On any given day this sprawling market houses literally tons of government-regulated gold, gems, and precious metals.

A preposterously luxurious hotel with gold-plated iPads, Rolls Royce chauffeurs, and a staff that trains by watching "Downton Abbey."

This indoor ski resort has a mountain contained inside a mall.

Large miniature theme park with 100-plus models.

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

This ancient city - home to nine civilizations - is soon to be buried under 200 feet of water.

Climb a steep hill in 90 seconds on the second-oldest urban subway in the world.

Over the centuries, this island paradise has done it all, from providing monks with ecclesiastical respite to sheltering an exiled Leon Trotsky.

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

A sacred lake with thousands of sacred carp and a biblical history.

Mausoleum and Holy Seat of Antiochus I of Commagene.

A Turkish monastery tucked into a cliff wall.

Standing proud atop a Turkish bluff, this Ottoman palace has retained its grandeur despite being abandoned for centuries.

Ottoman-era houses lovingly preserved.

The deepest underground city in Turkey was designed to protect 20,000 people behind massive stone doors.

Five sultans and their families rest in eternal splendor, teeming with overlooked beauty and drama.

A Turkish ghost town abandoned in a population exchange with Greece.

An abused and forgotten metropolis, abandoned for centuries.

This hunter-gatherer architecture is believed to be the oldest religious complex known.

These tombs were built into the side of a mountain so that ancient angels could reach the dead.

A marvel of Byzantine engineering under the streets of Istanbul.

In this historic region, homes and churches are carved into ancient volcanic rock formations.