Along the side of the road on a small Japanese island is an extensive garden of uniquely designed Shisa statues.

Ottoman-era houses lovingly preserved.

A fiery crater has been burning in the Karakum Desert since 1971.

Over the centuries, this island paradise has done it all, from providing monks with ecclesiastical respite to sheltering an exiled Leon Trotsky.

Have tea in a cemetery with a dazzling view of Istanbul.

A gorgeous, Gaudí-esque stairway constructed in the city of Istanbul by a prominent Jewish family.

A surprising and unconventional mosque hidden in the subsoil of Istanbul.

This column celebrates Rome's victory over the Goths, and may be the oldest Roman monument in Istanbul.

An Art Nouveau gem hides beneath the layers of city grime obscuring this once-magnificent building.

1513 Turkish world map, full of European state secrets and snarky commentary.

Quite possibly the oldest love poem known to humankind.

A fountain standing as a testament to a doomed alliance.

A small etching on the white marble parapet was written in runic script by a Viking mercenary.

Five sultans and their families rest in eternal splendor, teeming with overlooked beauty and drama.

This crucial gathering spot along the "hippie trail" still displays old notes between traveling beatniks and backpackers.

Legend says if you stick your thumb in the hole and it gets wet your wish will be granted.

A marvel of Byzantine engineering under the streets of Istanbul.

Three rooms of bones, curios, and one artist's collection of natural artifacts create this intriguing museum.

A modernist church in an ancient village.

An enchanting monastery in the Spanish countryside appears lifted from a fantasy tale.

A Spanish forest is filled with mysterious stone carvings.

A gravity-defying "devil's bridge" that has a surprising architectural feature for its stability.

A surrealist labyrinth and museum of contemporary sculptures.

One of Antoni Gaudí's least-visited works, an homage to Catalan patrimony that mixes neo-Gothic with Modernista forms.