Places mossenmoons Wants to Go

This cavernous swimming spot doubles as a home to the largest known colony of bats in Central Asia.

A fiery crater has been burning in the Karakum Desert since 1971.

Home to what was once considered the largest gate in central Asia.

The heartbeat of modern Uzbekistan’s thriving market culture.

The rocks are a time capsule of a 407-million-year-old Earth.

The ruins of an ancient Zoroastrian Tower of Silence believed to be the earliest example of the traditional funerary practice.

One of the most ethnically diverse spots on the planet.

These "50 Fortresses" have been unearthed in the ancient oasis of Khwarezm.

Once a bustling fishing port, this semi-ghost town is now more than 90 miles away from the shore.

Light still pours into the ruins of this ancient Islamic observatory.

The Avenue of Mausolea is a series of grand palatial tombs.

This was once the largest city in Kazakhstan, and a major stop on the Silk Road.

Nicknamed Kazakhstan's Grand Canyon, this natural wonder lies east of Almaty near the Chinese border.

This unique wooden mosque resembling a Chinese pagoda was said to be built without the use of nails.

Mysterious spherical rocks in the semi-desert of western Kazakhstan.

The lovely lake that was naturally dammed, then naturally destroyed, then unnaturally saved.

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.

Rusting ships sit in a desert where a sea used to be.

Granny Smiths and Fujis can both be traced back to Kazakhstan, where apples still grow wild.

Submerged trees jut ghost-like out of an idyllic turquoise mountain lake.

The first version of this stalwart construction appeared around 3,000 years ago.

This dark, damp, perilous tunnel is the only passage from north to south Tajikistan.

The largest Lenin statue in Central Asia was moved to an empty field rather than being destroyed.

The remains of an ancient city-state along the Silk Road.