This otherworldly palace-mausoleum complex is the stuff eternal dreams are made of.

More than half of this Indian palace is drowned but it looks all the more spectacular for it.

This complex of vertically-excavated Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu monolithic temples in India's Maharashtra providence illustrates a spirit of tolerance characteristic of ancient India.

A mecca for India's Jains.

Once an indicator of social class, the color blue has come to define this city on the edge of the Thar Desert.

Centuries-old bridges grown from tangled roots.

The 953 windows undoubtedly make this the world's most beautiful screened porch.

Thousands of exquisitely carved stone water storage wells, hundreds of stone steps fill this exquisite medieval stepwell.

The first version of this stalwart construction appeared around 3,000 years ago.

A building facade covered with the statues of 11 giants of Tajik literature.

This cavernous swimming spot doubles as a home to the largest known colony of bats in Central Asia.

Final palace complex of the last of 29 Kokand rulers.

Former island in the Aral Sea used to be a top-secret Russian bio-weapons facility.

Ancient barriers wrap around what was once an important stop along the Silk Road.

The Avenue of Mausolea is a series of grand palatial tombs.

This ominous Albanian fortress houses tanks and downed planes as a reminder of their victories over Western imperialism.

The elliptical citadel resisted the advance of the mighty Ottomans several times, thanks to the military prowess of the "Dragon of Albania."

A medieval bridge stretches over a sulfur-rich river that leads to year-round natural hot springs.

An Albanian monument to the Communism that nearly crushed the country is now a crumbling wreck.

A solar-powered primary school inspires hope and experimentation in a country ripe for energy innovation.

Space-age monument to an early 20th-century uprising.

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

Rusting ships sit in a desert where a sea used to be.

A boulder carved into the shape of the cosmonaut's head.