A collection of Lenin busts and other Soviet Era statues sit idly behind the Semipalatinsk Hotel.

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

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

The remains of a monument in the remote Kazakhstani desert dedicated to the only men to die in outer space, the crew of the Soyuz 11 rocket.

An entertainment center in a huge transparent tent.

This unique wooden mosque resembling a Chinese pagoda was said to be built without the use of nails.

An abandoned Soviet-era mining town in the mountains of South Kazakhstan.

The lovely lake that was naturally dammed, then naturally destroyed, then unnaturally saved.

Mysterious spherical rocks in the semi-desert of western Kazakhstan.

Rusting ships sit in a desert where a sea used to be.

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

Home to what was once considered the largest gate in central Asia.

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

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

More than 10,000 small mirrors cover the curved surface of the world's second-largest solar oven, located in a remote village in Uzbekistan.

Witness traditional silk production in the Uzbek city that's been a hub of sericulture for over a thousand years.

The heartbeat of modern Uzbekistan’s thriving market culture.

Touching displays of wishes for peace from the Cold War era.

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

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

The ruins of an ancient Zoroastrian Tower of Silence believed to be the earliest example of the traditional funerary practice.

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

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

Former island in the Aral Sea used to be a top-secret Russian bio-weapons facility.