Where in the World?

June 2012 issue

Alyosha, granite monument on Russia's Litsa River

For four years, from 1941 to 1944, the Litsa River frontier in the Russian Arctic was the focus of an attempt by German forces to take Murmansk, site of a harbor crucial to the Soviets. Tens of thousands of men on both sides died during the battle. Although Murmansk, itself, was bombed into ruins, no Axis forces ever succeeded in setting foot in the city.

October 19, 1974, was the 30th anniversary of the final defeat of the German forces in the Arctic, and the subject of April’s photo was dedicated on that day in a solemn ceremony. “Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during...

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May 2012 issue

Passion Façade of Sagrada Família Cathedral

One-hundred-and-thirty years and counting. . . . In 1883, 31-year-old architect and artist Antoni Gaudí took over a modest little project in Barcelona that had begun the year before, the subject of the photo in the March '12 issue: Sagrada Família Cathedral. (To be precise, the photo depicts the Passion Façade of the cathedral, taken from beneath the portico.)

With its multiplicity of spires, windows, façades and carved symbols (not to mention interruptions by several wars), it’s perhaps little wonder that the unique building’s construction is estimated to be only...

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March 2012 issue

Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England
Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, home to the Prime Meridian.
The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, home to the Prime Meridian.
February 2012 issue

'Beehive' houses in Harran, Turkey
"Beehive" houses in Harran in southeastern Anatolian region
What’s made of mud, stays cool in the hottest weather and boasts a design that hasn’t changed in 3,000 years? The subject of December’s photo, the “beehive” houses in Harran in the southeastern Anatolian region of Turkey, very near the border with Syria. Since the Assyrians first built them, people lived in houses like this in Harran until the 1980s; today, they remain as tourist exhibits.
January 2012 issue

Island of Hvar, in Adriatic Sea off Dalmatian coast of Croatia
Island of Hvar, in Adriatic Sea off Dalmatian coast of Croatia
“When I think of our day on Hvar, I am reminded of the smell of lavender,” wrote Bonnie Floyd of Sacramento, California, the winner of this month’s drawing. She, along with many of the twenty-eight other readers who sent in correct answers, had been to the subject of November’s photo, the island of Hvar, in the Adriatic Sea off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia.
December 2011 issue

"Gateway," a 75-foot-high monument in New Zealand
Gateway, a 75-foot-high monument in New Zealand
New Zealand artist Chris Booth built “Gateway,” the 75-foot-high monument that’s the subject of October’s photo, between 1986 and 1990. Since then, the two columns of rock, “joined” by an arch of water, have stood sentinel at one of the entrances of Albert Park in central Auckland, New Zealand.
November 2011 issue

Museo de Arte Comtemporãnea de Niterói (MAC) in Niterói, Brazil
Museo de Arte Comtemporãnea de Niterói (MAC) in Niterói, Brazil
Any fan of science fiction, “The Jetsons” or just whimsical design might like to check out the article on architect Oscar Niemeyer on Wikipedia, to see photos of some of his amazing buildings. In 1996, at age 89, Niemeyer designed the subject of September’s photo, the Museo de Arte Comtemporãnea de Niterói (MAC) in Niterói, Brazil (across the bay from Rio de Janeiro).
October 2011 issue

Liebfraukirche in Trier, Germany
The entrance to the Liebfraukirche in Trier, Germany
August’s photo depicts the entrance to the Liebfraukirche in Trier, Germany. Completed in 1260, it is one of the oldest Gothic churches in Germany. (The other contender for the title of “oldest Gothic church” is in Marburg.)