A boulder carved into the shape of the cosmonaut's head.

Built entirely of interlocking pieces, construction of this Chinese Muslim house of worship required zero nails.

Lonely minaret stump of a destroyed city.

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.

This Soviet-era athletic and recreation facility is the highest ice skating rink in the world.

Beatlemania is still going strong... at least in Kazakhstan.

This Soviet statue is based on a piece of propaganda that's been elevated to national myth.

This sprawling market is a one-stop shop for traditional Kazakh foods, from mare’s milk to sheep’s head.

In Kazakhstan, a colorful cathedral with many lives once survived the most powerful earthquake in the region.

This mysterious complex of abandoned yurts and fading murals was meant to be a center of science and spirituality in Kyrgyzstan.

This insurance company building reminds customers that witches, bears, and gnomes are out there, best be insured.

A small granite monument marks where the borders of three countries meet.

A floundering Polish shipyard was once the soul of the Solidarity movement that capsized communism.

St. Mary's features one of the most spectacularly decorated cathedral interiors in all of Europe.

The silly symbol for an underground protest group is now scattered around the city.

This Polish cave has housed a dragon, a brothel, and an enduring legend.

Real bones which are said to have belonged to a Polish dragon.

The former Nazi Germany concentration camp stands as a museum to remember this dark chapter in European history.

An underground city of salt.

One of the world's tallest statues is also one of its most hated.

Gargantuan home of Russian science.

Stalinist skyscraper built with help of cryotechnology.

The tallest hotel in Europe.

The gorgeous entrances into the city's underbelly look more like grand halls than subway stops.