Beautiful ornate carvings in the Adalaj stepwell, initiated by Rana Veer Singh in 1498 and completed by his widow Rudabai in 1499. It has 344 steps in total and includes both Hindu and Jain influences.

Ornately carved third storey level of the Adalaj stepwell, initiated by Rana Veer Singh in 1498 and completed by his widow Rudabai in 1499. It has 344 steps in total and includes both Hindu and Jain influences.

Beautiful ornate carvings in the Adalaj stepwell, initiated by Rana Veer Singh in 1498 and completed by his widow Rudabai in 1499. It has 344 steps in total and includes both Hindu and Jain influences.

Colossus of Barletta, Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, Barletta, Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, Italy

Generalife Palace, Generalife Gardens, Islamic and Mudejar architecture, Alhambra, UNESCO, Granada, Andalusia, Spain

Basilica of St. Nicholas, Bari, Apulia, Italy

Nasrid Palaces, Islamic and Mudejar architecture, Alhambra, UNESCO, Granada, Andalusia, Spain

Giuseppe Renato Greco, The Calvary of Manduria, Manduria, Taranto, Apulia, Italy

Statue of St. Michael the Archangel, Sanctuary of St. Michael the Archangel, Monte Sant'Angelo, UNESCO, Foggia, Apulia, Italy

Historic 16th century church of Saint Francis (Igreja de Sao Francisco), built in Gothic style, with Manueline influences, completed around 1510, design of Martim Lourenco, city of Evora, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Alto Alentejo, Portugal, Europe

Church of San Benedetto, Monte Sant'Angelo, Foggia, Apulia, Italy

Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain

Coricancha and Santo Domingo Convent, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Cusco (Cuzco), Peru, South America

Maman sculpture by the French-American artist Louise Bourgeois, 1911-2010, beside the Guggenheim Museum designed by architect Frank Gehry, Bilbao, province of Biscay, Basque Country, Spain, Europe

The bronze sculpture by Ludwig Engelhardt of Marx on left and Engels in Marx-Engels Forum in central Berlin, Germany

Am Steinhof church (Church Leopold) designed by Otto Wagner between 1902 and 1907, Art Nouveau, Vienna, Austria

Narthex (porch) sculptures, 12th century Benedictine Abbey, UNESCO, Vezelay, Yonne, Burgundy, France

Abolition of Slavery statue, sculpture by Guadelupian brothers Jean and Christian Moisa, Ile de Goree (Goree Island), UNESCO, Dakar, Senegal

Senegalese artist painter Abdoulaye Diallo in his house and workshop, Ngor island, Dakar, Senegal, West Africa

Paintings by Baba Ly, Galerie Antenna, African arts, 9 Felix Faure Street, Dakar, Senegal, West Africa

La Feuille sculpture by Germaine Richier, Musee Picasso, above Baie des Anges, Cap d'Antibes, Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, French Riviera, France

Egyptian-style lion sculpture of Fontana dell'Obelisco on Piazza del Popolo, UNESCO, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Interior of the Mosta Rotunda (Dome), Mosta, Malta

Interior of Saint Andrew Gothic Church, 13th century, Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy

Religious frescos on the ceiling of the 8th century Church of San Giorgio, city of Salerno, Campania, Italy

Exhibition of the Moroccan artist Lalla Essaydi at the Bab Mansour gallery, Meknes, Morocco

Ranakpur Jain temple (Chaturmukha Dharana Vihara), Ranakpur, Rajasthan, India

Ministers in the Fadar Daurama Emir's palace, Daura Emirate, Katsina state, Nigeria

View of a classic stave church preserved in the city of Oslo, Norway

Mahabat Maqbara, built in 1892 over Nawab Mahabat Khan II's grave, with Islamic, Hindu and European influences, Junagadh, Gujarat, India, Asia

Mosaic Salamander, Park Guell, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe

Real Alcazar, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Seville, Andalusia, Spain, Europe

Tsutenkaku tower in Shinsekai (Shin Sekai) (New World), Osaka, Honshu, Japan, Asia

Auditorio de Tenerife, Santa Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Atlantic, Europe

Romanian Orthodox Cathedral of Curtea de Arges, Arges, Romania

Abolition of Slavery statue, sculpture by Guadelupian brothers Jean and Christian Moisa, Ile de Goree (Goree Island), UNESCO, Dakar, Senegal

Interior of St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina, Malta

Mural statue in stone of Petrobey Mavromichalis in Areopolis, Mani Peninsula, Peloponnese, Greece

The archaeological ruins of Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background, UNESCO, Campania, Italy

The Interior of Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul, Mdina, Malta

Poschiavo, Canton of Grisons, Switzerland

City Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Emir of Daura in the Fadar Daurama Emir's palace, Daura Emirate, Katsina state, Nigeria

View of colourful exterior of the Reykjavik Art Museum Hafnarhús, Reykjavik, Iceland

Statues in Koya-san near Osaka, Wakayama Prefecture, Honshu, Japan, Asia

Cafe terraces in Covaci street, Lipscani district, Old Town, Bucharest, Romania

Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET), Beaumont, Texas, United States of America

