Where in the World?
Mingun Pahtodawgyi (Mingun, Myanmar)
In 1790, when construction began on the huge structure shown in our January mystery photo, the plan was that it would eventually reach a height of 490 feet. However, the project was abandoned long before that.
Colossus of Barletta (Barletta, Puglia, Italy)
Known as the Colossus of Barletta, the bronze Byzantine statue seen in our December mystery photo is about 16-1/2; feet tall and stands near the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre of Barletta in the town of Barletta, located in the Puglia region of Italy, in the "heel."
Arctic Cathedral (Tromsø, Norway)
Located in northern Norway, over 215 miles north of the Arctic Circle in the city of Tromsø, is a landmark known as the Arctic Cathedral, also called Tromsdalen Church.
Kronborg Castle (Helsingør, Denmark)
The history behind the building in our November mystery photo — located in Helsingør, Denmark — began in the 1420s, when Denmark's King Eric VII chose that spot to build a stronghold known as Krogen ("The Hook").
La Statue de Sainte-Genevieve (Paris, France)
The story behind the statue in our August mystery photo begins with a woman named Geneviève. She was born in Nanterre, France, circa 423 and later moved to Paris. She was a young woman when Parisians feared an invasion by Attila the Hun. Genevieve refused to flee and urged others to remain in the city and pray.
Conakry Grand Mosque (Conakry, Guinea)
The mystery photo in our June issue showed the interior of a mosque in Conakry, Guinea, that was completed in 1982. The Grande Mosquée de Conakry, or the Conakry Grand Mosque, was built during the administration of Guinea's first president, Ahmed Sékou Touré, with funding from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.
Qutb Minar (Delhi, India)
Eighteen miles southeast of Delhi, India, stands the Qutb Minar, a structure dating back to the early 13th century and an unforgettable sight for anyone visiting the area.
Great Enclosure, Great Zimbabwe (southeastern Zimbabwe)
With an outer wall measuring up to 32 feet high in spots, the Great Enclosure is part of a complex of granite structures called Great Zimbabwe, the ruins of which cover almost 1,800 acres in what is now southeastern Zimbabwe.
Independence Monument (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
Photographed during a January 2013 cruise up the Mekong River, the Independence Monument (the structure seen in our February mystery photo) stands in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. An Angkorian-style tower, it was erected in 1958 and commemorates the country's independence from France five years earlier.
Hluboka Castle (Hluboka nad Vitavou, Czechia)
Considered one of the most beautiful castles in Czechia, Hluboká Castle was the building pictured in our January mystery photo. The architectural style of the original castle, built in the second half of the 13th century, was Gothic, but the style changed with later reconstructions.
Reconstructed Wall of Ancient Babylon (Hillah, Baghdad)
Located in what is now central Iraq, Babylon, founded in 2300 BC, was the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 626 to 539 BC. Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled that empire at one point, is credited with ordering the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Perlan (Reykjavik, Iceland)
On top of Öskjuhlíð hill, in the center of Reykjavík, Iceland, stands a ring of six tanks each holding up to more than a million gallons of geothermally heated water.
Monument to the Laboratory Mouse (Novosibirsk, Siberia, Russia)
One hundred and twenty years after the founding of the city of Novosibirsk in Siberia, Russia, a bronze statue of a mouse appeared in front of the city's Institute of Cytology & Genetics.
Brouq Nature Reserve (Qatar)
Visitors to Qatar's Brouq Nature Reserve who have seen “2001: A Space Odyssey” may be surprised to see something resembling the huge obelisk that appears in the 1968 film. However, the Qatar sculpture includes four “obelisks,” not just one. All four are visible in our September mystery photo.
House-Museum of the Farmer & the Monument to Fertility (Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain)
Rising to a height of 49 feet from the center of Lanzarote — fourth largest of Spain's Canary Islands — is a unique sculpture that is part of the island's Casa-Museo del Campesino y Monumento a la Fecundidad (House-Museum of the Farmer and the Monument to Fertility).
Mausoleum of Habib Bourguiba (Monastir, Tunisia)
The eventual occupant of the mausoleum pictured in our July mystery photo was still alive at the time it was completed in 1963. In fact, Habib Bourguiba, president of Tunisia from 1957 to 1987, lived until April 2000.
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Cape Town, South Africa)
An unusual museum opened at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa, in September 2017: the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.