Places alessissimo Wants to Go

Rainwater transformed this old quarry into a peaceful pond you won't find in most tourist books.

This cluster of little wooden huts once ground local farmers’ wheat into flour during the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Bridge that died in war and was resurected.

An apparition of Virgin Mary in Herzegovina.

There's a mini version of Iguazu Falls hidden in the Balkans, and it's got a rope swing.

A chain of 16 wondrous lakes formed as a result of the gradual dissolution of soluble layers of bedrock.

This ominous Albanian fortress houses tanks and downed planes as a reminder of their victories over Western imperialism.

Hidden in a secluded Greek cove is a pristine beach marred only by the rusting smuggler's hulk stranded on its shores.

A spectacular cave and a beguiling lake.

A minotaur, a labyrinth, and a dubious restoration pull in visitors from around the world.

Ottoman-era houses lovingly preserved.

The alleged house of the Virgin Mary is tucked away in a park and nature preserve on Mt. Koressos in Turkey and is holy to both Catholics and Muslims alike.

Roman ruins top white travertine terraces formed by ancient hot springs.

The Syrian headquarters of alleged hashish-smoking assassins.

Ruins of the Crusaders' headquarters.

A city built from mud and known as the "Manhattan of the desert."

Yemen's "Stone Palace" looks like it was carved right out of the tall stone column on which it is built.

One of the most remote and isolated villages on the Arabian Peninsula.

Men in rubber-soled boots serve as your "brakes" on this toboggan ride Hemingway described as "exhilarating."

After sunset the heart of Zanzibar's historic Stone Town neighborhood transforms into a culinary playground.

An Ethiopian "Jerusalem" featuring a church hewn out of a single rock.

Charnel house at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Ozymandias’ time-keeping temple.

The world's largest bioluminescent area was undiscovered by science until 2005.