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A 65-foot statue of Buddha within one of 130 caves in northwest China is threatened by erosion and earthquakes.

Endangered Site: Xumishan Grottoes, China

This collection of ancient Buddhist cave temples date back to the fifth and tenth centuries, A.D.

Hasankeyf is home to thousands of human-made caves, hundreds of medieval monuments and a rich-ecosystem.

Endangered Site: The City of Hasankeyf, Turkey

A new hydroelectric dam threatens the ancient city, home to thousands of human-made caves

Circular earthworks mark the center of the 510-foot-high "spiritual heart of Ireland," now threatened by a seemingly unstoppable four-lane highway.

Ireland’s Endangered Cultural Site

A new tollway threatens the archaeologically rich Hill of Tara that is the spiritual heart of the country

Once the capital of an empire, Chan Chan was the largest adobe city on earth.

Endangered Site: Chan Chan, Peru

About 600 years ago, this city on the Pacific coast was the largest city in the Americas

At the Church of the Nativity, three rival Christian groups use their caretaking duties to maintain their claims to the basiilica.

Endangered Site: Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem

The basilica believed to mark the birthplace of Jesus Christ has survived invasions, rebellions and earthquakes

Not for nothing is Italy's Fenestrelle Fortress know as "Great Wall of the Alps." Covering 320 acres, it is one of the largest fortified structures in Europe.

Endangered Site: Fenestrelle Fortress, Italy

The “Great Wall of the Alps” covers 320 acres and is one of the largest fortified structures in Europe

Sherman has said she "didn't want to compete with the landscape," but she cleared space for a new Western woman.

Cindy Sherman: Monument Valley Girl

The artist’s self portrait plays with our notions of an archetypal West

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Paying Attention

Ten Sites and One Overlooked Hero

The band plays on in a small-town Czech bar few tourists would think to frequent.

Trebon: Yellow Lampposts and Czech Fly Paper

South of Prague but a world away, Trebon offers a glimpse of traditional Eastern Europe

Fátima is one of Europe’s top pilgrimage destinations. There are plenty of picnic benches, endless parking and desolate toilets for the masses.

Portugal: One Foot in the Past and One in the Future

While many things are changing in modern Portugal, the nation still holds steadfast to many traditions

Fisherman casts off from the cliffs of Cape Sagres.

Cape Sagres

This windswept coast was once home to a navigators’ school that readied explorers for adventures in the New World

The European Parliament, a towering complex of glass skyscrapers, has 785 members representing 28 countries and more than 450 million citizens.

Brussels: One of Europe’s Great Travel Secrets

The political center of Europe, this Belgian city is also home to art museums and delicious mussels with frites, of course

Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

Murrells Inlet, S.C.

The seafood capital of South Carolina

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Cornelius, N.C.

Established in 1905

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Vermilion, Ohio

A ‘one movie theatre’ town on the shore of Lake Erie

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Sutter Creek, California

A small northern California foothills town

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New Rochelle, N.Y.

Voted best city to raise a family in

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Athens, Tenn.

Education, the arts, patriotism, family and respect for all

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Ashland, Mass.

Halfway between Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts

Partaking in an old but ambiguous rite, blue "devils" (in Paramin, with mouths colored by dyed bubble gum) offer spectators a deal: pay, or get rubbed with body paint.

Up Close at Trinidad’s Carnival

What’s behind the raucous pre-Lenten rite? An intrepid scholar hits the streets of Trinidad to find out

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