This spectacular mosque houses the second-largest chandelier in the world.

Where artisans use centuries-old techniques to build traditional Arabian ships.

This lonely tomb is all that remains of a once-bustling ancient trade hub visited by Marco Polo.

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

The oldest surviving mosque in the UAE has mysterious origins and unusual architecture.

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

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

This 12,000 year old Iranian cave village has been continuously inhabited for over 3,000 years.

A dreamy mausoleum honors Persia's most famous poet.

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

Marked by the hand of the explorer Henry Morton Stanley.

The hottest, driest, and most scenic desert on Earth.

One of the world's largest salt caves is filled with fragile salt sculptures, salt rivers, and huge salt megadomes.

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

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.

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

This vast, water-filled underground labyrinth can only be toured by boat.

The sacred shrine of the Yazidis.

Ancient rock-cut tomb? Definitely. That of a great Median king? Unlikely.

This beautiful arched gate is all that remains of the fortress the ancient mountaintop town of Amadiya once was.

An ancient sanctuary that has long been a holy site for the Chaldean Christian Church.

An ancient fortified mound raised over the millennia from settlements built one on top of the other.

A bloody history is captured in this former prison turned museum.

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