I love a good Building Carved Out of a Mountain

This one's the Porte Flavia, in Sardinia, Italy

The most famous of them is Petra, in Jordan. You may know if from the 3rd and final Indiana Jones movie. Here's a rare shot of it being approached at night.

And a wider shot

This is the Predjama Castle in Slovenia, a real stunner (though aren't they all)

Beautiful in summer and winter, the cavernous surroundings keep the interiors livable regardless of the season

This absolutely beauty is the Sumela Monastery in Turkey. Hard to imagine how it was built (and how many lives may have been lost in doing so)

One more shot of the Sumela but I promise this is the last one

oh no I lied

Not all of these carvings have breathtaking facades. Some, such as the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra India, just look rudimentary...

until you get inside

This entire village, on the other hand, looks chaotic and almost hard to take in. Sassi di Matera, Italy, is over 9,000 years old, which is kind of stunning.