Central Bangkok and the Chao Phraya River are seen from an abandoned skyscraper in Bangkok April 19, 2015. The abandoned building, known as Satorn Unique, dubbed the “ghost tower” was destined to become one of Bangkok's most luxurious residential addresses but construction was never completed as the Thai economy was hit during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Now, many travellers visit and explore 49-storey skyscraper. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Women dance at the Taiga nightclub in Batroun village, north of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, July 2, 2021. With their dollars trapped in the bank, a lack of functioning credit cards and travel restrictions imposed because of the pandemic, many Lebanese who traditionally vacationed over the summer at regional hotspots are also now turning toward domestic tourism. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

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

“I started photography in June 2009. At the time, I was searching for a way to express both the rigorous scientist and the creative artist in me. There are few hobbies that let these two approaches work together, so I really was enthusiastic about it: I am now spending all my free time studying various techniques, contemplating others' fantastic work, and of course, making pictures”. – Christophe Kiciak. Photo: “The Hero”. (Photo by Christophe Kiciak)

American sculptor Michael Alfano has been sculpting for over fifteen years. A native of New York, he now lives and works in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. His major influences are Salvador Dali, Jo Davidson, and Jean-Antoine Houdon, as well as Buddhist, Taoist, Sufi and other eastern philosophy and literature. He first studied at the Art Students League of New York, with an emphasis on life-size sculpture from the model. His formal education continued at Boston University and was augmented by internships with several prominent sculptors.