Visit the Aksum obelisks

Red-stone Jesuit mission, UNESCO-listed.

Xi'an's buried army of clay warriors.

The "museum without walls": grassy royal burial mounds, the Cheomseongdae observatory and Silla-dynasty treasures across the town.

Ancient city of the Sun and Moon pyramids.

Ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire.

Boulder-strewn ruins of the Vijayanagara empire along the Tungabhadra river.

Sanctuary of Apollo on the slopes of Mount Parnassus — home of the ancient oracle.

Sanctuary of Zeus where the Olympic Games were held for a thousand years — stadium, temples and the workshop of Phidias.