Vardzia is a cave monastery site in southern Georgia, excavated from the slopes of the Erusheti Mountain on the left bank of the Mtkvari River, thirty kilometres from Aspindza. The main period of construction was the second half of the twelfth century. The caves stretch along the cliff for some five hundred metres and in up to nineteen tiers. The Church of the Dormition, dating to the 1180s during the golden age of Tamar and Rustaveli, has an important series of wall paintings. The site was largely abandoned after the Ottoman takeover in the sixteenth century. Now part of a state heritage reserve, the extended area of Vardzia-Khertvisi has been submitted for future inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List

Penguins majestically march on sand before heading out for a morning swim. Wildlife photographer Wim van den Heever, 45, visited the Falkland Islands this year to shoot pictures and scout the area for future tours. Wim’s breathtaking images show a small group of king penguins before they head out to sea at sunrise. Here: King Penguins marching during sunrise, Falkland Islands. (Photo by Wim van den Heever/Caters News)

A model falls and gets help back to her feet during the fashion show for the Givenchy Spring 2016 collection at Fashion Week on, Friday, September 11, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo)

Runners gather at the start line for the annual “Santa Speedo Run”, a charity race through the streets of the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. (Photo by Gretchen Ertl/Reuters)

Boys ride a motorbike on their way back home after taking a bath in a canal at Chachura village, in Uttar Pradesh April 4, 2012. (Photo by Parivartan Sharma/Reuters)

Children play at the Ryoji Ikeda exhibition “the transfinite” at the Park Avenue Armory on June 10, 2011 in New York City. The audio visual installation, which will close after tomorrow, features two back-two-back screens displaying a continual loop of sounds, fragments of numbers and strobe-lit patterns that echo the Japanese artist's interest in mathematics, the subconscious and the digital world. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Coast and marine winner: Storm Gull (Lesser black-backed gull), New Haven, East Sussex. (Photo by Craig Denford/British Wildlife Photography Awards)