Places aRedLetterLife Wants to Go

A small etching on the white marble parapet was written in runic script by a Viking mercenary.

The ancient abodes are a testament to human ingenuity amid harsh climates.

Mausoleum and Holy Seat of Antiochus I of Commagene.

Flames have been burning within this mountain for more than 2,500 years.

Naturally protected city carved from a rock face.

A Lycian city of the dead carved into the hillside of Southern Turkey, complete with startlingly human touches.

A deadly ancient portal to the underworld.

This famous city eluded concrete detection until the early 2000's.

This hunter-gatherer architecture is believed to be the oldest religious complex known.

In this historic region, homes and churches are carved into ancient volcanic rock formations.

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

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

These ruins once flourished as the capital of the Lydian kingdom, often credited with the invention of metal coinage.

The hilltop town of Segni was once home to an ancient Roman colony and garrison.

According to local legend, a tree grew from the stake that killed this alleged vampire. In reality, he probably died from influenza.

Brasilia's oldest newsstand is sheltered by a wish-granting tunnel-tree.

A century-old stone hermitage overlooks this remote pass in the Hoggar mountains, surrounded by a landscape of eroded volcanic cores.

This religious site features Nepal’s largest statue of Buddha.

Dedicated to the victims of one of the deadliest hurricanes to strike the United States in recorded history.

The ruins of an important pilgrimage destination for worshippers of a Maya fertility goddess.

An ancient woodland that inspired a young J.R.R. Tolkien.

Silverware in the sidewalk outside a grocery store cements this neighborhood’s Italian culinary history.

A 130-year-old urinal is the oldest of Stockholm and perhaps all of Sweden.

This 2,000-year-old stone maze is one of the oldest in the country, but its purpose is still a mystery.