The abandoned palace stands as a wounded but proud beacon of Afghan hope.

This magnificent blue mosque in Afghanistan is surrounded by thousands of white doves.

Despite a history of destruction, this former citadel survives to document Afghanistan's oft overlooked history.

Once an impressive link to Afghanistan’s Buddhist past, now a sad reminder of intolerance towards other cultures.

Splashes of blue in an otherwise monotonous lunar landscape.

This bazaar is one of the oldest in the Arabian world.

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

An imposing Omani fortress surrounded by date palm trees.

Traditional architecture and ancient irrigation systems are on display in this gorgeous mountain village.

Groups of prehistoric tombs that dot the mountains of northern Oman.

This beautifully restored fortification kept the city safe for centuries.

A sinkhole and now a swimming hole, too, full of dazzling turquoise water.

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

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

Rimmed by white crusts of salt on every edge, Lac Assal is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world.

A surprising number of shipwrecks visible just off the Somaliland coast.

A MiG-17 fighter jet sits atop this memorial to the indiscriminate bombardment of Hargeisa.

This cave located in the badlands of Somaliland contains some of the oldest cave art in Africa.

This vestige of Seychelles’s colonial past now resides in a busy intersection and didn’t chime for its first 96 years.

The remains of a 19th-century school and living quarters are perched atop a mountain surrounded by a thick tropical forest.

A British general, a suggestive tree, a map of paradise.

Every hour on the hour a naked heroine and her leering foil appear from this giant cuckoo clock.

The bombed out remains of the old church were kept intact next to the new one, as a reminder of the futility of war.