Foreign invaders almost left this lovely Caucasus palace alone—almost.

Home to nearly a third of the world's mud volcanoes, Azerbaijan is home to a messy, bubbling, and sometimes explosive landscape.

Tower with a double-helix spiral, adorned with letters of the Georgian alphabet.

With over 10,000 lights, this engineering marvel lights up the city after dark.

A gleaming white and undulating tower marks the border between Georgia and Turkey.

This architecturally eclectic fortress witnessed centuries of bloody turmoil, including the massacre of its ruling clan.

Fortified homes of highland warriors that are still in use today.

Small church on top of a huge rock column.

Unusual building appears to be haphazardly built from randomly piled bricks.

A cluster of historic bathhouses built on the famed hot springs that gave the Georgian capital its name.

A literally moving statue of stacked metal giants just continually trying (and failing) to find love.

Take respite inside this jaw-dropping church while climbing the volcano where Georgia's Prometheus was once chained.

The charmingly disheveled clock tower of Tbilisi's puppet theater.

Ancient rock-hewn town that witnessed key events of Georgian history.

Underground monastery and fortress.

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

While it would not look out of place among Serbian spomeniks, this massive Bulgarian monument commemorates one of their defeats.

An homage to the medieval rulers of Bulgaria.

Rebuilt several decades ago, its striking murals prevent it from being reconsecrated as a church.

Sofia's legislative center is continuously reinventing itself.

This massive stone and steel monument remembers a century-old battle that cost thousands of lives and nearly destroyed the city.

A magnificent, glittering building tucked into a tiny Bulgarian mountain town.

A vast Communist-era exhibition space in the Bulgarian capital.

A mountain pass in Bulgaria's Balkan Mountains was the site of four historic battles.