Istanbul’s City Walls I’m a sucker for ruins, climbing things, and particularly climbing on ruins. It only follows, then, that Istanbul’s City Walls were high on my list of priorities as soon as I caught sight of them. For the budget-conscious backpacker taking public transit into town from the airport, […]
Tag: Architecture
Gypjak Mosque
For a man with the stature of Turkmenbashi, no normal tomb will do. It must be a grand marble mausoleum, built to house the whole family. It must be situated just next door to an even grander marble mosque, large enough to hold the whole extended family. And so the […]
Burj Khalifa by Night
There’s honestly not a whole lot that I like about the flashy new high-rise part of Dubai, but the Burj Khalifa is the one obvious exception. No matter where I see it from at whatever time of day, I always seem to go straight for the camera to try and […]
San Antonio: the Alamo and River Walk
Though the goal of the trip was clearly Six Flags, little sister and I also made a trip to San Antonio over the summer and managed to hit some of the tourist sites. The Alamo, while far smaller than I had expected, was a pretty novel and interesting place to […]
Potala Palace
No photos allowed inside but, here, two exterior shots of Lhasa’s Potala Palace. The inside of beautiful and ornate and bejeweled, and brings to mind a lot of questions about the ideals of asceticism in practicality.
Himeji Castle
You know what’s almost as good as the 14th century World-Heritage castle at Himeiji? Ninjas! Unfortunately, airport security took my ninja stars when I tried to board my flight to Hong Kong with them. What’s next, Japan, no samurai swords in public?!