Historic wonders

Pamukkale, meaning cotton castle, is a hillside of dazzling white travertine terraces formed by mineral-rich thermal springs. Above the terraces lie the extensive ruins of the Greco-Roman spa city of Hierapolis.

The terraces cascade down the slope in a series of white basins and pools, built up over millennia as calcium-laden hot water deposits travertine. Visitors walk barefoot across designated sections of the brilliant white surface, with shallow pools reflecting the sky on the upper levels.

A rebuilt city of remembrance, peace memorials and a famous floating shrine nearby.

Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945 and rebuilt into a modern, green city centered on its Peace Memorial Park. The preserved skeletal dome of the former Industrial Promotion Hall, now the A-Bomb Dome, stands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a stark focal point along the river. The park and its museum form a sober, reflective heart to the city.

An easy day trip east of Prague, Kutná Hora grew wealthy in the Middle Ages from silver mining, and its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is best known for a Gothic cathedral and an unusual bone-decorated chapel.

At its medieval height the town's silver mines funded the Bohemian crown and supported the construction of grand Gothic architecture, foremost the Cathedral of St. Barbara, dedicated to the patron saint of miners. Its flying buttresses and tent-like roof make it one of the most distinctive Gothic churches in Central Europe.

The serene brick ruins of Thailand's first kingdom, set in a tranquil historical park.

Sukhothai was the capital of the first major Thai kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, and its ruins are regarded as the cradle of Thai art and architecture. The Sukhothai Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, preserves the remains of dozens of temples, palaces and monumental Buddha statues across a landscaped expanse of ponds and lawns.

Göreme sits at the heart of Cappadocia, a region of soft volcanic rock eroded into cones, pillars and valleys. The town is built into and among the formations, with cave dwellings, rock-cut churches and a celebrated dawn balloon flight over the landscape.

The surrounding terrain, shaped by ancient eruptions and erosion, is dotted with the tapering rock pillars known as fairy chimneys, many hollowed out into homes, hotels and churches. The nearby Göreme Open-Air Museum preserves a cluster of rock-cut Byzantine churches with frescoed interiors carved into the cliffs.