent her weekends all those years ago.Only Argentina's finest can afford to have this as their final resting place, so there are quite a few notable families and characters on the list of residents.The body of Eva Peron, or as she is more commonly known, Evita, Argentina's one-time first lady and spiritual leader of the country, is buried here and attracts the most visitors. Many take the opportunity to smile for a happy snap in front of her mausoleum.It can be easily spotted; just look for all the camera flashes.For someone who was a voice for the working class and those struggling on low incomes, it seems a little strange that she will spend eternity in a place known for being so elite.But perhaps Recoleta was chosen for its security. Military forces once stole Evita's body and it spent a few years in both Italy and Spain before returning to Argentina.Extra security measures have apparently been taken inside her crypt to ensure Evita's body is not moved again.Some of the mausoleums are conservative with blacked out or frosted windows, while others give the voyeur inside us all a chance to peek in. Coffins can either be kept inside above ground level, or below the ground, down narrow staircases to crypts, which contain the coffins of family members, one on top of another.World-renowned sculptors have worked on many of the designs in Recoleta. As well as head casts, there are plenty of statues, including angels, young women, big birds of prey, women breastfeeding and children playing.Along with the more permanent residents at Recoleta, there are dozens of cats that call the cemetery home. Just when you think you are alone, a feline friend can appear out of nowhere to laze in a patch of sun or scratch its back against a sculpture. They seem to be well fed by the visitors.Wander down the quiet side laneways and take a glimpse into the lives of the many Argentinians laid to rest here. Black and white photos can be seen in some of the mausoleums, on raised shelves sitting alongside vases of flowers and sometimes rosary beads or a couple of mementos, like a hairbrush or an ornament.Further from the main tourist route there are smaller mausoleums, which it seems have almost been forgotten.Sheets of corrugated tin cover some, while others remain with broken glass and cobwebs as a visual reminder of time.Some coffins lay strewn unevenly on top of each other where shelves could no longer take the weight and one coffin had fallen on top of another.Recoleta is so much more than a cemetery; it is almost like an art gallery, which has captured impressions of people, their personalities, their reputations and the way they may have lived their lives.