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  • National Shrine of St. Therese, 22 miles north of downtown Juneau, in Tongass National Forest, Alaska, USA. A stone causeway from shore reaches this natural-stone chapel nestled amid a tranquil wooded island. This ministry of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Juneau is dedicated to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the patron saint of Alaska, missionaries, and the Diocese of Juneau. She wrote that what really mattered in life was not our great deeds, but our great love.
    1906AKH-3867.jpg
  • York Minster, built over 250 years 1220-1472 AD, is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe. Also known as St Peter's, its full name is "Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York," located in England, United Kingdom, Europe. York Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England. "Minster" refers to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and now serves as an honorific title. York was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. As the center of the Church in the North, York Minster has played an important role in great national affairs, such as during the Reformation and Civil War. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK2-1459-64pan.jpg
  • Rooftop view: York Minster, built over 250 years 1220-1472 AD, is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe. Also known as St Peter's, its full name is "Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York," located in England, United Kingdom, Europe. York Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England. "Minster" refers to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and now serves as an honorific title. York was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. As the center of the Church in the North, York Minster has played an important role in great national affairs, such as during the Reformation and Civil War. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK2-1390-92pan.jpg
  • The Five Sisters Window in the North Transept of York Minster is the only memorial in the country to women of the British Empire who lost their lives during the First World War. The window, which dates from the mid-1200s, was restored and rededicated between 1923 and 1925 after it was removed during the First World War to protect it during Zeppelin raids. York Minster, built over 250 years 1220-1472 AD, is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe. Also known as St Peter's, its full name is "Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York," located in England, United Kingdom, Europe. York Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England. "Minster" refers to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and now serves as an honorific title. York was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. As the center of the Church in the North, York Minster has played an important role in great national affairs, such as during the Reformation and Civil War.
    17UK2-1278_England.jpg
  • A reenactment of the Hawaiian royal court in the Canoe Pageant, "Rainbows of Paradise." The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is a major theme park and living museum, in Laie on the northeast coast (Windward Side) of the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA. The PCC first opened in 1963 as a way for students at the adjacent Church College of Hawaii (now Brigham Young University Hawaii) to earn money for their education and as a means to preserve and portray the cultures of the people of Polynesia. Performers demonstrate Polynesian arts and crafts within simulated tropical villages, covering Hawaii, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga and the Marquesas Islands. The Rapa Nui (Easter Island) exhibit features seven hand-carved moai (stone statues). The PCC is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). For this photo’s licensing options, please inquire.
    1701HAW-0716.jpg
  • At Meglisalp, Altmann peak (2435m) rises dramatically above a 1904 mountain chapel (Kapelle Maria zum Schnee, "Holy Mother Mary of the Snow"). Berggasthaus Meglisalp can only be reached on foot in the heart of the Alpstein mountain chain in the Appenzell Alps, Switzerland, Europe. This authentic mountain hostelry, owned by the same family for five generations, dates from 1897. Meglisalp is a working family dairy farm.
    16SWI-1670.jpg
  • Originally built in the 1820s, the restored chapel at Fort Ross was the first Russian Orthodox structure in North America outside of Alaska. The bell is inscribed in Church Slavonic: "Heavenly King, receive all who glorify Him." Fort Ross State Historic Park preserves a former Russian colony (1812-1842) on the west coast of North America, in what is now Sonoma County, California, USA. Visit Fort Ross and dramatic coastal scenery 11 miles north of Jenner on California Highway One. For centuries before Europeans arrived, this site was called Metini and had been occupied by the Kashaya band of Pomo people who wove intricate baskets and harvested sea life, plants, acorns, deer, and small mammals. Sponsored by the Russian Empire, "Settlement Ross" was multicultural, built mostly by Alaskan Alutiiq natives and occupied mostly by native Siberians, Alaskans, Hawaiians, Californians, and mixed Europeans. Initially, sea otter pelts funded Russian expansion, but by 1820, overhunting motivated the Russian-American Company to introduce moratoriums on hunting seals and otters, the first marine-mammal conservation laws in the Pacific. Russian voyages greatly expanded California's scientific knowledge. Renamed "Ross" in 1812 in honor of Imperial Russian (Rossiia), Fortress Ross was intended to grow wheat and other crops to feed Russians living in Alaska, but after 30 years was found to be unsustainable. Fort Ross was sold to John Sutter in 1841, and his trusted assistant John Bidwell transported its hardware and animals to Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley. Fort Ross is a landmark in European imperialism, which brought Spanish expanding west across the Atlantic Ocean and Russians spreading east across Siberia and the Pacific Ocean. In the early 1800s, Russians coming from the north met Spanish coming from the south along the Pacific Coast of California, followed by the USA arriving from the east in 1846 for the Mexican-American War. Today, Fort Ross is a California Historical
    1212CA-2211.jpg
  • Originally built in the 1820s, the restored chapel at Fort Ross was the first Russian Orthodox structure in North America outside of Alaska. Fort Ross State Historic Park preserves a former Russian colony (1812-1842) on the west coast of North America, in what is now Sonoma County, California, USA. The 5.5-inch howitzer cannons are historical reproductions. Visit Fort Ross and dramatic coastal scenery 11 miles north of Jenner on California Highway One. For centuries before Europeans arrived, this site was called Metini and had been occupied by the Kashaya band of Pomo people who wove intricate baskets and harvested sea life, plants, acorns, deer, and small mammals. Sponsored by the Russian Empire, "Settlement Ross" was multicultural, built mostly by Alaskan Alutiiq natives and occupied by a few Russians plus 300-400 native Siberians, Alaskans, Hawaiians, Californians, and mixed Europeans. Initially, sea otter pelts funded Russian expansion, but by 1820, overhunting motivated the Russian-American Company to introduce moratoriums on hunting seals and otters, the first marine-mammal conservation laws in the Pacific. Russian voyages greatly expanded California's scientific knowledge. Renamed "Ross" in 1812 in honor of Imperial Russian (Rossiia), Fortress Ross was intended to grow wheat and other crops to feed Russians living in Alaska, but after 30 years was found to be unsustainable. Fort Ross was sold to John Sutter in 1841, and his trusted assistant John Bidwell transported its hardware and animals to Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley. Fort Ross is a landmark in European imperialism, which brought Spanish expanding west across the Atlantic Ocean and Russians spreading east across Siberia and the Pacific Ocean. In the early 1800s, Russians coming from the north met Spanish coming from the south along the Pacific Coast of California, followed by the USA arriving from the east in 1846 for the Mexican-American War. Today, Fort Ross is a California Historical Landmar
    1212CA-2177.jpg
  • Toshogu Shrine is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. Ieyasu is enshrined at Toshogu as the deity Tosho Daigongen, "Great Deity of the East Shining Light". Initially a relatively simple mausoleum, Toshogu was enlarged into the spectacular complex seen today by Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu during the first half of the 1600s. The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf were used to decorate the buildings in a way not seen elsewhere in Japan. Toshogu contains both Shinto and Buddhist elements, as was common until the Meiji Period when Shinto was deliberately separated from Buddhism. Toshogu is part of Shrines and Temples of Nikko UNESCO World Heritage site.
