Places Sputnicktatorship Wants to Go

No building in the world leans as far as the so-called “Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi.”

This mysterious abandoned fort looks like something pulled right from Arabian legend.

The United Arab Emirates's biggest and oldest fort pays homage to a lost era.

The cluster of igloo-like domes forms the remains of an ancient burial ground.

The world's largest frame offers spectacular views of the city's past and present.

Feed it cash, get your very own gold bar.

One of the largest sand dunes in the world is nicknamed the "Scary Mountain" due to its steep slope and sharp incline.

On any given day this sprawling market houses literally tons of government-regulated gold, gems, and precious metals.

The oldest surviving mosque in the UAE has mysterious origins and unusual architecture.

Over the dunes of the Empty Quarter, the mysterious music of the desert.

Whitewashed mosque contains the world's largest carpet.

Planned as the world’s first zero-carbon city, it had lofty ideals—but is only 5 percent completed and aiming for 50 percent carbon-neutral.

Billed as the "largest natural flower garden in the world" this Middle Eastern show field has little competition at 45 million flowers.

This indoor ski resort has a mountain contained inside a mall.

This artificial archipelago was supposed to resemble a map of the world.

A faithful reproduction of Al-Jazari's enormous water clock.

An abandoned desert hamlet swallowed up by sand.

This mesmerizing, colorful structure looks like a tent made from stained glass.

A 19th-century fortress and collection of artifacts offer a tour of Saudi history.

An archaeological site believed to be the burial place of the "mother of us all."

Site where Moses may have received the Ten Commandments.

These towering cliffs jut dramatically from the middle of a barren desert.

Village of slate houses, built on a white marble outcrop.

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