Swirling layers of white and red rock earned these mountains their festive nickname.

Mysterious hillside with a continuously burning natural fire.

A shrine of fire worship built on top of a natural flame.

Resonant stone, that has been played since prehistoric times.

A massive collection of petroglyphs dating back some 40,000 years.

Home to nearly a third of the world's mud volcanoes, Azerbaijan is home to a messy, bubbling, and sometimes explosive landscape.

What might be the largest completely Jewish town in the world outside of Israel now faces dwindling numbers and empty streets.

A unique museum dedicated to culture and artistry of carpet weaving.

This mysterious but iconic tapered tower appears in many Azeri fairytales and legends.

A gigantic collection of teeny, tiny books.

This architecturally eclectic fortress witnessed centuries of bloody turmoil, including the massacre of its ruling clan.

Hidden up a dusty track off the Georgian Military Road is this fascinating waterfall with mountainous views.

Take respite inside this jaw-dropping church while climbing the volcano where Georgia's Prometheus was once chained.

Georgia’s answer to Easter Island immortalizes the nation’s great poets, artists, and leaders in stone glory.

A cylinder monument with a spectacular vista commemorates a friendship that some say never existed.

Rock-hewn monastery complex with hundreds of cave structures tucked away into the mountainside.

This extraordinary, multi-pillared monument depicts the fascinating history of Georgia.

The secret room where early Bolsheviks cranked out propaganda fliers on a smuggled printing press.

A combination of Peshwa and British Gothic Revival architecture.

On the Mutha riverbank near the center of Pune stands a centuries-old temple with a fascinating old stone entrance.

A historic palace in the center of Pune where the founder of the Maratha Empire spent his formative years.

This 700-year-old temple is one of the city's oldest.

A 19th-century mansion with a Gothic entrance in the center of Pune.

One of the five gates into the fortress of to Shaniwar Wada was renamed to commemorate the 10th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire.