Marawi, Sudan
Jebel Barkal
Crumbling pyramids and temple ruins stand within the shadow of this sacred butte.
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Places I've been
Places this traveler has marked as been there.
Bangkok, Thailand
Amulet Market
Bangkok's men with dangerous jobs come here in search of protective talismans.
Bangkok, Thailand
Siriraj Medical Museum
A treasure trove of pathological, forensic, parasitological, and anatomical specimens.
Akarsu Köyü, Turkey
Sumela Monastery
A Turkish monastery tucked into a cliff wall.
Aksaray, Turkey
Cappadocia
In this historic region, homes and churches are carved into ancient volcanic rock formations.
Derinkuyu, Turkey
Derinkuyu Underground City
The deepest underground city in Turkey was designed to protect 20,000 people behind massive stone doors.
Roudbar Alamout, Iran
Alamut Castle
This ruined fortress was the stronghold for a persecuted medieval leader and his infamous Assassins.
Yazd, Iran
Zoroastrian Towers of Silence
Putrefaction plateaus in Iran, where the dead were sent for decontamination before going to their final resting place.
Isfahan, Iran
Pigeon Towers of Iran
These little castles each held thousands of pigeons.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Amir Timur (Tamerlane) Museum
Looking for a unifying history, Uzbekistan finds its answer in a 14th Century Turco-Mongol conqueror... despite the fact he wasn't Uzbek.
Pandzhrudak, Tajikistan
Tomb of Rudaki
Where the father of Persian poetry is laid to rest.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis
The Avenue of Mausolea is a series of grand palatial tombs.
Ishkashim, Afghanistan
Ishkashim Border Market
A strip of neutral ground where the people of Tajikistan and Afghanistan come together to trade.
Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Dushanbe Flagpole
The world's second-tallest flagpole stands proud despite dropping rank.
Bukhara, Uzbekistan
"The Bug Pit" at Zindon Prison
Where Stoddart and Connolly suffered in the infamous Bug Pit.
Bukhara, Uzbekistan
Kalyan Minaret
This "tower of death" has acted as an observatory, a religious hub, and an executioner's lair.
Muynak District, Uzbekistan
Moynaq
Once a bustling fishing port, this semi-ghost town is now more than 90 miles away from the shore.
Aswan, Egypt
Unfinished Obelisk
The largest known Ancient Egyptian obelisk.
Qesm Saint Katrin, Egypt
Red Sea Blue Hole
The deadliest diving spot in the world is also a stunning geological marvel.
Cairo, Egypt
Nilometer
An ancient instrument used to measure the waters of the Nile so Egyptian farmers would know whether to expect famine or flood.
Badrshein, Egypt
Pyramid of Djoser
This ancient structure is widely thought to be the oldest intact pyramid in the world.
Luxor, Egypt
Colossi of Memnon
These Egyptian statues have survived for 3,400 years and were an acoustic wonder of the ancient world.
Aksum, Ethiopia
Chapel of the Tablet
Supposedly this Ethiopian chapel holds the Ark of the Covenant, guarded by virgins who cannot leave the building.
Aksum, Ethiopia
Obelisk of Axum
Massive stele returned to Ethiopia after 70 years in Rome.