    1810JPN-3727.jpg
  • Erected 4600 years ago, the Callanish Standing Stones are one of the most spectacular megalithic monuments in Scotland. The main site known as "Callanish I" forms a cross with a central stone circle erected circa 2900-2600 BC. More lines of stones were added by 2000 BC (the close of the Neolithic era), and it become a focus for rituals during the Bronze Age. From 1500-1000 BC, farmers emptied the burials and ploughed the area. After from 800 BC, peat accumulated 1.5 meters deep and buried the stones until removed in 1857. Visit this spectacular ancient site near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais), on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe.
    17SC1-31014_Scotland.jpg
  • Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. Visit it near Ripon and Aldfield, in North Yorkshire, England, UK, Europe. The adjacent Studley Royal Park features striking 1700s landscaping, gardens and canal. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years becoming one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution in 1539 under the order of Henry VIII. Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey is honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK2-5421-30Pano.jpg
  • Statue of St Cuthbert ("Cuthbert of Farne" 2001) by Fenwick Lawson. Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom, Europe. Holy Island history dates from the 500s AD as an important center of Celtic Christianity under Saints Aidan of Lindisfarne, Cuthbert, Eadfrith of Lindisfarne, and Eadberht of Lindisfarne. After Viking invasions and the Norman conquest of England, a priory was reestablished. A small castle was built on Holy Island in 1550.
    17UK2-5097.jpg
  • Mokuaikaua Church, in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, is the oldest Christian church in the Hawaiian Islands. The congregation dates to 1820 and the building was completed in 1837.
    1701HAW-3497.jpg
  • From Zermatt, hike the scenic Höhbalmen Höhenweg loop via Bergrestaurant Edelweiss, Trift Hut and Zmutt, in the Pennine Alps, Switzerland, Europe. With delightful views of the Matterhorn plus other peaks and glaciers, this strenuous walk went up and down 1200 meters over 21.6 km (13.4 miles).
    16SWI-8399.jpg
  • Adlerplatz is the heart of Appenzell village, in Switzerland, Europe. Appenzell's Roman Catholic St. Maurice (or Mauritius) parish church was built 1560–84. Metzibrücke bridge crosses Sitter river. Yellow shutters mark Hotel Cafe Adler. Most of the notable buildings in Appenzell were built in the 1500s. Appenzell Innerrhoden is Switzerland's most traditional and smallest-population canton (second smallest by area). This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    16SWI-0693-99pan.jpg
  • Stained glass windows. The cathedral of Münster Allerheiligen (All Saints Church) was built in Romanesque style in 1103, the oldest building in Schaffhausen. Kloster Allerheiligen (All Saints Abbey) is a former Benedictine monastery in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Europe.
    16SWI-0659.jpg
  • Pipe organ. The cathedral of Münster Allerheiligen (All Saints Church) was built in Romanesque style in 1103, the oldest building in Schaffhausen. Kloster Allerheiligen (All Saints Abbey) is a former Benedictine monastery in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Europe.
    16SWI-0658.jpg
  • Allerheiligen Monastery's peaceful cloister surrounds an herb garden tended since the Middle Ages. Kloster Allerheiligen (All Saints Abbey) is a former Benedictine monastery in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Europe. Completed in Romanesque style in 1103 (the oldest building in Schaffhausen), Münster Allerheiligen cathedral includes the Museum zu Allerheiligen.
    16SWI-0649.jpg
  • Cloister. St. George's Abbey (Kloster Sankt Georgen) was founded around 1007 as a Benedictine monastery in Stein am Rhein village, on the banks of the Rhine at the western end of Lake Constance. The fascinating Klostermuseum is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, built in the 1300s to 1500s.
    16SWI-0295.jpg
  • Petroglyphs in Shay Canyon on public BLM land, near Monticello, Utah, USA.
    1503SW-1321_Shay-Canyon-petroglyphs.jpg
  • Sunset turns clouds orange and yellow over Alpamayo Valley, Cordillera Blanca, Andes Mountains, Peru, South America. Day 6 of 10 days trekking around Alpamayo in Huascaran National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site).
    14PER-2143_Alpamayo-Valley.jpg
  • Saint Nicholas Anapafsa Monastery (Agio Nikolaou Anapafsa) was built in the 1500s on a rock pinnacle at Meteora, Greece, Europe. Meteora (which means "suspended in the air") is a complex of six Eastern Orthodox Christian monasteries built by medieval monks on natural rock pillars near Kalambaka, in central Greece, Europe. The sandstone and conglomerate of Meteora were formed in the cone of a river delta estuary emerging into a sea about 60 million years ago, then later uplifted and eroded into pinnacles. The isolated monasteries of Meteora helped keep alive Greek Orthodox religious traditions and Hellenic culture during the turbulent Middle Ages and Ottoman Turk occupation of Greece (1453-1829). UNESCO honored Meteora as a World Heritage Site in 1988. Visit early in the morning and in the off season to avoid crowds.
    01GRE-44-09_Anapafsa-Monastery.jpg
  • Toshogu Shrine is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. Ieyasu is enshrined at Toshogu as the deity Tosho Daigongen, "Great Deity of the East Shining Light". Initially a relatively simple mausoleum, Toshogu was enlarged into the spectacular complex seen today by Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu during the first half of the 1600s. The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf were used to decorate the buildings in a way not seen elsewhere in Japan. Toshogu contains both Shinto and Buddhist elements, as was common until the Meiji Period when Shinto was deliberately separated from Buddhism. Toshogu is part of Shrines and Temples of Nikko UNESCO World Heritage site.
    1810JPN-3673.jpg
  • Erected 4600 years ago, the Callanish Standing Stones are one of the most spectacular megalithic monuments in Scotland. The main site known as "Callanish I" forms a cross with a central stone circle erected circa 2900-2600 BC. More lines of stones were added by 2000 BC (the close of the Neolithic era), and it become a focus for rituals during the Bronze Age. From 1500-1000 BC, farmers emptied the burials and ploughed the area. After from 800 BC, peat accumulated 1.5 meters deep and buried the stones until removed in 1857. Visit this spectacular ancient site near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais), on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe. This image was stitched from several overlapping photos.
    17SC2-336-338-Pano_Scotland.jpg
  • The impressive Rieger Organ stands in the South Transept of St Giles' Cathedral (High Kirk of Edinburgh), the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh. The organ was built in 1992 by the Austrian firm of Rieger Orgelbau, in consultation with Herrick Bunney and Peter Hurford. The instrument has a distinctive case of Austrian oak designed by Douglas Laird. St Giles' church has been one of Edinburgh's religious focal points for approximately 900 years. The present church dates from the late 1300s, though it was extensively restored in the 1800s. Today it is sometimes regarded as the "Mother Church of Presbyterianism." The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Giles, who is the patron saint of Edinburgh, as well as of cripples and lepers, and was a very popular saint in the Middle Ages. Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, in Lothian on the Firth of Forth, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe.
