A dreamy mausoleum honors Persia's most famous poet.

The fire inside this temple has burned for more than 1,500 years.

17th century mosque for Shah Abbas' harem.

Putrefaction plateaus in Iran, where the dead were sent for decontamination before going to their final resting place.

Ancient structures used to make and preserve ice in the deserts of Persia.

A spectacular rainbow of stained glass makes the "Pink Mosque" one of the most beautiful in Iran.

The palace of the King of Kings, burned by Alexander the Great.

This restored eighth-century palace is a shining example of ancient Umayyad architecture.

This exceptionally well-preserved ancient marvel also houses a small museum dedicated to Jordanian folk tradition.

An ancient capital city that dates back 3,000 years and harbors many surprises.

The design of the Palacio Salvo has been described as "a lighthouse on top of a building."

Dinosaur eggs were first discovered at these fiery red cliffs.

The oldest Buddhist monastery in Mongolia has survived centuries of invasions, political shifts, and religious purges.

A sacred mountaintop temple offers a fine cup of tea to visitors who can survive the journey.

A church of bones, decorated with 40,000 human skeletons.

Macabre astrological automaton clock dating to the late 1400s.

Intricate wood carvings on an island in Siberia.

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.

This museum holds the most comprehensive collection of Armenian art in the world.

Huge stairway leads to this massive gallery.

This series of Armenian caves held the oldest brain, shoe, and winery in the world.

The world's longest nonstop reversible cable car soars through spectacular scenery to the medieval Tatev Monastery.

Centuries before the modern seismograph, Armenian monks measured quakes with this tilting pillar.