Long before air conditioning, Persian architects found an ingenious way to cool off.

The fire inside this temple has burned for more than 1,500 years.

Putrefaction plateaus in Iran, where the dead were sent for decontamination before going to their final resting place.

The colorful soil of Iran’s "Rainbow Island" attracts artists and nature lovers.

A spectacular rainbow of stained glass makes the "Pink Mosque" one of the most beautiful in Iran.

Mirrors and glass shards cover every inch of this arrestingly beautiful mosque.

A dreamy mausoleum honors Persia's most famous poet.

Giant reed houses made in the marshes of Southern Iraq.

One of the largest cemeteries in the world.

Celebrated as a center of civilization, the remains of the ancient city have been nearly destroyed by greed, egoism, and war.

A surreal monument depicting a five-armed giant supporting a toppling cylinder seal.

A giant bisected onion dome remembers the Iraqis who died in the Iran-Iraq War.

9th century Abbasid mosque, damaged in modern warfare.

A bloody history is captured in this former prison turned museum.

At the heart of an otherwise bustling city lies some oddly abandoned and ignored historical ruins.

An ancient fortified mound raised over the millennia from settlements built one on top of the other.

The sacred shrine of the Yazidis.

This beautiful arched gate is all that remains of the fortress the ancient mountaintop town of Amadiya once was.

A massive marble pedestal is all that remains of a column that towered over Constantinople for 1300 years.

One of the newest mosques in a city filled with thousands.

A mosque with distinctive modern features.

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

An abused and forgotten metropolis, abandoned for centuries.

Standing proud atop a Turkish bluff, this Ottoman palace has retained its grandeur despite being abandoned for centuries.