    17SC1-4368_Scotland.jpg
  • Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. Visit it near Ripon and Aldfield, in North Yorkshire, England, UK, Europe. The adjacent Studley Royal Park features striking 1700s landscaping, gardens and canal. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years becoming one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution in 1539 under the order of Henry VIII. Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey is honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK2-5515-28Pano.jpg
  • Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. Visit it near Ripon and Aldfield, in North Yorkshire, England, UK, Europe. The adjacent Studley Royal Park features striking 1700s landscaping, gardens and canal. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years becoming one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution in 1539 under the order of Henry VIII. Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey is honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust.
    17UK2-5505.jpg
  • The monks' cellarium, where food was stored. Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. Visit it near Ripon and Aldfield, in North Yorkshire, England, UK, Europe. The adjacent Studley Royal Park features striking 1700s landscaping, gardens and canal. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years becoming one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution in 1539 under the order of Henry VIII. Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey is honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK2-5466-69Pano.jpg
  • Walk 3 miles round trip from Craster village to the impressive ruins of 1300s Dunstanburgh Castle on the coast of Northumberland, England, United Kingdom, Europe. The castle was built by Earl Thomas of Lancaster between 1313-1322 on existing earthworks of an Iron Age fort. Thomas was a short-lived leader of a baronial faction opposed to King Edward II. This strategic northern stronghold never recovered from seiges during the Wars of the Roses 1455-1487 after it changed hands several times between rival Lancastrian and Yorkist factions. King James I sold the fort into private owndership in 1604. Dunstanburgh Castle is now owned by the National Trust and run by English Heritage. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK2-5265-75Pano.jpg
  • 1086 St Mary's Abbey. The historic walled city of York lies at the confluence of rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe. York is renowned for its exquisite architecture, tangle of quaint cobbled streets, iconic York Minster, the longest medieval town walls in England, and a wealth of visitor attractions. Founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD, it became capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, and later of the kingdoms of Northumbria and Jorvik (mostly controlled by Vikings 875 to 954). In the Middle Ages, York grew as a major wool trading centre and became the capital of the northern ecclesiastical province of the Church of England, to this day. In the 1800s, York became a hub of the railway network and center for confectionery manufacturing. The University of York, health services, and tourism have become major employers.
    17UK2-1070_England.jpg
  • Historic carved wood. St. George's Abbey (Kloster Sankt Georgen) was founded around 1007 as a Benedictine monastery in Stein am Rhein village, on the banks of the Rhine at the western end of Lake Constance. The fascinating Klostermuseum is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, built in the 1300s to 1500s.
    16SWI-0357.jpg
  • See the interior of Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana), the city's main Catholic church. It overlooks Plaza de Mayo in the city center, on the corner of San Martín and Rivadavia streets, in San Nicolás barrio, Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America. The Cathedral was rebuilt several times since its humble origins in the 1500s and now has a 1700s nave and dome and 1800s Neoclassical façade without towers. Panorama stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    05ARG-10303_06-pan_Buenos-Aires-cath...jpg
  • Seiganto-ji (Temple of the Blue Waves) is a Tendai Buddhist temple within the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, in Nachikatsuura, on the Kii Peninsula, on the island of Honshu, Japan. Don't miss the iconic view of thundering Nachi-no-Taki waterfall (133 m, Japan's tallest) paired with Seiganto-ji pagoda. According to a legend, it was founded (near a previous nature worship site) by the priest Ragyo Shonin, a monk from India. Seiganto-ji is part of the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex and is one of the few jingu-ji still in existence after the separation of Shinto and Buddhism forced by the Japanese government during the Meiji restoration. Seiganto-ji is is stop #1 on Kansai Kannon Pilgrimage, and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site listed as the "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range". Access: by bus from Nachi Station (20 min) or Kii-Katsuura Station (30 min). Ask driver to stop at base of the Daimonzaka trail ("Daimonzaka" stop); or at the entrance to Nachi Waterfall ("Taki-mae"); or at the bus terminus 10 minutes climb below Nachi Shrine ("Nachi-san"). Cars can park at Seigantoji Temple. I recommend this scenic, short walk (3.5 km with 265 meters gain): starting from Daimon-zaka bus stop, ascend a stone-paved path, humbled by massive evergreens, up to the gates of Nachi Taisha shrine, descend to Seiganto-ji pagoda, then to the falls, just below Taki-mae bus stop.
    1810JPN-5727.jpg
  • St. Johann Church in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, Europe.
    16SWI-0433.jpg
  • Picture medallions (1508-1516) decorate the net-like pattern of the original wood ceiling in the Abbot's Lower Chambers in the David Building. The medallions refer to the Physiologus, an early Christian (100-300s AD) book that described plants, stones and animals and allegories of salvation through Christ. St. George's Abbey (Kloster Sankt Georgen) was founded around 1007 as a Benedictine monastery in Stein am Rhein village, on the banks of the Rhine at the western end of Lake Constance. The fascinating Klostermuseum is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, built in the 1300s to 1500s.
    16SWI-0352.jpg
  • The Banqueting Hall's wood ceiling, a masterpiece of Late Gothic carving, was finished in 1515. The Banqueting Hall was commissioned by David von Winkelsheim (1499-1525), the last Abbot of Saint George's Abbey (Kloster Sankt Georgen). This former Benedictine monastery was founded around 1007 in Stein am Rhein village, on the banks of the Rhine at the western end of Lake Constance. The fascinating Klostermuseum is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance.
    16SWI-0338.jpg
  • Petroglyphs in Shay Canyon on public BLM land, near Monticello, Utah, USA.
    1503SW-1311_Shay-Canyon-petroglyphs.jpg
  • Petroglyphs above Una Vida, in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico, USA. Una Vida is a Chacoan great house (monumental public building) with 100 rooms and kivas plus a great kiva enclosed in a plaza, built starting around AD 850 for over 250 years. Chaco Culture National Historical Park hosts the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chaco Canyon is in remote northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, USA. From 850 AD to 1250 AD, Chaco Canyon advanced then declined as a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 1800s. Climate change may have led to its abandonment, beginning with a 50-year drought starting in 1130.
    1403NM-0724_petroglyphs_Chaco-Cultur...jpg
  • Originally built in the 1820s, the restored chapel at Fort Ross was the first Russian Orthodox structure in North America outside of Alaska. Fort Ross State Historic Park preserves a former Russian colony (1812-1842) on the west coast of North America, in what is now Sonoma County, California, USA. Visit Fort Ross and dramatic coastal scenery 11 miles north of Jenner on California Highway One. For centuries before Europeans arrived, this site was called Metini and had been occupied by the Kashaya band of Pomo people who wove intricate baskets and harvested sea life, plants, acorns, deer, and small mammals. Sponsored by the Russian Empire, "Settlement Ross" was multicultural, built mostly by Alaskan Alutiiq natives and occupied mostly by native Siberians, Alaskans, Hawaiians, Californians, and mixed Europeans. Initially, sea otter pelts funded Russian expansion, but by 1820, overhunting motivated the Russian-American Company to introduce moratoriums on hunting seals and otters, the first marine-mammal conservation laws in the Pacific. Russian voyages greatly expanded California's scientific knowledge. Renamed "Ross" in 1812 in honor of Imperial Russian (Rossiia), Fortress Ross was intended to grow wheat and other crops to feed Russians living in Alaska, but after 30 years was found to be unsustainable. Fort Ross was sold to John Sutter in 1841, and his trusted assistant John Bidwell transported its hardware and animals to Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley. Fort Ross is a landmark in European imperialism, which brought Spanish expanding west across the Atlantic Ocean and Russians spreading east across Siberia and the Pacific Ocean. In the early 1800s, Russians coming from the north met Spanish coming from the south along the Pacific Coast of California, followed by the USA arriving from the east in 1846 for the Mexican-American War. Today, Fort Ross is a California Historical Landmark and a National Historic Landmark. See www.FortRoss.org on the internet.
