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  • Archive
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • England
      • London
      • Newcastle-upon-Tyne
    • Europe
      • Albania
      • Austria
      • Bulgaria
      • Estonia
      • France
        • Paris
      • Germany
      • Iceland
      • Italy
      • Jersey
      • Latvia
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Spain
        • Seville
      • Switzerland
      • Ukraine
    • Beyond
      • Africa
        • Botswana
        • Cape Verde
        • Gambia
        • Kenya
        • Morocco
        • Namibia
        • Senegal
        • Tanzania
        • Zimbabwe
      • Americas
        • Belize
        • Canada
        • Chile
          • Rapa Nui
        • Colombia
        • Costa Rica
        • Ecuador
          • Galapagos Islands
        • Guatemala
        • Jamaica
        • USA
          • New Mexico
          • New York City
          • Washington State
      • Asia
        • DPRK
        • India
          • Kerala
          • Rajasthan
        • Indochina
          • Cambodia
          • Laos
          • Vietnam
        • Japan
        • Nepal
        • Oman
        • Syria
        • United Arab Emirates
        • Uzbekistan
  • Themes
    • Architecture
    • Art
      • Crafts
      • Street art
    • Colour
    • Dark tourism
    • Eco-tourism
    • Food & drink
    • Gardens
    • History
      • Ruins
      • War
    • Landscape
      • Coast & seascapes
      • Deserts
      • Mountains
      • Rivers
    • Nature and wildlife
      • Animals
      • Birds
      • Plants
        • Flowers
        • Trees, forests and woodland
    • People
      • Culture & tradition
      • Street photography
    • Travel in general
  • Photo galleries
    • Themed galleries
    • Travel galleries
  • Postcards from the road
  • Challenges
    • Photography challenges
      • Just One Person
      • Lens-Artists
      • Mid-week Monochrome
      • Monochrome Madness
      • Nature Photo Challenge
      • One Word Sunday
      • Photographing Public Art
      • Pick a Word
      • Squares
      • Sunday Stills
      • The Changing Seasons
      • Words of Wisdom
      • Cee’s challenges
        • CBWC
        • CFFC
        • CMMC
    • General challenges
      • Monday walks
      • Writers’ Quotes Wednesday
    • Challenges archive
      • Bird Weekly
      • Friendly Friday
        • The Friendly Friday Challenge: how to join in
      • Friday’s Foods of the World
      • Life in Colour
      • One-to-Three
      • Ten photos
      • Thursday Trios
      • Thursday Doors
  • About me
    • Contact me
    • ‘Always Write’ interview
    • My love of travel
    • My photography
      • Photographic techniques
      • My photography journey
      • Video
    • Disclaimer & GDPR
  • Archive

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Topics I’ve touched on

africa animals architecture art birds black_&_white buildings bulgaria cffc chile cities colombia colour costa_rica dprk ealing england flowers france friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india just_one_person_from_around_the_world landscape lens-artists Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa views village wildlife
  • History,  Norway,  Postcards from the road

    A postcard from Norway: Roald Amundsen

    June 4, 2023 / 17 Comments
    Statue of a man seen from behind with mountain beyond

    In Britain Amundsen is somewhat notorious as the guy who beat Captain Scott to the South Pole. In Norway however, and especially in Tromsø, he is regarded as a national hero.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Roman columns and other ruins

    Once upon a time in Syria: part two

    September 21, 2020
    Gable of brick building surrounded by trees

    In search of Billy the Kid

    November 5, 2020
    Small church on a wooded mountainside

    Asen’s Fortress and the Church of the Holy Mother of God

    August 18, 2021
  • Architecture,  Bulgaria,  History,  Monday walks

    Koprivshtitsa: a Bulgarian time capsule

    May 22, 2023 / 30 Comments
    Low blue house with tiled roof

    Koprivshtitsa is no ordinary town but rather a time capsule. Several of its houses are associated with significant players in the 1876 April Uprising against Ottoman rule. The uprising failed, but a fire had been ignited. The brutalities committed by the Turks while suppressing it led to widespread condemnation across Europe which was the trigger for the Russo-Turkish War. This ended in Turkish defeat. Thus the April Uprising can be regarded as having eventually achieved its original aim, the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Elegant stone buildings and a large church with a lawn

