An ocean in the making, in the Ethiopian desert.

An Ethiopian cloud forest protects some of the last wild arabica plants.

A salt lake dotted with steaming limestone chimneys.

Rusting railcars and locomotive equipment fill this Ethiopian train graveyard.

The world's largest bioluminescent area was undiscovered by science until 2005.

A surprising number of shipwrecks visible just off the Somaliland coast.

The medieval castle built as headquarters for the Pope's secretive Knights Templar.

The ancient sauropod tracks found in this former quarry are some of the largest in the world.

This abandoned fortress still stands guard over the Guadiana River despite a history of warfare.

An eccentric dictator's take on a Turkmen version of Disneyland.

If you want to get married in the White Marble City of Ashgabat, you should do it in this surreal disco ball building.

A memorial to the thousands of Turkmen soldiers and civilians who died in a bloody 1881 battle.

This cavernous swimming spot doubles as a home to the largest known colony of bats in Central Asia.

This "tower of death" has acted as an observatory, a religious hub, and an executioner's lair.

Ancient barriers wrap around what was once an important stop along the Silk Road.

These "50 Fortresses" have been unearthed in the ancient oasis of Khwarezm.

The ruins of an ancient Zoroastrian Tower of Silence believed to be the earliest example of the traditional funerary practice.

Few people have ever heard of, let alone visited, one of Turkmenistan’s most impressive natural attractions.

The remains of a medieval city loom in one of the most isolated desert regions of Turkmenistan.

The hottest, driest, and most scenic desert on Earth.

This famed Silk Road oasis was one of the largest cities in the world before it was destroyed by a Mongol horde.

This remarkable cave was discovered after a shepherd watched bees enter and exit through a small fissure.

This wrecked ghost ship has been rusting on a Greek beach since the 1980s.

The ruins of an abandoned medieval city where the last Byzantine emperor was crowned.