Holding the distinction of being both the oldest and the smallest republic in the world, the tiny, scenic country of San Marino is over 1,700 years old. Surrounded entirely by Italy, 32,000 residents are packed into 61 sq km (24 sq mi) in the middle of the Apennine Mountains.

Each year during Desert Week, we take you around the world to show you the best sights from the world’s most arid spots. We’ve also noticed over the years the large number of regions that don’t actually have hot deserts…

Perhaps one of the most surreal deserts in all the world, Egypt’s little known White Desert is home to some of the most photogenic and breathtaking landscapes on the planet. Located 45 km (28 mi) north of the town of…

The Namib Desert is not only the oldest desert in the world, but it has its own shipwrecks, 900-year-old tree “skeletons”, and some of the highest sand dunes in the world. However we covered all those things in our 2008…

The rain shadow caused by the massive bulk of the Himalayan mountains creates arid conditions for a huge distance to the east. The 1,600km (1,000 mile) long arc of the Gobi Desert spans the border between China and Mongolia; it…

This week, the always-much-more-interesting-than-it-sounds desert week returns – even later than it did last year (although here at Google Sightseeing we prefer to simply think that our years are slightly longer than yours). However, once again we’ve been scouring the…