Places remcrae Wants to Go

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

This medieval citadel once guarded the western entrance of the Pamir Highway.

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

This remote, abandoned Soviet observatory promises spectacular views for those who can reach it.

This ancient Silk Road outpost overlooking the Wakhan Valley is miraculously still standing.

A building facade covered with the statues of 11 giants of Tajik literature.

The largest dam in the world and the site of a potential disaster.

The West's first incursion into the Afghan world lies buried beneath a military base.

Museum dedicated to overthrowing the Soviets, complete with diorama of Soviets being beaten to death with shovels.

A strip of neutral ground where the people of Tajikistan and Afghanistan come together to trade.

200-foot-high minaret and only remnant of Afghanistan's lost city of the Turquoise Mountain.

Despite a history of destruction, this former citadel survives to document Afghanistan's oft overlooked history.

Splashes of blue in an otherwise monotonous lunar landscape.

Once an impressive link to Afghanistan’s Buddhist past, now a sad reminder of intolerance towards other cultures.

The foundation of this ancient stupa dates back to the 1st-century.

This magnificent blue mosque in Afghanistan is surrounded by thousands of white doves.

Few people have ever heard of, let alone visited, one of Turkmenistan’s most impressive natural attractions.

This harsh mountain path was built as a strange attempt to improve the health of Turkmen citizens.

If you want to get married in the White Marble City of Ashgabat, you should do it in this surreal disco ball building.

This famed Silk Road oasis was one of the largest cities in the world before it was destroyed by a Mongol horde.

Home of the unusual art of water puppetry, one of Vietnam's oldest curiosities.

Grand opera on a miniature scale.

You'll find just about anything in this funky Tbilisi flea market.

Luxury hotel turned into a refugee camp, then turned back into a luxury hotel.