    1212CA-2210.jpg
  • Originally built in the 1820s, the restored chapel at Fort Ross was the first Russian Orthodox structure in North America outside of Alaska. Fort Ross State Historic Park preserves a former Russian colony (1812-1842) on the west coast of North America, in what is now Sonoma County, California, USA. The 5.5-inch howitzer cannons are historical reproductions. Visit Fort Ross and dramatic coastal scenery 11 miles north of Jenner on California Highway One. For centuries before Europeans arrived, this site was called Metini and had been occupied by the Kashaya band of Pomo people who wove intricate baskets and harvested sea life, plants, acorns, deer, and small mammals. Sponsored by the Russian Empire, "Settlement Ross" was multicultural, built mostly by Alaskan Alutiiq natives and occupied by a few Russians plus 300-400 native Siberians, Alaskans, Hawaiians, Californians, and mixed Europeans. Initially, sea otter pelts funded Russian expansion, but by 1820, overhunting motivated the Russian-American Company to introduce moratoriums on hunting seals and otters, the first marine-mammal conservation laws in the Pacific. Russian voyages greatly expanded California's scientific knowledge. Renamed "Ross" in 1812 in honor of Imperial Russian (Rossiia), Fortress Ross was intended to grow wheat and other crops to feed Russians living in Alaska, but after 30 years was found to be unsustainable. Fort Ross was sold to John Sutter in 1841, and his trusted assistant John Bidwell transported its hardware and animals to Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley. Fort Ross is a landmark in European imperialism, which brought Spanish expanding west across the Atlantic Ocean and Russians spreading east across Siberia and the Pacific Ocean. In the early 1800s, Russians coming from the north met Spanish coming from the south along the Pacific Coast of California, followed by the USA arriving from the east in 1846 for the Mexican-American War. Today, Fort Ross is a California Historical Landmar
    1212CA-2173.jpg
  • Anglican Church replica, Jamestown Settlement, Virginia, USA. Jamestown Settlement, operated by the state's Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, chronicles 1600s Virginia and the convergence of Powhatan Indian, European, and west central African cultures. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, was founded as James Fort in 1607 within an area controlled by the Paspahegh tribe, which was part of the Powhatan Confederacy of tribes, Tsenacommacah, comprised of about 14,000 native people ruled by Wahunsonacock (sometimes called Powhatan). Created as part of the 350th anniversary celebration in 1957 as "Jamestown Festival Park," Jamestown Settlement is adjacent to the complementary "Historic Jamestowne" museum (which is on Jamestown Island, is the actual historic and archaeological site where the first settlers lived, and is run by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia).
    12VA-324.jpg
  • Bell towers and blue-domed Greek Orthodox Churches grace the village of Oia on Santorini Island, an ancient volcanic caldera rim in the Aegean Sea, in Greece, Europe. Woven rugs bask in sunshine. Geologic and human history of Santorini: Humans first arrived around 3000 BC on this volcano known in ancient times as Thira (or Thera). The island was a volcanic cone with a circular shoreline until 1646 BC, when one of earths most violent explosions blasted ash all over the Mediterranean, sunk the center of the island, launched tidal waves, and may have ruined the Minoan civilization 70 miles away on Crete. Remarkably, volcanic ash dumped onto the volcanos flanks actually preserved the village of Akrotiri and its 3600-year-old frescoes from the Minoan era. These are some of the earliest known examples of world art history, which you can now view in museums. In 286 BC, the volcano split off Thirasia (Little Thira) Island (to the West). The volcano began rebuilding, and in 197 BC the small center islet of Palia Kameni appeared. In 1707 CE, lava started forming Nea Kameni, the larger center island which erupted as recently as 1956 and caused a huge earthquake (7.8 on the Richter scale) which destroyed most of the houses in the towns of Fira and Oia. Fira and Oia have since been rebuilt as multi-level mazes of fascinating whitewashed architecture, attracting tourists from around the world.
    01GRE-06-32_Oia-churches-rugs.jpg
  • The Church of St Saviour is an Anglican Church of Canada erected in 1869 and preserved in Barkerville Historic Town & Park, British Columbia, Canada. Historically the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush, Barkerville is now the largest living-history museum in Western North America. The town was named after Billy Barker from Cambridgeshire, England, who struck gold here in 1861, and his claim became the richest and the most famous. This National Historic Site nestles in the Cariboo Mountains at elevation 1200m (4000ft), at the end of BC Highway 26, 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of Quesnel. Gold here was first discovered at Hills Bar in 1858, followed by other strikes in 1859 and 1860. Wide publication of these discoveries in 1861 began the Cariboo Gold Rush, which reached full swing by 1865 following strikes along Williams Creek. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1906AKH-0571-p1-Pano.jpg
  • Three-storied Koyasu Pagoda. Kiyomizu-dera ("Pure Water Temple") is an independent Buddhist temple in eastern Kyoto, Japan. Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera temple is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) UNESCO World Heritage site. Kiyomizu-dera was founded on the site of the Otowa Waterfall in the early Heian period, in 780 by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. Ordered by Tokugawa Iemitsu, its present buildings were built entirely without nails in 1633.
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  • Fall foliage colors reflect in Hojo Pond at Eikando (formally known as Zenrinji Temple), in Kyoto, Japan. Eikando belongs to the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism. It is found just north of the large temple complex of Nanzenji. A court noble of the Heian Period (710-1185) donated his villa to a priest, who converted it into a temple named Zenrinji ("temple in a calm grove"). At its founding, Zenrinji was part of the Shingon sect. In the 11th century, Zenrinji had a popular head priest named Eikan, after whom the temple is popularly named Eikando ("Eikan Hall").
    1810JPN-8403.jpg
  • Erected 4600 years ago, the Callanish Standing Stones are one of the most spectacular megalithic monuments in Scotland. The main site known as "Callanish I" forms a cross with a central stone circle erected circa 2900-2600 BC. More lines of stones were added by 2000 BC (the close of the Neolithic era), and it become a focus for rituals during the Bronze Age. From 1500-1000 BC, farmers emptied the burials and ploughed the area. After from 800 BC, peat accumulated 1.5 meters deep and buried the stones until removed in 1857. Visit this spectacular ancient site near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais), on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe.
