Brush shoulders with animatronic Arab leaders made of silicone.

An intimate look into the apartments of Jounieh via cable car.

A 1970s resort city now stands abandoned, caught in the middle of a divided island.

Fantastic lake on the heart of a fault line.

Ruins of the Crusaders' headquarters.

This former monument to an invented Iraqi victory was turned into a military camp during the subsequent invasion.

A 2200 year old vessel may have been able to keep a charge.

A giant bisected onion dome remembers the Iraqis who died in the Iran-Iraq War.

Only a handful of these gorgeous historic waterwheels remain but even those are in danger from local unrest.

This circular Iranian jail was once a political prison run by the country's secret police.

In the land of the Light Brigade stands a testament to the Cold War.

The longest trolleybus route in the world, from Simferopol and Yalta.

One of the windiest peaks in Crimea is home to an incredible set of cable bridges.

Over 300 wood sculptures depicting characters from Slavic, Greek and Western folk tales fill this magical garden.

This space age health spa looks like a supervillain's lair.

A castle perched precariously over the Crimean Sea.

9th century Abbasid mosque, damaged in modern warfare.

The Nazis lost more men trying to take this Russian-held Stalingrad apartment block than they did when taking Paris.

Volcanic irregularity? Odd erosion? Alien eggs? Local legends compete to explain these strange orbs.

This ancient burial mound is accessed by an impressive Greek-built archway.

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

A gigantic collection of teeny, tiny books.

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

In oil-rich Azerbaijan, people bathe in the black stuff.