Places mossenmoons Wants to Go

This museum was invented in a novel before being made real by the author.

A gorgeous, Gaudí-esque stairway constructed in the city of Istanbul by a prominent Jewish family.

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

An Art Nouveau gem hides beneath the layers of city grime obscuring this once-magnificent building.

Step back in time and witness the fall of Constantinople.

A sixth-century Byzantine cistern hidden below a modern carpet store.

Legend says if you stick your thumb in the hole and it gets wet, your wish will be granted.

1513 Turkish world map, full of European state secrets and snarky commentary.

A small etching on the white marble parapet was written in runic script by a Viking mercenary.

Turkish adventurer antiques in the heart of the Grand Bazaar.

A two thousand year old brothel uncovered in Northern Greece.

One of Ireland's best-preserved chambered cairns can be found next to a wishing tree.

This set of Berber granary caves is now an interpretation center for the cave window structures in the Clarino valley.

A major pre-Columbian archaeological site in central El Salvador.

Fully loaded, Tunisian-style sandwiches are on the menu at this unassuming hole-in-the-wall.

After witnessing the rise and fall of three empires, this ancient city was finally destroyed by a series of earthquakes.

An ancient Roman snake god, carved expertly into stone.

The famous sculptor had a hand in this imposing fortress.

The kitsch mansion of the former Romanian president Nicolae Ceaușescu features a golden bathroom.

Hike along an abandoned railway up to a popular pilgrimage site.

A folk-art cottage and hotel straight from a Slavic fairy tale.

This small 16th-century church in Athens is almost entirely surrounded by a modern building.

A mostly desolate bar on a remote island hosts hundreds of sailors for a few days each year.

In the heart of Tirana, this underground nuclear bunker has been transformed into a museum.