    17SC2-330_Scotland.jpg
  • Erected 4600 years ago, the Callanish Standing Stones are one of the most spectacular megalithic monuments in Scotland. The main site known as "Callanish I" forms a cross with a central stone circle erected circa 2900-2600 BC. More lines of stones were added by 2000 BC (the close of the Neolithic era), and it become a focus for rituals during the Bronze Age. From 1500-1000 BC, farmers emptied the burials and ploughed the area. After from 800 BC, peat accumulated 1.5 meters deep and buried the stones until removed in 1857. Visit this spectacular ancient site near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais), on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe.
    17SC1-31001_Scotland.jpg
  • In a large painting in St Giles' Cathedral, a Scottish unicorn paired with an English lion defines the coat of arms of James VI, as the first king of Great Britain and Ireland. What's with the unicorn? Unicorns were first depicted in 2600 BC in ancient seals of the Indus Valley Civilization and were mentioned by the ancient Greeks. In Celtic mythology the unicorn symbolized purity, innocence, masculinity and power. The proud, haughty unicorn was chosen as Scotland's national animal because it would rather die than be captured, just as Scots would fight to remain sovereign and unconquered. The unicorn was first used on the Scottish royal coat of arms by William I in the 1100s, and two unicorns supported the shield until 1603. When James VI became James I of England and Ireland in 1603, he replaced one unicorn with the national animal of England, the lion, to demonstrate unity. Believed to be the strongest of all animals, wild and untamed, the mythical unicorn could only be humbled by a virgin maiden. However, Scotland's unicorn in the coat of arms is always bounded by a golden chain, often shown around its neck and body, symbolizing the power of the Scottish kings, strong enough to tame a unicorn. Today, the version of the royal coat of arms used in Scotland emphasizes Scottish elements, placing the unicorn on the left and giving it a crown, whereas the version used in England and elsewhere places the unicorn on the right and gives English elements more prominence. The Scottish version uses the motto "Nemo me impune lacessit," meaning "No one wounds (touches) me with impunity." The English version says "Dieu et mon droit," meaning "God and my right," the motto of the Monarch of the United Kingdom. St Giles' Cathedral (High Kirk of Edinburgh) is the principal place of worship of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh.
    17SC1-4400_Scotland.jpg
  • Ride the PostBus from Meiringen, over Grimsel Pass to Oberwald, in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, Europe. An extensive system of hydro-electric dams built in the 1920s and 1950s dominates the scenery of Grimselpass. Some aging hotels cling to the pass.
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  • Old cabinet. St. George's Abbey (Kloster Sankt Georgen) was founded around 1007 as a Benedictine monastery in Stein am Rhein village, on the banks of the Rhine at the western end of Lake Constance. The fascinating Klostermuseum is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, built in the 1300s to 1500s.
    16SWI-0302.jpg
  • Cloister. St. George's Abbey (Kloster Sankt Georgen) was founded around 1007 as a Benedictine monastery in Stein am Rhein village, on the banks of the Rhine at the western end of Lake Constance. The fascinating Klostermuseum is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, built in the 1300s to 1500s.
    16SWI-0278.jpg
  • Istanbul, Turkey: Rooftop dining near the Blue (Sultanahmet) Mosque. For licensing options, please inquire.
    99TUR-54-10_Blue-Mosque-dine.jpg
  • Orange robed monks admire cherry trees flowering in early April in Seattle, Washington, USA. The Yoshino cherry trees on "the Quad" (Liberal Arts Quadrangle) of the University of Washington were a senior gift from the class of 1959. The trees were rescued from a construction site for the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and moved to campus in 1964.
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  • Fall foliage colors reflect in Hojo Pond at Eikando (formally known as Zenrinji Temple), in Kyoto, Japan. Eikando belongs to the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism. It is found just north of the large temple complex of Nanzenji. A court noble of the Heian Period (710-1185) donated his villa to a priest, who converted it into a temple named Zenrinji ("temple in a calm grove"). At its founding, Zenrinji was part of the Shingon sect. In the 11th century, Zenrinji had a popular head priest named Eikan, after whom the temple is popularly named Eikando ("Eikan Hall").
    1810JPN-8389.jpg
  • Fall foliage colors at Ginkaku-ji ("Temple of the Silver Pavilion"), officially named Jisho-ji ("Temple of Shining Mercy"). Ginkaku-ji is a Zen temple along Kyoto's eastern mountains (Higashiyama), in Japan. Despite its name, Silver Pavilion was never covered in silver, though silvery moon light reflecting off its former black lacquer may explain its name. In 1482, shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa built his retirement villa on the grounds of today's temple, modeling it after Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion), his grandfather's retirement villa at the base of Kyoto's northern mountains (Kitayama). The villa was converted into a Zen temple after Yoshimasa's death in 1490.
    1810JPN-8318.jpg
  • Fall foliage colors at Ginkaku-ji ("Temple of the Silver Pavilion"), officially named Jisho-ji ("Temple of Shining Mercy"). Ginkaku-ji is a Zen temple along Kyoto's eastern mountains (Higashiyama), in Japan. Despite its name, Silver Pavilion was never covered in silver, though silvery moon light reflecting off its former black lacquer may explain its name. In 1482, shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa built his retirement villa on the grounds of today's temple, modeling it after Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion), his grandfather's retirement villa at the base of Kyoto's northern mountains (Kitayama). The villa was converted into a Zen temple after Yoshimasa's death in 1490.
    1810JPN-8269.jpg
  • Kimono-clad visitors at Fushimi Inari Taisha, Shinto shrine gate, Kyoto, Japan. Fushimi Inari Taisha is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto, Japan. Bright vermilion Senbon Torii ("thousands of torii gates") straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari (233 meters). Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, honored in many statues. The shrine predates the capital's move to Kyoto in 794. The torii gates are donated by individuals and companies, as inscribed on the back of each gate. Prices for small to large gates run from 400,000 to over one million yen.
    1810JPN-8118.jpg
  • Horyuji Temple's five-story pagoda (32 meters or 122 feet high) is the world's oldest wooden building. Nara Prefecture, Japan. The wood used in the center pillar of the pagoda is estimated through a dendrochronological analysis to have been felled in 594. At left is the Kondo (Main Hall), which was rebuilt in 1954 after a 1949 fire destroyed 80-85% of its wood. Horyu-ji Temple was founded in 607 by Prince Shotoku, an early promoter of Buddhism in Japan. Horyuji is one of Japan's oldest temples and contains the world's oldest surviving wooden structures. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1810JPN-7229-p1-Pano.jpg
  • Moat. Nijo Castle (Nijo-jo) was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period (1603-1867). His grandson Iemitsu completed the castle's palace buildings 23 years later and further expanded the castle by adding a five-story castle keep. After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell in 1867, Nijo Castle was used as an imperial palace for a while before being donated to the city and opened to the public as a historic site. Its palace buildings are some of the best surviving examples of castle palace architecture of Japan's feudal era, and the castle was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994.
