Ancient snack bar of the Roman Empire re-opened.

The last moments of the ill-fated Pompeiians, frozen forever in plaster.

This amazingly well-preserved villa just outside Pompeii boasts rare examples of ancient Roman paintings.

This enormous censer uses a pulley system installed over 400 years ago.

An accidental trick of light casts the perfect shadow of a pilgrim of the Camino de Santiago against the cathedral wall.

Thanks to an acoustic anomaly, this unassuming stone bench has heard one hundred years of secrets.

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

The fire inside this temple has burned for more than 1,500 years.

A dreamy mausoleum honors Persia's most famous poet.

One of the largest and oldest caravansaries in Persia.

This ancient burial site is believed to be one of the first earthquake-protected structures in the world.

17th century mosque for Shah Abbas' harem.

The ancient necropolis houses the immense rock-cut tombs of four Persian kings.

Ancient structures used to make and preserve ice in the deserts of Persia.

Putrefaction plateaus in Iran, where the dead were sent for decontamination before going to their final resting place.

A spectacular rainbow of stained glass makes the "Pink Mosque" one of the most beautiful in Iran.

The palace of the King of Kings, burned by Alexander the Great.

Mirrors and glass shards cover every inch of this arrestingly beautiful mosque.

After this one-of-a-kind palace was built the architect's hands are said to have been cut off to keep it that way.

The burial place of an obscure North African saint was turned into a macabre body preservation factory for the 17th-century Neapolitan elite.

An underground paleo-Christian burial site composed of the remains of several cemeteries and Basilicas.

A labyrinth of ancient tunnels hidden below the city holds the ruins of 2,500 years of history.

Skulls from the plague of 1656 and World War II bombings are united by a cult dedicated to caring for the ancient dead.

The once forbidden "secret cabinet" of erotic art from excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.