The Dalai Lama named this New Zealand landscape the "Spiritual Center of the Universe."

Dolphins, ancient clams and hundreds of waterfalls make this one of the world's top tourist destinations.

The real life Hobbiton, this sheep farm has been forever transformed since being built for The Hobbit film series.

Museum of Fijian history, including its former tradition of cannibalism.

This beautiful train graveyard is one of the largest collections of steam locomotives in the Mediterranean and Europe.

This shuttered power plant is now Turkey's first industrial archaeology museum.

The legendary luxury train passage is commemorated with a charming museum inside its former eastern terminus.

Step back in time and witness the fall of Constantinople.

This famous city eluded concrete detection until the early 2000's.

This living legend of maritime history is enjoying a second life.

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

Billed as the "largest natural flower garden in the world" this Middle Eastern show field has little competition at 45 million flowers.

Underwater restaurant at the coral reefs of Eilat.

Traditional Bedouin crafting has become an official tourist site and successful industry for its female craftspeople.

Israel's first dedicated natural history museum is home to 5 million specimens and still growing.

A modern-day cabinet of curiosities housed in a 300-year-old inn.

The home of the Dead Sea Scrolls is an abstract modernist dream.

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

Iran's colorful terraces are a rare geological masterpiece.

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

Celebrated as a center of civilization, the remains of the ancient city have been nearly destroyed by greed, egoism, and war.

A beautiful but toxic fountain of mercury.

Construction of Barcelona's iconic (but controversial) church is expected to be completed in 2026—a century after the death of its architect.

From Coke II to Google Glass, this exhibit features some of the most spectacular commercial flops.