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Colombia, History, Lens-Artists, Monday walks, Photographing Public Art, Street art, Street photography
Finding peace in Medellín
How do you find peace in a city rife with crime and violence? During the 1980s and most of the 1990s Medellín had the reputation of being one of the most violent cities in the world.
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A stroll around Villa de Leyva
Colombia’s Villa de Leyva is one of those places where time seems to have stopped still. Or at least, it would seem that way were it not for the large number of visitors, both Colombian and international, who descend on the town to see its perfectly preserved colonial architecture and huge main square. This is a town that is as much museum as place to live.
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A postcard from Colombia: Pablo Escobar’s former lakeside retreat
On the shores of the El Peñol-Guatapé Reservoir the infamous Colombian cocaine drug-lord Pablo Escobar built a lavish estate which he named La Manuela, after his daughter.
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A postcard from Colombia: Villa de Leyva
Villa de Leyva was founded in 1572 by the Spaniards, and is considered one of the most beautiful colonial villages in Colombia.
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A postcard from Colombia: finding gold
Bogota's Gold Museum, El Museo del Oro, holds a stunning collection of pre-Columbian gold and other metals.
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A walk in Patan, the City of Beauty
Patan is said to be one of the oldest Buddhist cities in the world. It is also known as Lalitpur, which means the City of Beauty. The name recognises its tradition of arts and crafts which continue to define the city.
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Reading messages from the past
When I travel I am always curious about the people who inhabit the places I visit. I seek to understand their way of life and observe how it differs from, or is similar to, my own. But there are other people who populate my travels, the people who ONCE lived in these lands.
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Gallery: looking back at buildings
One of the (many) things I like to photograph when I travel are the various buildings I see. Buildings tell us so much about how people live, how they work, how they worship. Or, if they are old buildings, how they once lived/worked/worshipped.
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In Bandipur, an ancient hilltop town
Strung out along a ridge in the Himalayan foothills lies the ancient town of Bandipur. It has only been fully accessible by road since 1998. The ridge is just 200 metres long and barely wide enough to accommodate the main street and the buildings that line it. Behind the houses the mountainside falls away steeply. The small market gardens farmed by the inhabitants are accessible only by steps cut into the hillside.
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Ealing, the Queen of the Suburbs?
In 1902 Charles Jones, Ealing’s borough surveyor, published a book. In it he referred to Ealing as the ‘Queen of Suburbs’. His aim of course was to promote the area as a place to live.
