Three-story concrete ram with a permanent gift shop.

The largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere.

The sacred shrine of the Yazidis.

An ancient fortified mound raised over the millennia from settlements built one on top of the other.

Ancient rock-cut tomb? Definitely. That of a great Median king? Unlikely.

9th century Abbasid mosque, damaged in modern warfare.

A giant bisected onion dome remembers the Iraqis who died in the Iran-Iraq War.

A surreal monument depicting a five-armed giant supporting a toppling cylinder seal.

These Egyptian statues have survived for 3,400 years and were an acoustic wonder of the ancient world.

Perched above the bustling town of Kerak is a sprawling, ruinous castle that has witnessed nearly a millennia of Levantine history.

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

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

Splashes of blue in an otherwise monotonous lunar landscape.

A cluster of historic bathhouses built on the famed hot springs that gave the Georgian capital its name.

The charmingly disheveled clock tower of Tbilisi's puppet theater.

Hollywood's most famous landmark, the "temporary" sign that has stood for decades longer than intended.

Where the father of Persian poetry is laid to rest.

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

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

A geological oddity topped with a 2,000-year-old pagan temple.

The most visited pilgrimage site in Armenia once held a saint in a pit for 13 years.

Iran's "Rose Garden Palace," built during 131 years of rule by Qajar kings, consists of 17 stunning structures.

This ancient burial site is believed to be one of the first earthquake-protected structures in the world.

A dreamy mausoleum honors Persia's most famous poet.