Hidden in the shadow of a rocky fortress is one concubine’s long-forgotten legacy.

This hilltop warren of monastic dwellings is the result of centuries worth of Mongol attacks.

A complex of six forts embedded in the Rajasthan hills.

An extraordinary "City of Caves" carved from solid stone.

This magnificent stepwell is designed as an inverted temple and adorned with 1,500 sculptures.

Rock-cut cave complex filled with ancient Buddhist artwork.

This otherworldly palace-mausoleum complex is the stuff eternal dreams are made of.

The remains of what was, not so long ago, the world's largest city.

The second-longest continuous wall on the planet protects a hidden secret in the deserts of India.

A mecca for India's Jains.

This complex of vertically-excavated Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu monolithic temples in India's Maharashtra providence illustrates a spirit of tolerance characteristic of ancient India.

Thousands of exquisitely carved stone water storage wells, hundreds of stone steps fill this exquisite medieval stepwell.

This 7th-century monastery was sacked by Saladin.

The medieval center of the Islamic world was also once the seat of Saladin's sultanate.

A hyper-remote desert cave dramatized in "The English Patient."

Part shoe store, part sociopolitical art gallery, part zoo.

It might not be the prettiest pyramid in Egypt, but it may be the muddiest.

This unassuming tree stump reportedly traces its roots to the famous pharaoh queen's reign.

The deadliest diving spot in the world is also a stunning geological marvel.

Brightly painted boulders scattered throughout the Sinai Desert.

One of its engravings is believed to be among the first representations of medical and surgical instruments.

The largest known Ancient Egyptian obelisk.

A massive work of modern art that appears to be a crop circle in the middle of the desert.

An endless sea of white conical domes.