This mysterious abandoned fort looks like something pulled right from Arabian legend.

An imposing Omani fortress surrounded by date palm trees.

This bazaar is one of the oldest in the Arabian world.

This spectacular mosque houses the second-largest chandelier in the world.

This beautifully restored fortification kept the city safe for centuries.

These gnarly desert trees produce the prized aromatic resin traded along the ancient incense trail.

One of Yemen’s oldest and most beautiful mosques was named for the incredible, historical queen buried inside it.

A mesmerizing reservoir nestled at the heart of a pre-Islamic Yemeni village.

A nearly abandoned Jewish settlement perched atop a hill in the heart of Yemen.

Yemen's "Stone Palace" looks like it was carved right out of the tall stone column on which it is built.

A city built from mud and known as the "Manhattan of the desert."

The tallest minaret in Yemen is 150 feet high and entirely made of mud.

A giant bisected onion dome remembers the Iraqis who died in the Iran-Iraq War.

9th century Abbasid mosque, damaged in modern warfare.

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

Giant reed houses made in the marshes of Southern Iraq.

A shrine on the shores of the Tigris.

One of the holiest Shi'i shrines in Iran honors the life and death of a learned noblewoman who became a saint.

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

Mirrors and glass shards cover every inch of this arrestingly beautiful mosque.

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.

These little castles each held thousands of pigeons.

This 17th-century structure is a beautiful testimony to traditional Persian architecture