This statue took 60 years to complete.

This enormous gold Buddha statue was hidden inside a stucco decoy for centuries.

A shrine built to combat the bad karma of a commercial venture.

An enormous Soviet aircraft, the only one of its kind, stands at the deserted shore of the Caspian Sea.

What might be the largest completely Jewish town in the world outside of Israel now faces dwindling numbers and empty streets.

The building's fluid, wavelike walls are a true feat of architectural ingenuity.

A unique museum dedicated to culture and artistry of carpet weaving.

A shrine of fire worship built on top of a natural flame.

Unusual building appears to be haphazardly built from randomly piled bricks.

The secret room where early Bolsheviks cranked out propaganda fliers on a smuggled printing press.

This extensive collection of vintage Soviet cars is the only one of its kind in the Caucasus.

Small church on top of a huge rock column.

Take respite inside this jaw-dropping church while climbing the volcano where Georgia's Prometheus was once chained.

The decaying remains of a once-luxurious Soviet spa town.

Once a luxurious flagship of the Soviet Union, this Brutalist structure remains a landmark of Tashkent’s communist past.

These Stalin-era industrial 'death traps' hang lifeless above the city

This attraction was abandoned after the Chernobyl disaster.

The ghost town left by the worst nuclear disaster of all time is being taken over by nature and urban explorers.

Prowl through this sprawling bazaar under a massive Soviet-era dome for delicious eats.

In Kazakhstan, a colorful cathedral with many lives once survived the most powerful earthquake in the region.

This Soviet statue is based on a piece of propaganda that's been elevated to national myth.

A modern tower, symbolizing the legend of a golden egg on top of the tree of life.

Beatlemania is still going strong... at least in Kazakhstan.

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