Carvings in Turkey's Marble Road may have directed ancient Romans to a hidden brothel.

The ancient latrines of the Greeks, in all their public glory.

This crumbling medieval basilica once attracted pilgrims by the thousands to collect a miraculous dust that formed above the saint's tomb.

This eatery re-creates dishes from the Ottoman Empire so you can dine like a sultan.

The home-turned-museum of Barış Manço, the mustachioed Turkish Elvis for children.

No one is sure if the world's fourth-largest diamond had been found in a rubbish heap or was pawned by Napoleon's mom.

Step back in time and witness the fall of Constantinople.

This museum was invented in a novel before being made real by the author.

1513 Turkish world map, full of European state secrets and snarky commentary.

Turkish adventurer antiques in the heart of the Grand Bazaar.

Five sultans and their families rest in eternal splendor, teeming with overlooked beauty and drama.

A marvel of Byzantine engineering under the streets of Istanbul.

What if all public housing projects had been designed by "the Pygmalion of modern architecture," not only their prototype?

Thousands of costumed dolls fill one of the world's creepiest museums.

Museum celebrating the ocean, with the largest wunderkammer dedicated to sea exploration.

A sculpture serving as an homage to Pope John Paul II.

Stone memorial that's said to predict the death of the pope and the site of the Cadaver Synod.

The first Russian Orthodox church in the Catholic city of Rome in almost a thousand years.

An abandoned Roman salami factory has found new life as an art space home to 200 squatters.

A modern sliver of architecture in Roma.

An enigmatic modern marker left next to a historic Roman site.

This delightful little museum is dedicated to only one thing: pasta.

An Italian ghost town that fought obscurity, until a mysterious illness brought it to its knees.

This hidden Art Nouveau courtyard is an opulent feast for the eyes.