    1810JPN-6699.jpg
  • See Mount Fuji (3776.24 m or 12,389 ft), the highest mountain in Japan, from Arakura Sengen Shrine in Fujiyoshida city, Yamanashi Prefecture, Honshu. This dormant stratovolcano last erupted in 1707–1708. Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometers (60 mi) south-west of Tokyo, visible on a clear day. Its symmetrical cone is snow-capped for about 5 months a year. Mount Fuji is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains" (Sanreizan). UNESCO recognizes 25 sites of cultural interest nearby.
    1810JPC1-399.jpg
  • Toshogu Shrine is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. Ieyasu is enshrined at Toshogu as the deity Tosho Daigongen, "Great Deity of the East Shining Light". Initially a relatively simple mausoleum, Toshogu was enlarged into the spectacular complex seen today by Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu during the first half of the 1600s. The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf were used to decorate the buildings in a way not seen elsewhere in Japan. Toshogu contains both Shinto and Buddhist elements, as was common until the Meiji Period when Shinto was deliberately separated from Buddhism. Toshogu is part of Shrines and Temples of Nikko UNESCO World Heritage site.
    1810JPN-3684.jpg
  • Toshogu Shrine is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. Ieyasu is enshrined at Toshogu as the deity Tosho Daigongen, "Great Deity of the East Shining Light". Initially a relatively simple mausoleum, Toshogu was enlarged into the spectacular complex seen today by Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu during the first half of the 1600s. The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf were used to decorate the buildings in a way not seen elsewhere in Japan. Toshogu contains both Shinto and Buddhist elements, as was common until the Meiji Period when Shinto was deliberately separated from Buddhism. Toshogu is part of Shrines and Temples of Nikko UNESCO World Heritage site.
    1810JPN-3540.jpg
  • Clan gravestones. The Culloden Battlefield visitor center is run by the National Trust for Scotland, near Inverness, United Kingdom, Europe. The Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746 was part of a religious civil war in Britain and was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. It was the last pitched battle on British soil, and in less than an hour about 1500 men were slain – more than 1000 of them Jacobites. After an unsuccessful Highland charge against the government lines, the Jacobites were routed and driven from the field. Today, strong feelings are still aroused by the battle and the brutal aftermath of weakening Gaelic culture and undermining the Scottish clan system. Three miles south of Culloden village is Drumossie Moor, often called Culloden Moor, site of the battle. Culloden is in Scotland 5 miles east of Inverness, off the A9/B9006, directed by brown signs.
    17SC1-4128_Scotland.jpg
  • South transept rose window. York Minster, built over 250 years 1220-1472 AD, is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe. Also known as St Peter's, its full name is "Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York," located in England, United Kingdom, Europe. York Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England. "Minster" refers to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and now serves as an honorific title. York was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. As the center of the Church in the North, York Minster has played an important role in great national affairs, such as during the Reformation and Civil War.
    17UK2-1270_England.jpg
  • Grindelwald, Switzerland, the Alps, Europe.
    16SWI-6306.jpg
  • Hue wooden grape press. St. George's Abbey (Kloster Sankt Georgen) was founded around 1007 as a Benedictine monastery in Stein am Rhein village, on the banks of the Rhine at the western end of Lake Constance. The fascinating Klostermuseum is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, built in the 1300s to 1500s.
    16SWI-0261.jpg
  • Petroglyphs in Shay Canyon on public BLM land, near Monticello, Utah, USA.
    1503SW-1313_Shay-Canyon-petroglyphs.jpg
  • Sunset light backlights a flower at the National Shrine of St. Therese, 22 miles north of downtown Juneau, in Tongass National Forest, Alaska, USA. A stone causeway from shore reaches this natural-stone chapel nestled amid a tranquil wooded island. This ministry of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Juneau is dedicated to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the patron saint of Alaska, missionaries, and the Diocese of Juneau. She wrote that what really mattered in life was not our great deeds, but our great love. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1906AKH-3907-14-Pano-Edit.jpg
  • An overview of Barkerville Historic Town & Park, British Columbia, Canada. The Church of St Saviour is an Anglican Church of Canada erected in 1869. Historically the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush, Barkerville is now the largest living-history museum in Western North America. The town was named after Billy Barker from Cambridgeshire, England, who struck gold here in 1861, and his claim became the richest and the most famous. This National Historic Site nestles in the Cariboo Mountains at elevation 1200m (4000ft), at the end of BC Highway 26, 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of Quesnel. Gold here was first discovered at Hills Bar in 1858, followed by other strikes in 1859 and 1860. Wide publication of these discoveries in 1861 began the Cariboo Gold Rush, which reached full swing by 1865 following strikes along Williams Creek. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1906AKH-0268-p1-Pano.jpg
  • Zenkyoan boar shrine in Kyoto, Japan.
    1810JPN-6601.jpg
  • Carvings on Yomeimon Gate, one of Japan's most intricately decorated structures. Toshogu Shrine is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. Ieyasu is enshrined at Toshogu as the deity Tosho Daigongen, "Great Deity of the East Shining Light". Initially a relatively simple mausoleum, Toshogu was enlarged into the spectacular complex seen today by Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu during the first half of the 1600s. The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Countless wood carvings and large amounts of gold leaf were used to decorate the buildings in a way not seen elsewhere in Japan. Toshogu contains both Shinto and Buddhist elements, as was common until the Meiji Period when Shinto was deliberately separated from Buddhism. Toshogu is part of Shrines and Temples of Nikko UNESCO World Heritage site.
    1810JPN-3614.jpg
  • Bronze statue of Flora MacDonald (Gaelic: Fionnghal nic Dhòmhnaill; 1722 –1790), a Scottish Jacobite heroine. The sculpture was designed by Andrew Davidson and erected in 1896. (A live bird atop her head stayed longer than I was able to wait.) The red sandstone Inverness Castle was built in 1836 by architect William Burn on the site of an 11th-century fort, on Castle Hill, also known as Castle Wynd. Today, it houses Inverness Sheriff Court. In April 2017 the north tower of the castle was opened to the public as a view point. Inverness is the administrative capital of the Highlands, in Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe.
    17SC1-4039_Scotland.jpg
  • Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. Visit it near Ripon and Aldfield, in North Yorkshire, England, UK, Europe. The adjacent Studley Royal Park features striking 1700s landscaping, gardens and canal. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years becoming one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution in 1539 under the order of Henry VIII. Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey is honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abbey is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust.
    17UK2-5571-p1.jpg
  • York Minster's Semaphore Saints, a 2004 sculpture by Terry Hammill, spell the message "Christ is here" across two sets. York Minster, built over 250 years 1220-1472 AD, is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe. Also known as St Peter's, its full name is "Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York," located in England, United Kingdom, Europe. York Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England. "Minster" refers to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and now serves as an honorific title. York was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. As the center of the Church in the North, York Minster has played an important role in great national affairs, such as during the Reformation and Civil War.
