The most metal church of all time was built in record time because of an international, pious pissing contest.

Ancient serpentine sacrifice holder that has stood the test of time.

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

An Art Nouveau gem hides beneath the layers of city grime obscuring this once-magnificent building.

This remarkably well-preserved Egyptian plinth is pretty well traveled for a giant piece of stone.

The hallucinogenic center of the ancient world.

The ruins of an ancient Roman tomb hidden in the basement of a trendy clothing store.

150 or so scrounged-up lamps, chandeliers, and lanterns light up this alley in central Athens.

This ancient Greek place of assembly and marketplace is being revealed layer by layer below the modern Athens cityscape.

Where commuters walk through remnants of an ancient Greek necropolis.

This small 16th-century church in Athens is almost entirely surrounded by a modern building.

The only surviving choragic monument is a trophy awarded in 334 BC for the winning dramatic chorus.

Marked by the hand of the explorer Henry Morton Stanley.

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

17th century mosque for Shah Abbas' harem.

This ancient burial site is believed to be one of the first earthquake-protected structures in the world.

This vast, water-filled underground labyrinth can only be toured by boat.

In this tiny Iranian town playing on the roof isn't just encouraged, it's the only place to go.

The palace of the King of Kings, burned by Alexander the Great.

A graveyard and memorial chapel for victims of leprosy.

According to legend a man pooped out the window of this tower to prove that it was straight.

This famed marionette theater and museum is bursting with imaginative string puppets.

A memorial for a young woman and her ghost, which are claimed to have caused countless deathly shipwrecks.

Legendary site where an evil bishop was devoured by rodents.