    A visit to King’s College Chapel, Cambridge

    July 21, 2022
    Three photos in a black frame showing an oriental palace and some details

    Buildings three ways (three of a kind)

    May 29, 2022
    Looking down at a curved spiral staircase

    Gallery: staring up at the steps

    May 19, 2023
  • Albania,  Dark tourism,  History

    The legacy of Enver Hoxha

    May 13, 2023 / 23 Comments
    A large 1960s style home

    Few people are all good or all bad. Most of us hope that in our cases the good will outweigh the bad. But there are some people for whom it is clear that the opposite is true. Such a person was Enver Hoxha.

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    Or what about ...?

    House in a garden with concrete path

    A postcard from Tirana: Enver Hoxha’s former residence

    April 22, 2023
    White blossom and deep blue sky

    Gallery: an April selection (2023)

    May 2, 2023
    Men at small tables, with drinks

    Gallery: the people of Tirana in black and white

    April 26, 2023
  • Albania,  Dark tourism,  Postcards from the road

    A postcard from Tirana: Enver Hoxha’s former residence

    April 22, 2023 / 40 Comments
    House in a garden with concrete path

    In Tirana's now trendy Blloku district one house stands empty and isolated, ignored it seems by the bright young things who come here to eat and drink in the many bars and restaurants.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Men at small tables, with drinks

    Gallery: the people of Tirana in black and white

    April 26, 2023
    White statue of a saint against a blue sky

    Sweet freedoms in Tirana

    May 8, 2023
    Books on a market stall

    A postcard from Tirana: the flea market

    April 24, 2023
  • Architecture,  Estonia,  Monochrome Madness

    Tallinn’s TV tower in black and white

    April 13, 2023 / 24 Comments
    Looking down at a spiral staircase

    On 20th August 1991 the Estonian government declared the country’s independence from the Soviet Union. In retaliation the following day Soviet troops wanting to seize control of the country’s communication channels stormed the TV Tower on the outskirts of Tallinn. Four employees working there locked themselves in rooms on the 22nd floor and kept the troops at bay by inserting a matchbox between the door of the lift and its frame to stop it working.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Red crumbling ruins

    ‘Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!’

    August 12, 2021
    Orthodox cathedral at the end of a wide street

    Gallery: Sofia’s St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

    March 7, 2021
    Two white bell towers

    A stroll around Tavira

    April 29, 2022
  • Colombia,  Colour,  Culture & tradition,  Photographing Public Art,  Travel galleries

    Gallery: Guatapé, town of the zócalos

    April 11, 2023 / 29 Comments
    Cobbled street of colourful houses

    Just as humans (sadly) use knives and swords for attack and defence, so too do animals and plants. Whether it’s a thorn or spike to ward off predators, or a sharp tooth to attack their prey, there is always a point to sharpness in nature.

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    Or what about ...?

    Colourful mural street art depicting two women

    Gallery: the street art of Candelaria, Bogota

    February 24, 2023
    Colourfully painted houses on a cobbled street

    A postcard from Colombia: a street corner in Guatapé

    February 15, 2023
    Straw hat with pink hibiscus flower

    One of Colombia’s most famous crops

    March 28, 2023
  • Architecture,  Colombia,  Monday walks,  Street photography

    Exploring the sights of downtown Medellín

    April 4, 2023 / 38 Comments
    Man having his shoes shined

    It’s not enough to bring peace to a city, you also need prosperity. So while the transformation of Medellín from no-go drugs capital of Colombia to a safer and more visitable city started in its outlying comunas, the city centre has been vital to its continued development.

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    Or what about ...?

