Nature's water park in the Wadi Bani Awf valley is full of pools flanked with cliffs and natural water slides.

A sinkhole and now a swimming hole, too, full of dazzling turquoise water.

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.

Granny Smiths and Fujis can both be traced back to Kazakhstan, where apples still grow wild.

Once part of an ancient international harbor, it's now an all-you-can-eat shrimp buffet for flamingos and other water birds.

The ancient mosaics here are considered among the finest in the world, and serve as a stunning record of Greco-Roman daily life.

The water here is so clear you can see the mysteriously sunken ship from the surface.

A replica of a famous Greek statue adorns the front of the unusual home of architect and alchemist Humberto Pittamiglio.

A valley of unique erosion patterns lends to a view like nothing on Earth.

A seemingly endless landscape of pure salt stretches far across Bolivia.

The remains of Uruguayan hero José Artigas lie beneath a monument in Montevideo’s main square.

This historic fort overlooks Montevideo and appears on Uruguay’s coat of arms.

Village of slate houses, built on a white marble outcrop.

Because sometimes the most efficient route from A to B isn't a straight line.

It's not hard to see why the historic Peabody Conservatory of Music's library has been described as a "cathedral of books."

This free, take-a-book shop seems like a trick but isn't.

The enormous diamond-shaped building packs a trove of academic and literary treasures into one futuristic space.

Some 20,000 dust-covered unwanted vehicles languish in the desert.

A creepy, deserted mock Arabian village can be found in the middle of the Qatari desert.

This futuristic building is yet another architectural wonder in Dubai.

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

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

A unique configuration of blown glass can be found inside this hotel lobby.

This indoor ski resort has a mountain contained inside a mall.