Wash down heaping platters of meze with raki at one of the city's best taverns.

Feast on the freshest of fish by the Bosphorus.

Come for the whole sides of slow-roasted lamb, stay for the regional Kurdish specialties.

This family-owned canteen has been selling goat milk ice cream since 1933.

Homesick Syrian refugees head to this restaurant for a taste of Damascus.

Eat your way through history.

This airport also offers travelers the chance to view thousands of years of Turkish history.

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

It's believed that this small church was connected to the Hagia Sophia via a secret tunnel.

Brawny guys rolling around in oil is the oldest regular sporting event besides the Olympics.

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

This historic hotel preserves many treasures from its heyday hosting passengers on the Orient Express.

This crucial gathering spot along the "hippie trail" still displays old notes between traveling beatniks and backpackers.

The best-preserved ancient theater in the world.

Live a night as a Byzantine King, with a minibar and private jacuzzi.

Legend says if you stick your thumb in the hole and it gets wet your wish will be granted.

Underwater art project will double as a massive artificial coral reef to help regenerate the damaged ecosystem.

A magical sinkhole on the Yucatán Peninsula is adorned with mini waterfalls and hanging vines.

Clap your hands at the base of the pyramid, and the song of a sacred Mayan bird will echo through the air.

No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

Every equinox this Maya pyramid puts on a spooky ancient light show.

Former utopian colony based on the belief that the universe exists in a hollow sphere.

An old-timey peepshow allows visitors to gawk at some of the world's most freakishly large footwear.

Bonsai trees that are up to a thousand years old.