This remote British Imperial telegraph relay outpost drove men insane.

This beautifully restored fortification kept the city safe for centuries.

Traditional architecture and ancient irrigation systems are on display in this gorgeous mountain village.

These gnarly desert trees produce the prized aromatic resin traded along the ancient incense trail.

This bazaar is one of the oldest in the Arabian world.

An imposing Omani fortress surrounded by date palm trees.

This spectacular mosque houses the second-largest chandelier in the world.

A sinkhole and now a swimming hole, too, full of dazzling turquoise water.

The best place in the world to buy tinned fish.

An exquisite collection of fairytale conveyances that puts most car museums to shame.

Elaborately carved to showcase the glorious wealth that the age of exploration brought to the Portuguese empire.

A stunning 18th-century site where pilgrims ascend by a series of punishing stairs only to return via funicular.

This castle has links to Portugal’s founding and struggles for independence.

One of the most beautiful bookstores in the world hides a neo-Gothic interior behind an art nouveau facade.

Elaborate tile work in this railway station tells the story of Portugal.

A majestic hotel for dreamers rises from the center of a fairytale wood.

The corpse bride of Portugal.

Perhaps the most spectacular grotto along the Algarve coastline.

This crumbling Portuguese ruin overlooks the populace it once ruled.

A 16th century chapel decorated with bones, skulls, and entire bodies hanging from the wall.

In Portugal, a secluded stretch of untouched natural beauty hides at the bottom of a steep hill.

A unique seaside cave where Aleister Crowley faked his own death.

God's Saharan sandbox of wrath.

A devastating booze inferno poured through the streets, claiming several victims who drank it.