Medieval torture techniques with a modern conscience.

This no man's land slicing through the island is strewn with abandoned relics of another time.

Giant stone letters dedicated to the founder of Armenia's alphabet.

An unusual double-stelae obelisk with ancient and mysterious origins.

A mysterious shape catches the eye in this 16th-century painting.

This series of Armenian caves held the oldest brain, shoe, and winery in the world.

Nestled in a peaceful valley, this Armenian monastery may have been saved from Mongols thanks to the eyes of God.

The most visited pilgrimage site in Armenia once held a saint in a pit for 13 years.

This medieval manuscript collection has some of the most obscure and ancient texts in the world.

One man’s collection of photography books has transformed into a charming exhibition space.

This Armenian monastery was carved out of cliffs and named after the spear used to stab Jesus.

A geological oddity topped with a 2,000-year-old pagan temple.

Destruction from Armenia's 1988 earthquake inspired an artist's sculptures of scrap metal.

If a glacial river suddenly diving into a sheer chasm via a dramatic, multi-stage waterfall isn't peak Iceland, it's certainly close.

This valley of hot springs and boiling mud pots is home to the record-holding "Geysir," which originated the English word.

A restaurant devoted to "trouser grip" wrestling, an ancient form of Viking wrestling that is Iceland's national sport.

Inside this Icelandic greenhouse, geothermal energy keeps tomatoes warm and growing.

The picturesque birthplace of Icelandic democracy is drenched in the blood of its brutal past.

Trek up this glacier before it disappears.

In rural Iowa, an imported 19th-century windmill overlooks an unlikely enclave of Danish culture.

This African beach is home to thousands of rare mainland penguins that are known for their annoying voice.

This irregularly shaped sea fortress has defended not one but three different sovereign states.

The opulent home that inspired Tintin's Marlinspike Hall and the adventures within.

Three bridges and one giant canyon make up this fantastic Spanish settlement.