The country’s first escalator is located in department store filled with batiks and beautiful Indonesian products.

Dedicated to a Bolshevik revolutionary, this museum is a true time capsule of the Soviet era.

Time capsule of a museum, in which the Soviet Union remains alive and kicking.

A Stalinist prison camp for the wives and children of men accused of betraying the Soviet state is now a memorial museum.

An entertainment center in a huge transparent tent.

Iconic pyramid from famed British architect Norman Foster designed to represent all of the world's religious faiths.

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.

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

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

This sprawling market is a one-stop shop for traditional Kazakh foods, from mare’s milk to sheep’s head.

Controversially restored in the 1970s, this giant 15th-century mosque is shrouded in legend.

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

An 18-meter-long sarcophagus of a constantly growing dead prophet.

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

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

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

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

An underground world of gorgeous, palatial metro stations designed as a nuclear shelter complex.

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

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

Where Stoddart and Connolly suffered in the infamous Bug Pit.

The octagonal tower at this important Buddhist site was added many years after the temple's initial construction.

A bulky, ancient stupa marks the site of Siddhartha Gautama's seminal Buddhist teaching.