A historic trade hub teeming with gorgeous architecture, colorful goods, and vibrant designs.

These little castles each held thousands of pigeons.

Putrefaction plateaus in Iran, where the dead were sent for decontamination before going to their final resting place.

A 1,500-year-old, 3-story subterranean city where ancient Persians took refuge in times of war.

Ancient structures used to make and preserve ice in the deserts of Persia.

The palace of the King of Kings, burned by Alexander the Great.

Mirrors and glass shards cover every inch of this arrestingly beautiful mosque.

A spectacular rainbow of stained glass makes the "Pink Mosque" one of the most beautiful in Iran.

For true northern-style phở with broth as clear as consommé, hunt for this restaurant hidden within a residential home.

Don’t miss the local staple of rice vermicelli with charcoal-grilled pork patties and pork belly.

Order your phở stir-fried, sans soup.

A small museum dedicated to Vietnam’s lesser-known Iron Age culture.

This steamed rice crepe specialist has been rolling up its namesake dish for over 30 years.

Vietnam’s everyman “broken rice” dish is given one major upgrade at this humble institution.

Order your coffee crowned with salted whipped cream or blended with coconut and ice.

Under Hanoi’s medieval citadel sits a secret military headquarters from the final years of the Vietnam War.

This antique shop offers affordable 15th-century Vietnamese ceramics salvaged from a local shipwreck.

The lavish temple of the Cao Dai religion that includes Buddha, Mohammed, Joan of Arc, and Victor Hugo.

This French colonial post office is arguably the grandest in all of Southeast Asia.

This cavern was used as a hidden hospital and safe house during the Vietnam War.

Located off a bustling strip, a silent teahouse employs workers with hearing- or speech-related disabilities.

This network of tunnels housed an entire village for years, and even had a hall for screening movies.

A Surreal flight of architectural fancy in Vietnam's Central Highlands.

Home of the unusual art of water puppetry, one of Vietnam's oldest curiosities.