Five sultans and their families rest in eternal splendor, teeming with overlooked beauty and drama.

A marvel of Byzantine engineering under the streets of Istanbul.

Beijing's expansive subterranean hiding spot now crumbles away as a tourist destination.

This historic Chinese tower was said to have been haunted by fox spirits but is now haunted by a grisly murder.

This sensational Chinese temple walks visitors through the 76 weird departments of the afterlife.

There are lots of hands and feet stamped in the cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, but Mel left behind something extra.

This mosaic dedicated to John Lennon was tended for years by a Beatles super-fan.

The trials and tribulations of marking Poe’s grave.

A fifth-century temple improbably built into the side of a cliff.

Rock-cut cave complex filled with ancient Buddhist artwork.

This complex of vertically-excavated Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu monolithic temples in India's Maharashtra providence illustrates a spirit of tolerance characteristic of ancient India.

Deep in the Thar desert, a temple crawling with thousands of holy rats.

A sacred lake with thousands of sacred carp and a biblical history.

A Turkish ghost town abandoned in a population exchange with Greece.

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.

These tombs were built into the side of a mountain so that ancient angels could reach the dead.

Cave on extinct volcano, once home to famous mathematician Pythagoras.

A deadly ancient portal to the underworld.

This secret coastal village is studded with pastel-colored houses all piled on top of one another.

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

The ancient latrines of the Greeks, in all their public glory.

Swarms of dainty flying insects swarm into the Petaloudes Valley to get busy.

A Turkish monastery tucked into a cliff wall.

The largest Neolithic ruins in the world hide a notably clean prehistoric metropolis.