The field of tiny caves that mark this Chinese cliffside are each their own historic Buddhist temple.

A harrowing trail up a mile-high mountain.

The embalmed remains of the communist leader lie within a custom crystal coffin.

This probably wasn't what Mao had in mind.

The most famous location in China was home to whole dynasties worth of imperial rulers.

In Kazakhstan, a colorful cathedral with many lives once survived the most powerful earthquake in the region.

Dedicated to a Bolshevik revolutionary, this museum is a true time capsule of the Soviet era.

This retro, UFO-like structure is a remnant of the Soviet-era circus.

Built entirely of interlocking pieces, construction of this Chinese Muslim house of worship required zero nails.

An outstanding piece of retro Sci-Fi architecture built into a sacred mountain.

A reconstructed medieval gateway that was the magnificent entrance to the capital city dating back to 1037.

This unassuming museum's slogan translates to “there is a limit of sadness, anxiety has no limits."

As the Dead Sea continues to deplete, massive sinkholes open along its banks.

This daunting 1st century fortress was purportedly the site of one of the most dramatic revolts of the Jewish-Roman wars.

Descend 2,030 years into the past in an ancient tunnel built to support Jerusalem's most famous wall.

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

This family tattoo parlor has been inking religious pilgrims in the Middle East for 700 years.

At this rare mosque in Tbilisi, Sunni and Shia Muslims pray side by side.

A small but hugely whimsical theater where marionettes play out the "The Battle of Stalingrad."

The charmingly disheveled clock tower of Tbilisi's puppet theater.

An abandoned Soviet-era mining town in the mountains of South Kazakhstan.

Nicknamed Kazakhstan's Grand Canyon, this natural wonder lies east of Almaty near the Chinese border.

This "tower of death" has acted as an observatory, a religious hub, and an executioner's lair.

Where Stoddart and Connolly suffered in the infamous Bug Pit.