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

A dreamy mausoleum honors Persia's most famous poet.

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

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.

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

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

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

The controversial final resting place of the equally controversial first president of Turkmenistan.

A dictator's gold statue once rotated to face the sun on a 75-meter high marble tower.

Sumptous memorial to a controversial independence.

A huge monument to a bizarre book written by Turkmenistan’s longstanding dictator.

If you want to get married in the White Marble City of Ashgabat, you should do it in this surreal disco ball building.

This famed Silk Road oasis was one of the largest cities in the world before it was destroyed by a Mongol horde.

Lonely minaret stump of a destroyed city.

Giant cauldrons overflow with Uzbekistan's favorite rice dish at this cavernous dining hall.

This "tower of death" has acted as an observatory, a religious hub, and an executioner's lair.

Light still pours into the ruins of this ancient Islamic observatory.

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

Gargantuan home of Russian science.

One of the world's tallest statues is also one of its most hated.

Moscow's most popular cemetery includes the graves of numerous cosmonauts.

World's largest bell sits on the grounds of the Kremlin in Moscow.