    17UK2-1491_England.jpg
  • York Minster, built over 250 years 1220-1472 AD, is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe. Also known as St Peter's, its full name is "Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York," located in England, United Kingdom, Europe. York Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England. "Minster" refers to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and now serves as an honorific title. York was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. As the center of the Church in the North, York Minster has played an important role in great national affairs, such as during the Reformation and Civil War. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK2-1281-92pan.jpg
  • The peaceful Byodo-In Temple reflects in a koi pond in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, at 47-200 Kahekili Highway, Kaneohe, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA. The Byodo-In Temple ("Temple of Equality") was built in 1968 to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. This Hawaii State Landmark is a non-practicing Buddhist temple which welcomes people of all faiths. The beautiful grounds at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains include a large reflecting pond stocked with Japanese koi carp, meditation niches, and small waterfalls. Byodo-In Temple in O'ahu is a half-scale replica of the original Byodo-in Temple built in 1053 in Uji, Japan (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). This image was stitched from multiple overlapping images.
    1701HAW-0363-364-Pano.jpg
  • The peaceful Byodo-In Temple is in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, at 47-200 Kahekili Highway, Kaneohe, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA. The Byodo-In Temple ("Temple of Equality") was built in 1968 to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. This Hawaii State Landmark is a non-practicing Buddhist temple which welcomes people of all faiths. The beautiful grounds at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains include a large reflecting pond stocked with Japanese koi carp, meditation niches, and small waterfalls. Byodo-In Temple in O'ahu is a half-scale replica of the Byodo-in Temple built in 1053 in Uji, Japan (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
    1701HAW-0286.jpg
  • At Meglisalp is a 1904 mountain chapel (Kapelle Maria zum Schnee, "Holy Mother Mary of the Snow"). Berggasthaus Meglisalp can only be reached on foot in the heart of the Alpstein mountain chain in the Appenzell Alps, Switzerland, Europe. This authentic mountain hostelry, owned by the same family for five generations, dates from 1897. Meglisalp is a working family dairy farm. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    16SWI-1659-60pan.jpg
  • Sunset at Meglisalp brightens peaks behind a 1904 mountain chapel (Kapelle Maria zum Schnee, "Holy Mother Mary of the Snow"). Berggasthaus Meglisalp can only be reached on foot in the heart of the Alpstein mountain chain in the Appenzell Alps, Switzerland, Europe. This authentic mountain hostelry, owned by the same family for five generations, dates from 1897. Meglisalp is a working family dairy farm.
    16SWI-1659-p1.jpg
  • Picture medallions (1508-1516) decorate the net-like pattern of the original wood ceiling in the Abbot's Lower Chambers in the David Building. The medallions refer to the Physiologus, an early Christian (100-300s AD) book that described plants, stones and animals and allegories of salvation through Christ. St. George's Abbey (Kloster Sankt Georgen) was founded around 1007 as a Benedictine monastery in Stein am Rhein village, on the banks of the Rhine at the western end of Lake Constance. The fascinating Klostermuseum is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, built in the 1300s to 1500s.
    16SWI-0346.jpg
  • The Banqueting Hall was commissioned by David von Winkelsheim (1499-1525), the last Abbot of Saint George's. The mostly secular nature of the room's colorful historical frescos saved them from the iconoclasm of the Reformation in 1525. St. George's Abbey (Kloster Sankt Georgen) was founded around 1007 as a Benedictine monastery in Stein am Rhein village, on the banks of the Rhine at the western end of Lake Constance. The fascinating Klostermuseum is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, built in the 1300s to 1500s.
    16SWI-0323.jpg
  • Cloister. St. George's Abbey (Kloster Sankt Georgen) was founded around 1007 as a Benedictine monastery in Stein am Rhein village, on the banks of the Rhine at the western end of Lake Constance. The fascinating Klostermuseum is one of Switzerland's most important historic buildings from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, built in the 1300s to 1500s.
    16SWI-0293.jpg
  • Architect Sinan, who wanted to exceed the grandeur of Hagia Sofia Cathedral, built Süleymaniye Imperial Mosque on Golden Horn harbor from 1550-1557. Süleyman and his wife are buried here. In the West, he is known as Suleiman the Magnificent. In the Islamic world, he is known as the Lawgiver (in Turkish "Kanuni"; making his formal Turkish name of Kanuni Sultan Süleyman), because he completely reconstructed the Ottoman legal system. This image is from İstanbul, in the Republic of Turkey.
    99TUR-04-21_Istanbul-Suleymaniye-Mos...jpg
  • Viking stave church at Lom, rebuilt 1300 AD, Norway, Europe. Published in Wilderness Travel 1988 Trip Schedule. Published in "Light Travel: Photography on the Go" book by Tom Dempsey 2009, 2010.
    81NOR-16-03_Viking-Stave-Church_Lom.jpg
  • Nijo Castle (Nijo-jo) was built in 1603 as the Kyoto residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo Period (1603-1867). His grandson Iemitsu completed the castle's palace buildings 23 years later and further expanded the castle by adding a five-story castle keep. After the Tokugawa Shogunate fell in 1867, Nijo Castle was used as an imperial palace for a while before being donated to the city and opened to the public as a historic site. Its palace buildings are some of the best surviving examples of castle palace architecture of Japan's feudal era, and the castle was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1994.
    1810JPN-6657.jpg
  • Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) is a Zen temple whose top two floors are covered in gold leaf, in Kyoto, Japan. Formally known as Rokuonji, the temple was the retirement villa of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and according to his will it became a Zen temple of the Rinzai sect after his death in 1408. Kinkakuji was the inspiration for the similarly named Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion), built by Yoshimitsu's grandson, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, on the other side of the city a few decades later. Kinkakuji overlooks a large pond. It has burned down numerous times throughout its history including twice during the Onin War, a civil war that destroyed much of Kyoto; and once again more recently in 1950 when it was set on fire by a fanatic monk. The present structure was rebuilt in 1955. The first floor is built in the Shinden style used for palace buildings during the Heian Period. The second floor is built in the Bukke style used in samurai residences, with its exterior completely covered in gold leaf. The third and uppermost floor is built in the style of a Chinese Zen Hall, is gilded inside and out, and is capped with a golden phoenix. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1810JPN-6300-p1-Pano.jpg
  • Myozenji Buddhist Temple in Hida Shirakawa-go. Ogimachi is the largest village and main attraction of the Shirakawa-go region, in Ono District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, Ogimachi village hosts several dozen well preserved gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some more than 250 years old. Their thick roofs, made without nails, are designed withstand harsh, snowy winters and to protect a large attic space that was formerly used to cultivate silkworms. Many of the farmhouses are now restaurants, museums or minshuku lodging. Some farmhouses from surrounding villages have been relocated to the peaceful Gassho-zukuri Minka-en Outdoor Museum, across the river from the town center. Gassho-zukuri means "constructed like hands in prayer", as the farmhouses' steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer.
    1810JPN-2181.jpg
  • Erected 4600 years ago, the Callanish Standing Stones are one of the most spectacular megalithic monuments in Scotland. The main site known as "Callanish I" forms a cross with a central stone circle erected circa 2900-2600 BC. More lines of stones were added by 2000 BC (the close of the Neolithic era), and it become a focus for rituals during the Bronze Age. From 1500-1000 BC, farmers emptied the burials and ploughed the area. After from 800 BC, peat accumulated 1.5 meters deep and buried the stones until removed in 1857. Visit this spectacular ancient site near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais), on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe. This image was stitched from several overlapping photos.
