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

Lonely minaret stump of a destroyed city.

Time capsule of a museum, in which the Soviet Union remains alive and kicking.

Once a luxurious flagship of the Soviet Union, this Brutalist structure remains a landmark of Tashkent’s communist past.

An underground world of gorgeous, palatial metro stations designed as a nuclear shelter complex.

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

Controversially restored in the 1970s, this giant 15th-century mosque is shrouded in legend.

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

This "tower of death" has acted as an observatory, a religious hub, and an executioner's lair.

Ancient barriers wrap around what was once an important stop along the Silk Road.

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

The controversial final resting place of the equally controversial first president of Turkmenistan.

Sumptous memorial to a controversial independence.

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

The largest volcanic caldera in Japan holds an entire city in its maw.

The giant figure on the back of this turtle-shaped temple actually hides a memorial pendulum.

Only a fragment of this 15th-century Dance of Death survives today.

An old hill fort covered in over 100,000 crosses is a symbol of Lithuanian nationalism and beliefs.

Latvia’s first skyscraper, nicknamed ‘Stalin’s birthday cake.’

During the Soviet era, the spire of this longstanding church was used as a radio transmission tower.

These 5,000-year-old cave paintings provide a glimpse into prehistoric Finnish life.

A subterranean house of worship carved right out of the bedrock.

This ten-ton fruit sculpture celebrates the Finland homeland.

This insurance company building reminds customers that witches, bears, and gnomes are out there, best be insured.