The only visible reminders of an elaborate engineering project that kept the tower from reaching the tipping point.

The Pope’s secret escape route.

The walls and streets of the ancient city are peppered with penises.

Erotic art covers the walls of the largest ancient pleasure palace.

Ancient snack bar of the Roman Empire re-opened.

This amazingly well-preserved villa just outside Pompeii boasts rare examples of ancient Roman paintings.

The last moments of the ill-fated Pompeiians, frozen forever in plaster.

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.

If you can look past the nearby sewer pipes, this urban sinkhole grotto is a mini-paradise.

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

This giant bronze Buddha, the third largest in Japan, is the last in an ill-fated series of statues.

This isolated Japanese mountain village untouched by time showcases unique and stunning traditional architecture.

A shrine contains nearly 200 statues of the Buddhist deity Jizo, dressed in bibs by parents who have lost a child.

The quintessential Japanese rock garden has existed for more than 500 years.

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.

A beautiful bamboo trail tucked in this famous Japanese Shrine.