Celebrated as a center of civilization, the remains of the ancient city have been nearly destroyed by greed, egoism, and war.

9th century Abbasid mosque, damaged in modern warfare.

A shrine on the shores of the Tigris.

This beautiful arched gate is all that remains of the fortress the ancient mountaintop town of Amadiya once was.

Mysterious hillside with a continuously burning natural fire.

A shrine of fire worship built on top of a natural flame.

The building's fluid, wavelike walls are a true feat of architectural ingenuity.

The most visited pilgrimage site in Armenia once held a saint in a pit for 13 years.

She asked for a potato cellar and over the next 23 years he gave her a network of holy caves.

Right up until the 20th century this network of man-made caves was the biggest village in Eastern Armenia.

A geological oddity topped with a 2,000-year-old pagan temple.

This Armenian monastery was carved out of cliffs and named after the spear used to stab Jesus.