A hyper-remote desert cave dramatized in "The English Patient."

A strange aquarium with stuffed fish, and almost no water for them to swim in.

This unassuming tree stump reportedly traces its roots to the famous pharaoh queen's reign.

The deadliest diving spot in the world is also a stunning geological marvel.

Egyptian treasure trove of fossils documenting the whale's transition from land mammal to sea creature.

In Egypt's expanding metro area, many of the neighbors are dead.

An abandoned outdoor movie theater in the Sinai desert.

These pillars are one of the few remnants from the mysterious lost empire of Makuria.

One of the largest early 20th-century bridges in Sudan.

The largest covered bazaar in the world.

This mosque turned crypt is an amazing display of Persian-Islamic architecture.

This remote mountain shrine is one of the most sacred Zoroastrian temples remaining in the world.

The most sacred Jewish shrine in Iran and a fine example of restoration works gone wrong.

A graveyard of old and rare planes that once were the glory of Persian aviation.

One of the holiest Shi'i shrines in Iran honors the life and death of a learned noblewoman who became a saint.

One of the world's largest shopping malls covers an area of 15 million square feet—and it's still set to grow.

Colorful mineral deposits turn these mountains into an Impressionist fantasy.

Marked by the hand of the explorer Henry Morton Stanley.

Iranian tombstones shaped like male and female sexual organs.

This circular Iranian jail was once a political prison run by the country's secret police.

This 17th-century structure is a beautiful testimony to traditional Persian architecture

This 12,000 year old Iranian cave village has been continuously inhabited for over 3,000 years.

Named after a legendary garden called Eram in southern Arabia, built by order of Shaddad, an Arab king who wanted to compete with Paradise.

Long before air conditioning, Persian architects found an ingenious way to cool off.