A fiery crater has been burning in the Karakum Desert since 1971.

Sumptous memorial to a controversial independence.

A dictator's gold statue once rotated to face the sun on a 75-meter high marble tower.

A cave covered with bizarre stalactites of cloth.

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

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

Giant cauldrons overflow with Uzbekistan's favorite rice dish at this cavernous dining hall.

Looking for a unifying history, Uzbekistan finds its answer in a 14th Century Turco-Mongol conqueror... despite the fact he wasn't Uzbek.

One of the most ethnically diverse spots on the planet.

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

Final palace complex of the last of 29 Kokand rulers.

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

Light still pours into the ruins of this ancient Islamic observatory.

Once a bustling fishing port, this semi-ghost town is now more than 90 miles away from the shore.

The Avenue of Mausolea is a series of grand palatial tombs.

The remains of an ancient city-state along the Silk Road.

The largest Lenin statue in Central Asia was moved to an empty field rather than being destroyed.

Where the father of Persian poetry is laid to rest.

This ancient Silk Road outpost overlooking the Wakhan Valley is miraculously still standing.

This dark, damp, perilous tunnel is the only passage from north to south Tajikistan.

This medieval citadel once guarded the western entrance of the Pamir Highway.

A building facade covered with the statues of 11 giants of Tajik literature.

The largest dam in the world and the site of a potential disaster.

This remote, abandoned Soviet observatory promises spectacular views for those who can reach it.