In the middle of a barren desert, a massive, solitary rocky thumb juts out.

These towering cliffs jut dramatically from the middle of a barren desert.

Village of slate houses, built on a white marble outcrop.

More than 100 monumental tombs carved into rock are preserved at this ancient Nabataean site in the Arabian Desert.

An unfinished tomb carved into a giant boulder in the Arabian Desert.

This Roman statue is missing a limb from when the Venetians stole it from Constantinople during the Crusades.

Hanging within this medieval church are the bones of a beast allegedly slain by a fourth-century saint.

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.

A sinister pyramid in the Frari contains the heart of the famous neoclassical sculptor.

Go inside to really appreciate this 500-year-old technological masterpiece.

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats.

As can be expected from a centuries old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.

Read a book with a glass of wine at this classically restored bar.

One of Antoni Gaudí’s earliest buildings, built between 1886 and 1890 for the industrialist Eusebi Güell.

Catalonia Tradition: Beating the hollow Christmas log until it defecates in your fireplace.

A cemetery in Barcelona's Poblenou district is home to this touching funerary statue, which depicts death in the form of a winged skeleton.

Mountain where Jesus was first tempted by the Devil.

Week-long block party becomes a competition for the best decorated street.

The only residents of this abandoned housing development full of identical castles are stray cats and dogs.

A Turkish monastery tucked into a cliff wall.

Standing proud atop a Turkish bluff, this Ottoman palace has retained its grandeur despite being abandoned for centuries.

The crypt of the imposing Stephensdom holds royal intestines and thousands of skeletons.

This crucial gathering spot along the "hippie trail" still displays old notes between traveling beatniks and backpackers.