    17SC2-312-322-Pano-Edit_Scotland.jpg
  • Erected 4600 years ago, the Callanish Standing Stones are one of the most spectacular megalithic monuments in Scotland. The main site known as "Callanish I" forms a cross with a central stone circle erected circa 2900-2600 BC. More lines of stones were added by 2000 BC (the close of the Neolithic era), and it become a focus for rituals during the Bronze Age. From 1500-1000 BC, farmers emptied the burials and ploughed the area. After from 800 BC, peat accumulated 1.5 meters deep and buried the stones until removed in 1857. Visit this spectacular ancient site near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais), on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe. This image was stitched from several overlapping photos.
    17SC1-31169-83-Pano_Scotland.jpg
  • Erected 4600 years ago, the Callanish Standing Stones are one of the most spectacular megalithic monuments in Scotland. The main site known as "Callanish I" forms a cross with a central stone circle erected circa 2900-2600 BC. More lines of stones were added by 2000 BC (the close of the Neolithic era), and it become a focus for rituals during the Bronze Age. From 1500-1000 BC, farmers emptied the burials and ploughed the area. After from 800 BC, peat accumulated 1.5 meters deep and buried the stones until removed in 1857. Visit this spectacular ancient site near the village of Callanish (Gaelic: Calanais), on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides (Western Isles), Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe.
    17SC1-31105_Scotland.jpg
  • Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom, Europe. Holy Island history dates from the 500s AD as an important center of Celtic Christianity under Saints Aidan of Lindisfarne, Cuthbert, Eadfrith of Lindisfarne, and Eadberht of Lindisfarne. After Viking invasions and the Norman conquest of England, a priory was reestablished. A small castle was built on Holy Island in 1550.
    17UK2-5050.jpg
  • York Minster, built over 250 years 1220-1472 AD, is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe. Also known as St Peter's, its full name is "Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York," located in England, United Kingdom, Europe. York Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England. "Minster" refers to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and now serves as an honorific title. York was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. As the center of the Church in the North, York Minster has played an important role in great national affairs, such as during the Reformation and Civil War. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK2-1519-45pan-Edit.jpg
  • Rooftop view: York Minster, built over 250 years 1220-1472 AD, is one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe. Also known as St Peter's, its full name is "Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York," located in England, United Kingdom, Europe. York Minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England. "Minster" refers to churches established in the Anglo-Saxon period as missionary teaching churches, and now serves as an honorific title. York was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. As the center of the Church in the North, York Minster has played an important role in great national affairs, such as during the Reformation and Civil War. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    17UK2-1377-38pan.jpg
  • The Moon rises over Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site, which preserves an important Hawaiian temple on the Big Island of Hawaii, USA. Built to fulfill a historic prophecy, Puukohola Heiau is one of the last sacred structures built in the Hawaiian Islands before Christian influence. Kamehameha the Great (born in North Kohala) was advised by his kahuna (priest) to build Puukohola Heiau and dedicate it to the war god Kukailimoku (Ku) to help in his efforts to unite the Hawaiian Islands. The fortress-like heiau (sacred temple of the Hawaiian religion) was built overlooking the Kohala coast between 1790 and 1791. With help from European trade ships, warships, cannon, and military experience, King Kamehameha ultimately united the warring Hawaiian Islands in 1810. At the same time that George Washington was serving as the United States' first president, Kamehameha was using Puukohola Heiau to secure his mana or spiritual power to help unify the Hawaiian people. The massive structure (224 by 100 feet surrounded by walls 16-20 feet high) was built without mortar, using water-worn lava rocks believed to have been passed hand-by-hand in a human chain all the way from Pololu Valley, some 25 miles away. These lonely rocks on a dry desert hill mark an important era in Hawaiian history, just 28 miles north of Kona International Airport. Before it was made a state of the USA in 1959, Hawaii was previously an 1810 kingdom, 1893 protectorate, 1894 republic, and 1898 territory. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping images.
    1701HAW-3643-45-Pano.jpg
  • Mokuaikaua Church (with sun starburst), in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, is the oldest Christian church in the Hawaiian Islands. The congregation dates to 1820 and the building was completed in 1837. Before it was made a state of the USA in 1959, Hawaii was previously an 1810 kingdom, 1893 protectorate, 1894 republic, and 1898 territory.
    1701HAW-3503.jpg
  • Meditation gazebo. The peaceful Byodo-In Temple is in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, at 47-200 Kahekili Highway, Kaneohe, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA. The Byodo-In Temple ("Temple of Equality") was built in 1968 to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. This Hawaii State Landmark is a non-practicing Buddhist temple which welcomes people of all faiths. Byodo-In Temple in O'ahu is a half-scale replica of the original Byodo-in Temple built in 1053 in Uji, Japan (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
    1701HAW-0342.jpg
  • The peaceful Byodo-In Temple is in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, at 47-200 Kahekili Highway, Kaneohe, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA. The Byodo-In Temple ("Temple of Equality") was built in 1968 to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. This Hawaii State Landmark is a non-practicing Buddhist temple which welcomes people of all faiths. The beautiful grounds at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains include a large reflecting pond stocked with Japanese koi carp, meditation niches, and small waterfalls. Byodo-In Temple in O'ahu is a half-scale replica of the original Byodo-in Temple built in 1053 in Uji, Japan (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
    1701HAW-0332.jpg
  • Model moai statues of Easter Island. The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is a major theme park and living museum, in Laie on the northeast coast (Windward Side) of the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA. The PCC first opened in 1963 as a way for students at the adjacent Church College of Hawaii (now Brigham Young University Hawaii) to earn money for their education and as a means to preserve and portray the cultures of the people of Polynesia. Performers demonstrate Polynesian arts and crafts within simulated tropical villages, covering Hawaii, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga and the Marquesas Islands. The Rapa Nui (Easter Island) exhibit features seven hand-carved moai (stone statues). The PCC is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
    1701HAW-0827.jpg
  • At sunset, the moon rises over Eagle Cap and a camper's rock spiral art at Mirror Lake Campground. Backback to Mirror Lake in Eagle Cap Wilderness,  Wallowa–Whitman National Forest, Wallowa Mountains, Columbia Plateau, northeastern Oregon, USA. Hike 7.3 miles from Two Pan Trailhead (5600 ft) up East Lostine River to camp at popular Mirror Lake (7606 ft). Day hike to Glacier Lake via Glacier Pass (6 miles round trip, 1200 ft gain). Backpack out 8.7 miles via Carper Pass, Minam Lake and West Fork Lostine. From September 11-13, 2016 Carol and I walked 22 miles in 3 days. This image was stitched from 2 overlapping photos.
    1609WAL-312-13-Pano.jpg
  • Totem pole at forested entrance to Meerkerk Gardens, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA. To see the park's blossoms at their spectacular peak, visit around late April or early May. Getting there: 2 miles south of Greenbank, turn east at the corner of Highway 525 and Resort Road, and go to 3531 Meerkerk Lane. (Photo was taken May 22, 2015.)
    1604WHI-181.jpg
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