Looking for a unifying history, Uzbekistan finds its answer in a 14th Century Turco-Mongol conqueror... despite the fact he wasn't Uzbek.

This 100-foot tall tombstone memorializes victims of 40 years of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan.

A collection of Lenin busts and other Soviet Era statues sit idly behind the Semipalatinsk Hotel.

This sprawling market is a one-stop shop for traditional Kazakh foods, from mare’s milk to sheep’s head.

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

This Soviet-era athletic and recreation facility is the highest ice skating rink in the world.

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

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

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

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

This stretch of beach along California's central coast is a busy highway for the largest seal in the northern hemisphere.

Centuries of crashing waves carved out this small hole in the rock, which lights up at certain parts of the year.

This little valley along Highway 1 is engulfed by thousands of lilies during the spring season.

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

Concrete strongholds stand guard over the Golden Gate.

This sculpture commemorates Edinburgh's sister city and their respective celebrity dogs.

A statue in the heart of Edinburgh honors a bear that served in the Polish military during World War II.

Eat a tasty meal in the house where John Steinbeck was born.

One poet's handmade, anachronistic home.

Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

This otherwise ordinary close on the Royal Mile constituted the end of the world for Edinburgh’s poorest residents.

Touching this 18th-century Scottish philosopher’s toe allegedly conjures good fortune.

17th century streets hidden under Edinburgh were once a breeding ground for the black death.

The colorful stairs are made with marble from the world's major quarries.