This column celebrates Rome's victory over the Goths, and may be the oldest Roman monument in Istanbul.

Ottoman-era houses lovingly preserved.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

The eccentric midcentury home of a suspected mafia gun-runner.

This shuttered power plant is now Turkey's first industrial archaeology museum.

Large miniature theme park with 100-plus models.

Hidden just under the waters around this Turkish island are the ruins of a once great city.

Step back in time and witness the fall of Constantinople.

Housed in an old British jail, this spot serves up Georgian, Russian, and Ukrainian specialities with a side of Turkish history.

Turkish adventurer antiques in the heart of the Grand Bazaar.

A section of the long chain that blocked enemy ships from entering Constantinople.

A tiny park in the middle of some big power politics.

A meow-velous tribute to a beloved street cat, made famous on the internet.

The best-preserved ancient theater in the world.

This Peruvian bone silo lined with hanging human skeletons and hundreds of skulls is topped with a remarkable Michelangelo replica.

While not Turkey's deepest underground city, this subterranean redoubt is the largest.

Artfully arranged bones of 5,800 Austrians.

Over the centuries, this island paradise has done it all, from providing monks with ecclesiastical respite to sheltering an exiled Leon Trotsky.

Live a night as a Byzantine King, with a minibar and private jacuzzi.

Skulls from the plague of 1656 and World War II bombings are united by a cult dedicated to caring for the ancient dead.

In this historic region, homes and churches are carved into ancient volcanic rock formations.

The crypt of the imposing Stephensdom holds royal intestines and thousands of skeletons.

Underneath this small church are 15,000 bones, arranged by an obsessive academic.

Mummified monks and the accidentally interred, in a 17th-century crypt.