Van cats, relatively large, have a chalky white coat, sometimes with ruddy coloration on the head and hindquarters, and have blue or amber eyes or have heterochromia, are seen at “Cat Villa”, established to protect the cats in Van, Turkey on January 20, 2021. Internationally valid “health certificate” is prepared for Van cats, visited by local and foreign tourists, within a project to protect their generations and increasing their numbers. Health certificates with information such as name, breed, gender, eye color, date of birth, tail feature, color, hearing status and identity are given to people who want to adopt cats. (Photo by Mesut Varol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

These black-and-white photos are taken from the new book “Armoured Warfare in the First World War 1916 – 1918” by Anthony Tucker-Jones and published by Pen & Sword Military. Here: British troops hitch a ride on a Mark IV after the massed tank fleet spearheading attack at Cambrai on November 20, 1917. (Photo by Anthony Tucker-Jones/Mediadrumworld.com)

Van cat walks in the snow in Yuzuncu Yil University's “cat villa” where they are carefully cared, in Van, Turkiye on January 21, 2022. One of the most important symbols of Van province of Turkiye endangered Van cats are taken under protection at the Van Cat Research and Application Center of Yuzuncu Yil University. They have been the subject of many scientific studies with their unique characteristics. Efforts are continuing to protect the extinction of the Van cat, which is known for its sensuality, friendliness, white silky fur, lion's walk, fluffy tail, different eye colors and fondness for water. (Photo by Ozkan Bilgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

While communism, collectivism, worms, dry rot and casual looting failed to destroy the majestic wooden churches of Russia, it may be ordinary neglect that finally does them in. Dwindled now to several hundred remaining examples, these glories of vernacular architecture lie scattered amid the vastness of the world’s largest country. Just over a decade ago, Richard Davies, a British architectural photographer, struck out on a mission to record the fragile and poetic structures. Austerely beautiful and haunting, “Wooden Churches: Traveling in the Russian North” (White Sea Publishing; $132) is the result. Covering thousands of miles, Mr. Davies described how he and the writer Matilda Moreton tracked down the survivors from among the thousands of onion-domed structures built after Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in 988.

“Einar Erici (1885–1965) was a physician by profession, working at a tuberculosis hospital in Stockholm, even running a private medical practice. He was by then the most renowned Swedish expert of church organs and organ builders, and his archival collection is today held by the Swedish National Heritage Board. This archive includes mostly writings, such as letters and manuscripts for published articles and essays, but also more than 2 000 black and white photos – original prints, glass plates and film negatives”. – Swedish National Heritage Board

Photo: Priest, Valamo Monastery, Karelia, Russia (then Finland), 1930s. Father Venerius with a birchbark basket. (Photo by Einar Erici)

“Mehndi or menhdi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration in India, as well as by expatriate communities from the country. The word mehndi is derived from the Sanskrit word mendhikā. The use of mehndi and turmeric is described in the earliest Vedic ritual books. Haldi (Staining oneself with turmeric paste) as well as mehndi are important Vedic customs as a symbolic representation of the Outer and the Inner Sun. Vedic customs are meant to awaken the “inner light” and so the gold of the inner Sun has an important symbolic function”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Application of henna or “Mehndi” to a girls hand in a market on October 18, 2010 in Jaipur, India. (Photo by Simon de Trey-White/Getty Images)

Russian soldiers are pictured next to the Reichstag building in this undated photo taken May 1945 in Berlin. Some 70 years on from the Battle for Berlin, instrumental in the end of World War II, Reuters photographer Fabrizio Bensch unearthed pictures by Red Army photographer Georgiy Samsonov, showing his portrayal of a city laid siege. Bensch bought an exactly equivalent FED camera, a Soviet copy of the German-made Leica II, choosing to use black and white film to capture images of the self-same locations he detected his way to in modern-day Berlin. (Photo by Georgiy Samsonov/Reuters/MHM)

The galactic core of the milky way occupied by two small wooden boats on July 2, 2014, in Isle of Wight, UK. The Milky Way shines in mesmerizing colourful patterns above the Isle of Wight in stunning photographs. Chad Powell used a DSLR camera to capture images of the spectacular constellation above the familiar beach scenes of England's largest island. The 22-year-old, who shot the pictures over a year of stargazing on the island, often stayed up until dawn to catch the most dramatic sky-scapes. Chad, a graphic designer from Ventnor, Isle of Wight, used foregrounds of abandoned theme parks, harbors and lighthouses against the illuminated sky. Minor adjustments were made to bring out the contrast and whites in the images. (Photo by Chad Powell/Barcroft Media)