Yazd's old quarters are just one of those fine travel surprises, which you probably hardly have heard about (until now). It's among one of the oldest towns in the world and the beautiful old city is still inhabited. A maze of narrow passageways between the adobe houses will get you lost in no time. Most houses are topped of with a so called windcatcher or badger, that is an ancient air-con system. The city was a major stop on the ancient silk route and Marco Polo passed through at some time.

The most impressive crusader castle in Jordan. It was build by the crusaders in mid 12th-century to control the trade route from Damascus to Mecca and Egypt. Forty years later it felt into the hands of the Muslim army lead by Saladin after a remarkable siege where the castle got bombarded by catapults from the hill opposite. In mid 13th-century it was taken over by Mamluks who added to the fortified castle. As with many other crusader leftovers it's a mix of style and architecture created over several centuries, which you can still differentiate today.

Once the highest building in the world, but are now degraded to the tallest twin towers. Build in 1998 and raising almost a half kilomter (451.9m) towards the sky. There are 88 floors, but the tallest observation deck for the public is disappointingly only on the bottom level of the double decked skybridge on 41st and 42nd floors. The rest of the building is boring office space and off limits. The towers are constructed based Islamic design and Chinese numerolgy (8 is a lucky number... the 88 floors, octagonal plan, etc. ) and is a fairly impressive sight, especially at night when the glass and steel structure lights up.

These adobe huts do look like something from deep Africa. In ancient times they were used as housing, but today they are merely storeroom and chicken shelters. A few villagers outside Hama still have them clustered next to their a bit more ordinary house. You have to trespass their courtyard to get a closer look, and it seems at bit random whether the people want to show them to you. Some want a bit of money, but most villagers are friendly and just watchful for their vegetables, making sure you not stepping on them. You can see the houses on the road from Al-Hamra village to Qasr ibn Warden, a small ruin of a Byzantine sandstone palace in the middle of the plain.

Taipei 101 is sticking more than half a kilometre into the sky (509.2m) and has 101 floors above ground and 5 under. It was once the tallest building in the world, but is today overtaken by Burj Dubai in the United Arabic Emirates. It's an impressive construction shaped like bamboo with a size that is hard to grasp no matter where you stand in Taipei. It's possible to visit the observatory decks at the 89th (inside) and 91st (outside) floor for a fee. The lower levels are of course shopping malls and office space.