Final palace complex of the last of 29 Kokand rulers.

This mysterious complex of abandoned yurts and fading murals was meant to be a center of science and spirituality in Kyrgyzstan.

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

Submerged trees jut ghost-like out of an idyllic turquoise mountain lake.

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

According to myth, there's a bloody explanation for the beautiful bright red color of this rock formation set amidst alpine vegetation.

A boulder carved into the shape of the cosmonaut's head.

Extremely isolated Silk Road caravanserai in the middle of nowhere.

Beatlemania is still going strong... at least in Kazakhstan.

This Soviet statue is based on a piece of propaganda that's been elevated to national myth.

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

Lonely minaret stump of a destroyed city.

Ancient artists in the middle of nowhere.

This small monument marks the divide between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans at the southernmost tip of Africa.

All that remains of a Japanese fishing vessel that ran aground in 1982.

An odd little fishing town that is inundated by tourists looking to be locked up in a cage and surrounded by great white sharks, because why not?

This African beach is home to thousands of rare mainland penguins that are known for their annoying voice.

This road winds through the steep coastal cliffside offering spectacular views for those who brave the drive.

Road signs in Namibia mark the location of one of the five major circles of latitude.

This "dead marsh" sits among the largest sand dunes in the world, a forest frozen in time.

The remains of diamond fever taken over by the desert.

A rare cluster of alien-like plants grows along a dusty highway.