This staircase full of Mayan hieroglyphics is perhaps the largest single text in the world.

Right angles in the forests of Panama.

The only Roman honorific column in Istanbul.

Remnants of successive wars and Muslim colonialism in the 11th century.

Taking the subway here means doing so over a bridge located in the middle of an estuary.

This historic hotel preserves many treasures from its heyday hosting passengers on the Orient Express.

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

Climb a set of vertiginous stone steps to the top of this impressive ancient edifice.

The legendary luxury train passage is commemorated with a charming museum inside its former eastern terminus.

Ancient serpentine sacrifice holder that has stood the test of time.

This column celebrates Rome's victory over the Goths, and may be the oldest Roman monument in Istanbul.

A fountain standing as a testament to a doomed alliance.

The most metal church of all time was built in record time because of an international, pious pissing contest.

An Art Nouveau gem hides beneath the layers of city grime obscuring this once-magnificent building.

A sixth-century Byzantine cistern hidden below a modern carpet store.

An abused and forgotten metropolis, abandoned for centuries.

This remarkably well-preserved Egyptian plinth is pretty well traveled for a giant piece of stone.

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

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

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

Mausoleum and Holy Seat of Antiochus I of Commagene.

Underground monastery and fortress.

A monument to the conquistador became increasingly controversial in the very city that he founded.

The large collection of pre-Columbian pottery might make you blush.