Although the winning bidders won't own the property outright — there are 939 years left on the 999-year lease — they will be connected to military history dating back to the 1940s when Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower worked there planning the invasion of North Africa in World War II.

In search of a fixer-upper? The former U.S. ambassador's residence in Libya can be yours for a cool $1.5 million, marked down from its multimillion-dollar estimated market value because of damage it sustained in anti-American riots and demonstrations throughout the 1980s and '90s.

"Internal renovation is needed," the department's prospectus on the house says, omitting reference to the gangs of rock-throwing protesters that once gathered outside and the 26-year rupture in diplomatic ties between Washington and Tripoli from 1980 to 2006.

Still, the department plays up the 6,500-square-foot home's swimming pool, changing area, staff quarters, extensive garden space and broad verandas.

But buyer beware. There are "title issues" to be worked out between the State Department and Libyan government despite the recent thaw in relations, the prospectus says.

Clear title won't be a problem in Canada, where $2.25 million will get you the three-story house in the leafy upscale Ottawa suburb of Rockcliffe Park that has been the home to generations of deputy U.S. ambassadors since 1948.

"At once stately and imposing," the department's broker says of the 64-year-old house that enjoyed a period of Hollywood celebrity as the home of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in the 1990 movie "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge."

Further afield, the State Department is building a new embassy in Nepal, making obsolete the existing 22,700-square-foot complex in Katmandu, a sprawling affair that includes an office building, annex and cafeteria, nestled in the foothills of the towering Himalayas.

Vistas at less-elevated altitudes are available from a stone ex-diplomatic home in Taipei, a steal at $2 million that is surrounded by "undeveloped mountain and forest settings" from Taiwan's adjacent Yang Ming Mountain National Park.

In the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, the expansive former U.S. ambassador's home, spread over 2.2 acres, is up for sale. In addition to a master suite, four bedrooms with private baths, family room, kitchen, pantry and house manager's quarters, the residence features a pool, terraces and gardens perfect for black-tie soirees.

Basement rooms for servants are, of course, also part of the $2.1 million package.

Ambassadorial elegance abroad can, however, be found for less.

In Belize City, the five-bedroom, five-bath, 6,000-square-foot home is being sold for $700,000 because the U.S. Embassy and its diplomats have moved to the new capital of Belmopan.