Covered from head to toe with thick white dust, crouching low on their launches, the young men and boys use angle grinders to carve statues of the Buddha out of solid blocks of white marble.
In Istanbul, new is relative. The New Mosque might be newer than the Blue Mosque or Hagia Sophia, but having been completed in 1665 it is historic in its own right. And it's also stunningly beautiful.
Ushuaia claims the title of the world's southernmost city. These days its main industry is tourism, serving as a gateway to Antarctica. But the town also has charms of its own.
Quebec City is a kind of Paris-in-miniature, set on a beautiful spot on the Saint Lawrence River and full of old-world charm. At Christmas it really shines.
U Bein Bridge has become one of Myanmar's iconic landmarks. Spanning 3/4 of a mile, the foot bridge is reputed to be the longest teak bridge in the world.
You don't have to be a fan of Downton Abbey to appreciate the beauty of Highclere Castle sitting on a stately hill in the English countryside of Hampshire about two hours west of London.
Known to the locals as "Straddie," North Stradbroke Island near Brisbane separates southern Moreton Bay from the Pacific Ocean. With miles of spectacular ocean beaches and an abundance of local marine life such as whales, sharks, turtles, and dolphins, it's a popular summer holiday destination.
At Phonsavan's morning market you can sit for a tasty bowl of freshly made steaming pho for breakfast or buy some local fruit. You can find much that looks familiar, and quite a lot that doesn't.
One of the world's most visited museums, the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum has an incredible array of original artifacts from the history of flight and space exploration.
Oo Hmin Thone Sel Pagoda is an explosion of color, with almost 50 statues of the Buddha looking out from a cave-like crescent from a hilltop in Sagaing.
That the Lemaire Channel is nicknamed "Kodak Gap" is a pretty good indication that it's reliably scenic. When the conditions are right, it's spectacular.
If God and the government had their way, Antigua wouldn't exist. But it's a good thing it does. With charming Spanish colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, and a vibrant cultural life, it's a wonderful place to visit.
It might not be for the vertigo-challenged, but getting to the top of the Acropolis at Ek Balam is definitely worth the effort. It is, quite literally, a view fit for a king.
Guatemalans sure love their fireworks. And Chichicastenango, in the Guatemalan highlands, is not a place that considers fireworks only night-time entertainment.
Constructed entirely of teak, the Bagaya Monastery (Bagaya Kyaung) in the old royal capital of Amarapura has fared much better from the region's earthquakes than its stone neighbors.
I took this photo last spring during the very brief blooming of the tulip magnolias (or saucer magnolias) in Washington DC. They're one of the spring's first dramatic blooming varieties in the DC area, usually beating the more famous cherry blossoms by a couple of weeks.
One of the most famous attractions at Kronborg Castle, Holger the Dane sits sleeping in the tunnels below the castle. Legend has it he will awaken when his country needs him.
Known as Hamlet's Castle because Shakespeare's play was set there, Kronborg Castle is a 16th-century castle on a strategic peninsula on the Sound, just north of Copenhagen.
Formerly known as the Spitsbergen Airship Museum, Longyearbyen's North Pole Expedition focuses on several attempts around the beginning of the 20th century to reach the North Pole by air.
The website of the luxury hotel chain Four Seasons is using one of my photos from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in a post on things to do in Washington DC with kids.
The Rough Guides travel guidebook company is using one of my photos from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in a feature article on their website on 20 places to get utterly lost.
Vogue.com used on my photos of the impressive Brussels Stock Exchange building, which has ornamentation by August Rodin, in a feature on traveling in Rodin's footsteps to mark the centenary of Rodin's death.
Originally designed to house the national theater, the Palacio de Bellas Artes has become a cultural hub in arguably the most beautiful building in Mexico City.
