Burj Khalifa, Dubai

Photograph by LOOK/Alamy

The observation deck at the Burj Khalifa—the tallest building in the world at 2,716.5 feet—offers a panoramic view of the flat desert shores of sea-level Dubai. The building took seven years to build and holds a number of other records, including most number of stories, highest outdoor observation deck, and tallest service elevator.

 

Northern Lights, Iceland

Photograph by Ragnar Th Sigurdsson, Arctic Images/Alamy

The aurora borealis flashes over the Hotel Ion near Thingvellir National Park in southwestern Iceland. Auroras occur when charged particles outside Earth’s atmosphere collide with atoms in the upper atmosphere. Iceland’s cool, crisp evenings provide the perfect backdrop for the sky show.

 

Guggenheim Museum, Spain

Photograph by Allan Baxter, Getty Images

A bronze spider towers 30 feet above a plaza at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. “Maman,” created by French-American artist Louise Bourgeois, is more than 30 feet wide and includes a sac of 26 marble eggs.

 

Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Photograph by Dave Yoder, National Geographic

A prayer hall in the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi can accommodate thousands of worshippers upon its hand-knotted carpet, believed to be the world’s largest. The mosque, an Abu Dhabi landmark, houses the mausoleum of the late president for whom it is named.

 

Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Photograph by Jonathan Garcia, Your Shot

A grove of 18 “supertrees”—vertical gardens up to 164 feet tall that capture rainwater and filter exhaust—are capped with solar panels that provide energy to light up the trees at night. The grove is part of Gardens by the Bay, an 11-million-square-foot complex that fights Singapore’s heat island effect with botanical bliss.

 

Arches National Park, Utah

Photograph by Raul Touzon, National Geographic

Most of the arches, spires, and pinnacles in Utah’s Arches National Park are made of soft red sandstone deposited 150 million years ago. In addition to formations like the Courthouse Towers, pictured here, the park is home to more than 2,000 natural arches—the greatest concentration in the U.S.

Roman Forum, Italy

Photograph by Richard I’Anson, Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images

During the thousand years it was in use, the Foro Romano (Roman Forum) evolved from a primitive marketplace into the command center of an empire. Home to Rome’s most important legal, political, and triumphal monuments, the forum also served as an area of public gatherings and celebrations. Time has taken its toll, leaving most of the buildings in ruins; only five are still reasonably intact.

 

Mostar Bridge, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Photograph by Ivan Blazhev/Anzenberger/Redux

A crescent in stone, a humpbacked bridge spans the Neretva River at Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The bridge was built in 1566 on Sultan Süleyman’s orders to replace a nearby chain bridge deemed unsafe by his subjects. Known as the Stari (short for Stari Most, “the old bridge”), the span was destroyed by war in 1993 but rebuilt with help from the international community.

 

Ortakoy Mosque, Istanbul

Photograph by Frank Heuer, laif/Redux

A vast suspension bridge crosses the Bosporus strait, connecting Asia and Europe in Istanbul, the cosmopolitan heart of Turkey—and the only city to span two continents. Aglow in the evening, a mosque in the Orkatoy neighborhood appears to anchor the European section of the city.

 

Citadel in Amman, Jordan

Photograph by Ali Jarekji, Reuters

The silver light of a snowy day sharpens the Citadel in downtown Amman, Jordan. The ancient fortress and site of Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad ruins is a popular tourist attraction in the Hashemite Kingdom. Nearby is the small National Archaeological Museum.