This often-missed monastery, set in a scenic mountain landscape, features unique frescoes, fortifications and legends.

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

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

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

Centuries before the modern seismograph, Armenian monks measured quakes with this tilting pillar.

This ancient monastery complex was transformed from an island to a peninsula when the lake was partially drained.

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

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

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

One of the best examples of a Byzantine period monument in Albania.

The largest Roman amphitheater in the Balkans once held over 20,000 people, but managed to lay hidden for hundreds of years.

The elliptical citadel resisted the advance of the mighty Ottomans several times, thanks to the military prowess of the "Dragon of Albania."

Hundreds of thousands of concrete bunkers crowd Albania long after the fall of Communism.

This ominous Albanian fortress houses tanks and downed planes as a reminder of their victories over Western imperialism.

An Albanian monument to the Communism that nearly crushed the country is now a crumbling wreck.

A New Zealand communications tower stands as the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere.

New Zealand's only running funicular railway.

Edoras, capital city of Rohan in Lord of the Rings, once sat atop this isolated New Zealand mountain.

The platform atop this verdant volcano was built with the help of a royal elephant.

Major tourist destination known for its bubbling mud-pools and hot thermal springs.

Dolphins, ancient clams and hundreds of waterfalls make this one of the world's top tourist destinations.

This sheep farm has been forever transformed since being built for “The Hobbit” film series.

WWI hospital ship lost in a cyclone turns up on the coast of Fraser Island, where she remains rusted and forgotten.

This letter written by Queen Elizabeth II in 1986 won't be opened until 2085.