The alleged house of the Virgin Mary is tucked away in a park and nature preserve on Mt. Koressos in Turkey and is holy to both Catholics and Muslims alike.

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

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

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

This Russian religious complex is a Frankenstein's chapel that includes influence from almost all the major faiths.

Now a memorial, this factory was once used as a concentration camp for artists by the Vichy government.

Balconies that have a most unusual accent.

A French library that makes sure its love of books is writ large... giant in fact.

700 iron sculptures crammed into a Mediterranean park.

Longest canal tunnel in the world, abandoned in the 1960s.

For a brief time in 1960s France, families could climb into a tiny submarine and be pulled along an underwater journey.

"Drunken ship" sculpture memorializing the French poet in the city where he died.

Sky ships, planes, and portraits left as unique tokens of hope and thankfulness.

What if all public housing projects had been designed by "the Pygmalion of modern architecture," not only their prototype?

This historic island prison holds one of the dungeons from the Count of Monte Cristo even though it is a work of fiction.

Buddha and Jesus tower over this French mountainside headquarters of the Aumism religious cult.

Former bridge turned into an observation tower.

Artist Danielle Jacqui decorates nearly every inch of her home inside and out with her work.

One architect's organic, human-centric design has been fully realized in this alien art house.

Artist's eccentric property excessively decorated with found objects and work of his own.

This massive blockhead sculpture hides an entire library.

A medieval military street hidden beneath a charming French fishing village.

Nearly every wall in this French villa has been "tattooed" by artist Jean Cocteau and other famous painters.

Lyon's miniature version of the Eiffel Tower was built as a statement in support of French secularism.