This seemingly random 30-foot statue of an oryx in Qatar's capital was a mascot for the 2006 Asian Games.

A superb spot to appreciate the traditional boats of the Indian Ocean.

The enormous diamond-shaped building packs a trove of academic and literary treasures into one futuristic space.

This fountain pays homage to Qatar's history of pearling, the primary industry before oil.

This vibrant side road in Doha was painted light blue to reduce heat.

Qatar's oldest market can trace its origins back more than a century.

The building is a gigantic piece of art inspired by the shape of a desert rose.

This massive piece of artwork weighs more than 250 tons, and was designed as a tribute to the first president of the United Arab Emirates.

Whitewashed mosque contains the world's largest carpet.

This beautifully historic Bahrain fortress might not be the most popular attraction around, but that might make it all the better.

A private collection of over 30,000 ancient and modern items showcasing the beauty of Islamic calligraphy.

Kuwait City's uniquely designed water towers look straight out of a retro sci-fi cityscape.

Lived-in building, bedecked with an astonishing array of mirror mosaics.

The ruins of a fifth-century church dedicated to Our Lady of the Harbor.

The site of a prison camp where Cypriot resistance fighters were held in the 1950s.

This no man's land slicing through the island is strewn with abandoned relics of another time.

An ancient necropolis of magnificent tombs.

Once part of an ancient international harbor, it's now an all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet for flamingos and other water birds.

For nearly 2,000 years this church has been waging war on local snakes by importing cats.

The ancient mosaics here are considered among the finest in the world, and serve as a stunning record of Greco-Roman daily life.

An ever-growing field of footwear invites legends and more shoes.

The southernmost Anglican cathedral in the world has whale bones standing in its yard.

Greenland's first shopping mall also hosts the country's government.

These eight mummies are the best-preserved human remains ever discovered in North America.