Underneath this Byzantinian church lies a necropolis filled with ancient tombs and the ruins of previous churches.

Rebuilt several decades ago, its striking murals prevent it from being reconsecrated as a church.

Sofia's legislative center is continuously reinventing itself.

A vast Communist-era exhibition space in the Bulgarian capital.

A gigantic statue of a Russian soldier watches over the ancient city of Plovdiv, a prominent reminder of the Soviet period in Bulgaria.

"Holy Wisdom" overlooks the city that became its namesake.

Eastern Bloc nostalgia, anybody?

"Unity, Creativity, Beauty."

A mountain pass in Bulgaria's Balkan Mountains was the site of four historic battles.

The remarkably well-preserved final resting place of a powerful ancient Thracian king.

This ancient theater, restored in the 20th century, lives on as a venue for dramatic and musical performances.

This once-grandiose behemoth of a monument from the socialist era now sits quiet and closed up.

A collection of art from Bulgaria's time as a communist state.

This massive concrete sculpture is said to be the heaviest communist monument on Earth.

An abandoned saucer-shaped monument in the Bulgarian mountains.

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

Once a farming community founded by the Italian survivors of an immigration scam, this colony is now a free camp and roadside attraction.

This local emblem is the oldest and largest dragon tree in the Canary Islands.

Each spring, a dreamlike carpet of bluebells overtakes the forest floor.

The world's oldest rose is so tough it survived being bombed in World War II.

It would be easy to walk past this unusual piece of art and have no idea it pays tribute to the odd life of a real chicken.

If you forgot something to read during your trip to Tokyo, this hostel has you covered.

A library where thousands of books explain how to avoid another Great Recession.

A metal ring in the middle of the road marks the exact spot where the Soviet satellite crash-landed in 1962.