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THE HOLY GANGES AT VARANASIThere are more than 100 ghats along the Ganges at Varanasi, a city in the north of India. Here pilgrims come to pray and bathe. Varanasi (historic Benares) is the city of Lord Siva. Devout Hindus pray for the protection of Siva when they perform puja (i.e., pray) in the Ganges. Cremations are performed at the Manikarnika ghat, shown in the photo, where an eternal fire has been burning for 4,000 years. The belief is that the soul will then go to Nirvana and escape the cycle of birth, death and re-incarnation.
The Basilica of Maria Maggiore, photographed in 1994, is only one of the many beautiful buildings in Rome.
In 1994, when we vacationed in Italy, we visited the coliseum in Rome. Being there, one could easily imagine how horrific it would have been to be there in ancient Rome to see early Christians being thrown to the lions.
Knidos, an ancient city located at the westernmost point of Asia Minor, was in existence as early as 300 BC. There are two harbours, one on the Aegean and one on the Mediterranean. Knidos was an important seaport, being the final landfall before ships crossed over to Egypt. Our boat trip to Knidos was a hair-raising experience. Because of its location at the end of the Datca peninsula which separates the Mediterranean from the Aegean, the seas at Knidos are often very rough. The day we went was no exception, and we felt grateful to have arrived safely. We enjoyed Knidos very much. It was just the sort of out-of-the-way place with lots of history and ancient ruins that we love to visit.
This boat trip took us across the Sea of Marmara from Yalova to Istanbul which you can see in the far distance. The setting sun made for a wonderful view of the city as we approached it.
Taking a cruise on the Bosporus is definitely a must for travelers in Istanbul. First of all, it is beautiful, with the intense sparkling blue of the water and the brilliant sunshine. Then, there are the palaces, mansions and small villages along the way. Most of all, there is a feeling of excitement when you realize just where you are, poised between Europe and Asia on your way to the Black Sea!
These Mulberry harbours, photographed in Asnelles, Normandy in 1999 are temporary prefabricated harbours that were used to offload cargo on the beaches of Normandy. They were taken across the English Channel from Britain in sections and assembled off the coast as part of the D-Day invasion in 1944.
Pointe du Hoc, photographed in 1997, is 4 miles from Omaha Beach and, when the D-Day invasion occurred, was a strongly fortified position on top of a steep cliff. The US Army Ranger Assault Group were assigned the job of taking out the German guns, which they accomplished successfully though with big losses. I was amazed at how large the shell craters are. The area has been left just as it was following D-Day.
Montpellier and Bois are my two favourite small cities in France. Montpellier is a very old city with a famous university. The photo is of the Place de la Comedie, the main square in the city centre. There is also a charming old city, but what impressed us most was the quality of the new commercial development which is superb.
Golden Fort, so-named for its resemblance to a golden flame in the desert sun, includes Jain temples, a palace, a museum, and one-quarter of the houses in the Old City of Jaisalmer. It was built in the 12th Century and has now been placed upon the World Monuments Watch List of 100 endangered sites. Located in an area of meagre rainfall, the fort was built with a complex system designed to collect rainwater. However, it does not have the capacity to handle the volume of water now necessary to accommodate tourists and as a result the fort has become unstable. It is unclear if anything is being done to contain or reduce the damage.
This photo of an old mansion called a haveli was taken in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan in 2007. It shows the beautifully intricate stone carving that you often see on these old houses. I was fascinated by the many birds that perched on buildings everywhere in the city.
These photos were taken at Long Beach at Tofino on Vancouver Island in 2003. We spent four days there during the summer when it normally has so much rain. We were very fortunate in having no rain at all making it possible to go for many long walks on beautiful Long Beach.
In 2002 we spent a day with this handsome young Berber tour guide who took us to see a kasbah - a walled, older part of a north African city. His story is a remarkable one. When he was a boy of about eight, he was befriended by a man from Spain who took a great interest in him and encouraged him in his schooling. Every year he would bring books from Spain for the boy. When we were introduced to him, he had just completed a Ph.D. in social anthropology and was fluent in eight languages. I have often wondered what became of him, if he remained in the desert or if he took a job in one of Morocco's cities. He told us that the aquifers near Erfoud - the only source of water for the area - were being depleted. I have also wondered what if anything has been done or could be done about that. 
The smaller of the two temples at Abu Simbel, photographed in 2004, was built by Ramesses II to honor both Hathor as the goddess of love and music and his wife Nefertari as the deified queen.
There is great diversity within India, but it can nevertheless be characterized as a country of farmers. Although Rajasthan is one of India's more prosperous states, you can see from the photo that life in rural areas is relatively primitive. Even with many government initiatives to combat it, rural poverty - along with indebtedness and suicide - remains a problem.
