The world's second-tallest flagpole stands proud despite dropping rank.

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

Next to a newer mosque in Khujand’s main square lies the city’s oldest mosque, whose interiors are spectacularly intricate.

A bustling bazaar with an elaborate facade in Central Asia’s underrated capital.

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

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

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

According to myth, there's a bloody explanation for the beautiful bright red color of this rock formation set amidst alpine vegetation.

This retro, UFO-like structure is a remnant of the Soviet-era circus.

Lonely minaret stump of a destroyed city.

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

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

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

A 900-year-old village located in the highland of the Asir region that features historic architecture.

Every year, people come together to cover this mud-brick mosque with a fresh layer of earth.

Al Rahmah Mosque appears to "float" atop the Red Sea.

For centuries, Jeddah’s old town was a major trading port and a point of entry for Hajj pilgrims traveling by sea.

Padre Delgado, a leader in the fight for Salvadoran independence, is buried in this stunning Brutalist cathedral.

Lions carved into the rockface adorn these two tombs built into the mountains of Dadan.

The rocks around this mountain are filled with so many carvings that the area became known as the "open library."

Once a major stop on the Hejaz Railway, this desert station (complete with steam locomotive) has been abandoned for decades.

Within the Saudi Arabian desert lies a 2,000-year-old ghost town made of stone and mud.

An unfinished tomb carved into a giant boulder in the Arabian Desert.

More than 100 monumental tombs carved into rock are preserved at this ancient Nabataean site in the Arabian Desert.