Underground monastery and fortress.

Fast food feels like fine dining at this award-winning modern Georgian building.

This medieval manuscript collection has some of the most obscure and ancient texts in the world.

Huge stairway leads to this massive gallery.

This little medieval church hidden in the center of Yerevan was lost and rediscovered—twice.

This Armenian monastery was carved out of cliffs and named after the spear used to stab Jesus.

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

Men and special assistants stand by the road to sell the day's catch in this lakeside village.

This small shrine is dedicated to the designer of the first Russian fighter jet and his brother, who became Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.

Destruction from Armenia's 1988 earthquake inspired an artist's sculptures of scrap metal.

One man’s collection of photography books has transformed into a charming exhibition space.

This ancient monastery complex was transformed from an island to a peninsula when the lake was partially drained.

Tower with a double-helix spiral, adorned with letters of the Georgian alphabet.

The first skyscraper to include a Ferris wheel built into the facade.

A literally moving statue of stacked metal giants just continually trying (and failing) to find love.

Unusual building appears to be haphazardly built from randomly piled bricks.

A small but hugely whimsical theater where marionettes play out the "The Battle of Stalingrad."

With over 10,000 lights, this engineering marvel lights up the city after dark.

Monks in the empyreal Alazani River valley have preserved their 1,000-year-old winemaking tradition.

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

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

Giant cauldrons overflow with Uzbekistan's favorite rice dish at this cavernous dining hall.

These "50 Fortresses" have been unearthed in the ancient oasis of Khwarezm.

Where Stoddart and Connolly suffered in the infamous Bug Pit.