Taking the subway here means doing so over a bridge located in the middle of an estuary.

Have tea in a cemetery with a dazzling view of Istanbul.

A collection of Lenin busts and other Soviet Era statues sit idly behind the Semipalatinsk Hotel.

This retro, UFO-like structure is a remnant of the Soviet-era circus.

Time capsule of a museum, in which the Soviet Union remains alive and kicking.

The world's second-tallest flagpole stands proud despite dropping rank.

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

In Kazakhstan, a colorful cathedral with many lives once survived the most powerful earthquake in the region.

One of the most horrible legacies of the Cold War is a site where the Soviet Union tested nuclear bombs on civilians.

This sprawling market is a one-stop shop for traditional Kazakh foods, from mare’s milk to sheep’s head.

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.

Looking for a unifying history, Uzbekistan finds its answer in a 14th Century Turco-Mongol conqueror... despite the fact he wasn't Uzbek.

An 18-meter-long sarcophagus of a constantly growing dead prophet.

This "tower of death" has acted as an observatory, a religious hub, and an executioner's lair.

Ancient barriers wrap around what was once an important stop along the Silk Road.

Once a bustling fishing port, this semi-ghost town is now more than 90 miles away from the shore.

Light still pours into the ruins of this ancient Islamic observatory.

The Avenue of Mausolea is a series of grand palatial tombs.

Scrap material from around Eritrea finds a new life at this outdoor market, where upcycling is a lifestyle.

Wander among hulking piles of rusted machinery left over from the Eritrean-Ethiopian War.

Eritrea's futuristic gas station is a nod to Italy's fascist history.

Inside the dome of this gigantic, Saturn-shaped building is one of the largest planetariums in Asia.

This magnificent 18th-century hall consists of a maze of nearly a thousand interconnected passages.

A building so large that it has its own weather.