    Mountain road with car on verge

    Following the High Road to Taos

    February 14, 2021
    Colourful houses built over water

    Chiloé: a place of witches and gnomes

    August 4, 2022
    Red sandstone palace buildings and pool

    ‘He keepeth a great court’: Fatehpur Sikri

    March 26, 2021
  • Dark tourism,  DPRK,  Lens-Artists,  War

    Dreaming of reunification in North Korea

    March 26, 2023 / 31 Comments
    Row of huts in front of a larger modern building

    Travel is all about experiences. They may seem quite small at the time, like a chance but memorable encounter with a local person that changes your perspective on the world. Or they may seem huge, visiting an iconic world sight that you’ve dreamed about seeing for years. But whether large or small, long-planned for or serendipitous, the experiences of travel are, in my opinion, among the best to be found.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Looking down on faded yellow-painted buildings

    Campo da Morte Lenta: Camp of the Slow Death

    March 31, 2021
    Two large mosaics with portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il

    Gallery: mosaic portraits of a dynasty

    October 21, 2020
    Stone statue of man in an overcoat

    A visit to Sofia’s Socialist Art Museum

    October 10, 2022
  • Architecture,  Colombia,  History,  Monday walks

    A stroll around Villa de Leyva

    February 27, 2023 / 36 Comments
    Large cobbled square surrounded by low whitewashed buildings

    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.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Blue tiles with religious painting

    Gallery: tiles, tiles and yet more tiles!

    April 30, 2022
    Black and white photo of two women with umbrellas tinted pink

    Sofia, city of contrasts and a work in progress

    October 5, 2022
    View over group of brick temples with tiered tiled roofs

    A walk in Patan, the City of Beauty

    February 1, 2023
  • Colombia,  Dark tourism,  Postcards from the road,  Ruins

    A postcard from Colombia: Pablo Escobar’s former lakeside retreat

    February 13, 2023 / 34 Comments
    Ruined building among trees

    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.

    Carry on reading

    Or what about ...?

    Large pink flower

    Gallery: in the pink in Colombia

    March 8, 2023
    Cobbled street of colourful houses

    Gallery: Guatapé, town of the zócalos

    April 11, 2023
    Straw hat with pink hibiscus flower

    One of Colombia’s most famous crops

    March 28, 2023
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Read my featured blogger interview

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By Marsha of 'Always Write'

And my answers to Bren’s ‘five at five’ questions

Lady in a hat and red top sitting on rocks

Some favourite photos

Man in a turban with fishing nets
Fisherman in Fort Kochi, Kerala
Two elephants in long grass
Okavango elephants
Blue glacier edge
Glacier Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile
Elderly woman in black hat and sunglasses
In Santiago, Chile
Very large statues of North Korean Leaders
Statues of the Great Leaders on Mansudae Hill, Pyongyang
Water reflecting the sky with clouds and low sun
Approaching sunset in the Okavango Delta
Feet of huge metal sculpture, with man standing beside
The feet of the Angel
Large moai with row of more behind
The ‘travelling moai’ and Ahu Tongariki
Man in knitted hat by water, black and white photo
Waiting for the ferry, Banjul
Mountain reflected in a lake
On the road to Dyrholaey
Sunset at Wahiba Sands, Oman
Squirrel with a conker in his mouth
In Walpole Park, Ealing
Silhouette of a man in a gateway
Looking out from Bundi Palace
Blue and pink bird on a dead tree
Lilac-breasted Roller, Chobe NP, Botswana
Buddhist monk in orange robes with mobile phone
Monk at Wat Nong Sikhounmuang, Luang Prabang
Man sleeping in a tuk tuk by a carved stone wall
Tuk tuk driver by the Terrace of the Leper King
Close up of flamingo with head tucked under
Flamingo (Jersey Zoo)
Lady with baskets of fruit sitting by a canal
In Hoi An, Vietnam
Small fishing boat with a man in it, on a large lake
Lake Atitlan
Wet street and two people with bright pink umbrella
Street in Lucca, rainy day – edited

Some topics I’ve touched on

africa animals architecture art birds black_&_white buildings bulgaria cffc chile cities colombia colour costa_rica dprk ealing england flowers france friendlyfriday Friendly_Friday history india just_one_person_from_around_the_world landscape lens-artists Lens_Artists_Challenge london Monday_Walks nepal new_mexico north_korea paris people photography photo_effects PPAC ruins Street_Art Street_Photography Sunday_Stills usa views village wildlife

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You may have missed

  • A postcard from Norway: Roald Amundsen
  • A postcard from Norway: crossing the Arctic Circle
  • Gallery: a May selection (2023)
  • Gallery: London from the top of the Shard
  • Gallery: finding peace while travelling

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All images and texts copyright Sarah Wilkie - 2023 ©
 

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