The ancient abodes are a testament to human ingenuity amid harsh climates.

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

This 170-year-old Swiss guesthouse built into the side of a mountain is best accessed by a cable car.

A surreal landscape where fanged rocks rise from the ground and the ocean feels like a great mystery.

This ancient fortress in Iran was once the oldest and largest treasury in the world.

The ruins of an abandoned medieval city where the last Byzantine emperor was crowned.

Antique skeletons and taxidermy creatures were found crammed in a university closet.

More than 2 million Olive Ridley sea turtles are hatched from this mass nesting ground every year.

Why a column on the entrance is inscribed with a verse from the Quran is one of Sicily's many mysteries.

One home in the historic strip hides secret compartments and the ghostly songs of long-gone canaries.

This magical space partly designed by Antoni Gaudi is one of the best examples of romantic gardening in the Mediterranean.

The mosaic floor of a 4th-century synagogue features a pagan zodiac wheel alongside traditional images of a Torah ark and menorahs.

A collection of old neon signs from all over Poland line a secluded courtyard.

A small museum full of giant effigies of Bali's demons and monsters.

A sprawling ancient Jewish cemetery with over 30 rock-hewn burial caves.

The oldest Jewish cemetery in Southeast Asia is a monument to a disappearing community.

The remains of the wrecked steam trawler can be found on the beach at low tide.

A science fiction-inspired apartment building designed by a famous Spanish architect.

A little-visited waterfall in an otherworldly landscape.

A Milanese café entirely designed by the American director Wes Anderson.

This historic tall ship traveled 1.5 million miles around the globe, and once did duty as the mythical pirate ship in Peter Pan.

Long tunnels run under the ancient chariot racing circuit to the tower.

One of the most well-preserved temples of ancient Egypt.

An unusual and beautiful form of mass transit serves the city's steepest neighborhoods.