The fairy tale castle of the “fairy-tale king,” this was also the inspiration for Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty.”

An eerie, derelict amusement park in Berlin.

Once the largest rope factory in Greece, this abandoned plant now stands like a ghost of industry past.

This architecturally eclectic early-20th century mosque was built as a place of worship for the Islamic followers of a Jewish messiah.

The abandoned summer estate of the former Greek Royal Family.

This open air archeological site houses almost as much wildlife as it does classical religious artifacts.

The oldest olive tree in Greece has been bearing fruit for at least 2,000 years.

A quirky bookstore hidden beneath a sea of whitewashed Greek villas.

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

Hideout of thieves, monks, and goat-footed gods.

150 or so scrounged-up lamps, chandeliers, and lanterns light up this alley in central Athens.

Hidden in a secluded Greek cove is a pristine beach marred only by the rusting smuggler's hulk stranded on its shores.

The hallucinogenic center of the ancient world.

A spectacular cave and a beguiling lake.

Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.

This beautiful train graveyard is one of the largest collections of steam locomotives in the Mediterranean and Europe.

This shuttered power plant is now Turkey's first industrial archaeology museum.

Carvings in Turkey's Marble Road may have directed ancient Romans to a hidden brothel.

Fantastic lake on the heart of a fault line.

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

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.

Roman ruins, natural methane fires and a lovely beach.

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