1,001 carved statues of the Buddhist God of Mercy, each with a unique face.

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.

The only quarter of the Old City not dedicated to a major world religion.

A "miracle" that seems to produce more holy fistfights than holy revelations.

A serene desert oasis speckled with ancient artifacts.

This daunting 1st century fortress was purportedly the site of one of the most dramatic revolts of the Jewish-Roman wars.

When a supermarket opened up shop within a medieval building it became protected by UNESCO on a technicality.

Huge winged monument in the United Kingdom.

This futuristic German television spire is actually the world's largest digital clock.

Twisted buildings adorn the banks of the Rhine river.

Four giant movable street lights decorate this modern Rotterdam square.

Christ's blood allegedly preserved in a Belgian town.

This enormous monument is one of the most iconic structures in Tokyo, rudely nicknamed "The Golden Turd."

Rows of stone statues are dressed up to mourn children that are lost before birth.

Once a black market electronics marketplace, now an otaku shopper's paradise.

This probably wasn't what Mao had in mind.

Also known as the Square Colosseum, this building is a prime example of fascist-era rationalist architecture.

This ritzy Italian market is built around a statue of an unforgiven heretic who was burned for his belief in an endless universe.

The university library shaped like a giant piece of Swiss cheese.

Artworks by loners, prisoners and the criminally insane.

Home of the Large Hadron Collider and the birthplace of the World Wide Web.

The bizarre visions of H.R. Giger, tucked away in a Swiss medieval city.

An early work of the architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, these swimming pools blend into the beach.

The picturesque birthplace of Icelandic democracy is drenched in the blood of its brutal past.