View of Higashi Hongan-ji Temple, Shimogyo Ward, Higashishiokoji Kamadonocho, Kyoto, Honshu, Japan

Torii shaped entrance to Kanazawa station, designed by architects Sejima and Nishizawa, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Honshu, Japan

The Parthenon, ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, UNESCO, Athens, Greece

Armenian Church (Cathedral of the Holy Cross), Aghtamar island, near Van, Anatolia, Turkey

Exquisite carvings of dragons on the pillars at the temple of the Goddess of the Pearl, a local deity, in Puning City, Guangdong Province, China

Wat Phra Singh, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Enryakuji Temple of Mount Hiei, sacred mountain, near Kyoto, Honshu, Japan

Chapel of the Langue of Castile in St. John's Co-Cathedral, UNESCO, Valletta, Malta

Cathedral of the Assumption, Cittadella of Victoria, Gozo, Malta

Ranakpur Jain temple (Chaturmukha Dharana Vihara), Ranakpur, Rajasthan, India

Emir of Daura walking around his palace, Fadar Daurama Emir's palace, Daura Emirate, Katsina state, Nigeria

Historic center view with Saint Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Giovinazzo, Apulia, Italy, Europe

The Jama Masjid in the Mahabat Maqbara complex, built in 1892, with Islamic, Hindu and European influences, Junagadh, Gujarat, India, Asia

View of colourful shops and buildings in Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan

View of restaurants in Mitropolis Square, old Corfu Town at dusk, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Corfu, Ionian Sea, Greek Islands, Greece, Europe

Eton schoolboys in traditional tails looking through the window at Eton College, England, UK

Eton schoolboys in traditional tails at Eton College, England, UK

Eton schoolboys in traditional tails at Eton College, England, UK

Eton schoolboys in traditional tails looking through the window at Eton College, England, UK

Eton schoolboys in traditional tails at Eton College, England, UK

Starbucks coffee shop, American influence, alongside Chinese street signs in Yu Garden Bazaar Market, Shanghai, China

Barletta Cathedral, Barletta, Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, Italy

El Albaicin neighborhood, El Albaicin district, UNESCO, Granada, Andalusia, Spain

Palazzo Ducale, Ducal Palace, Martina Franca, Taranto, Apulia, Italy

Church of the Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Igreja da Ordem Terceira de Nossa Senhora do Monte do Carmo), Faro, Algarve, Portugal

Dutch style gables show colonial influence, Oranjestad, Aruba, Caribbean, Central America

Batik from Pekalongan, dating from wartime, showing Japanese influence, North Coast of Java, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Asia

Phare Ponleu Selpak Influence show in Battambang, Cambodia, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Timber frame houses and fountain showing Danish influence in a typical street in Solvang, California, United States of America, North America

Medieval fortress showing Venetian influence in the building, at Korcula, Croatia, Europe

Baroque influence in a gable in Hamelin, Lower Saxony, Germany, Europe

Exterior of a Chinese house with French influence in Hoi An, Vietnam, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Asia

Wall mural in Travessa do Comercio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Men from the village of Gangwal, which was devastated in the 2005 earthquake, show makeshift shelters that villagers constructed themselves after the quake, in the upper Allai Valley, NWFP, Pakistan. Most of the villagers fled to tent camps at lower elevations to spend the winter, leaving just a handful of families to look after livestock and possessions. The people of this remote area are Pashtun and until the earthquake, neither the government nor the military had much presence or influence in the region.

Nepal, Kathmandu, painted religious man wearing western sunglasses at Pashupatinath holy Hindu place on Bagmati River.

India, Rajasthan, near Ranthambore, old Hindu men, one wearing western sunglasses, in small village of Charu.

Portugal, Evora, Building exterior representing architecture with Moorish influence

Tara Oceans Expeditions - May 2011. Tara with deployed plancton nets. On "station", the boat is drifting without engine or sails. Tara Oceans, a unique expedition: Tara Oceans is the very first attempt to make a global study of marine plankton, a form of sea life that includes organisms as small as viruses and bacterias, and as big as medusas. Our goal is to better understand planktonic ecosystems by exploring the countless species, learning about interactions among them and with their environment. Marine plankton is the only ecosystem that is almost continuous over the surface of the Earth. Studying plankton is like taking the pulse of our planet. Recently, scientists have discovered the great importance of plankton for the climate: populations of plankton are affected very rapidly by variations in climate. But in turn they can influence the climate by modifying the absorption of carbon. In a context of rapid physico-chemical changes, for example the acidification observed today in the world's oceans, it is urgent to understand and predict the evolution of these particular ecosystems. Finally, plankton is an astonishing way of going back in time ? a prime source of fossils. Over the eons, plankton has created several hundred meters of sediment on the ocean floors. This allows us to go back in time, to the first oceans on Earth, and better understand the history of our biosphere. More than 12 fields of research are involved in the project, which will bring together an international team of oceanographers, ecologists, biologists, geneticists, and physicists from prestigious laboratories headed by Eric Karsenti of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Galapagos