Collection of photos that were entered in the 'friendly' fotki contest. Thank you all for the kind words and your votes, greatly appreciated.

The Perito Moreno Glacier is a glacier located in the Los Glaciares National Park in the south west of Santa Cruz province, Argentina. The 250 km2 (97 sq mi) ice formation, and 30 km (19 mi) in length, is one of 48 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field located in the Andes system shared with Chile. This icefield is the world's third largest reserve of fresh water.

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that is growing. The reason remains debated by glaciologists. The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 kilometres (3 mi) wide, with an average height of 74 m (240 ft) above the surface of the water of Lake Argentino, in Argentina. It has a total ice depth of 170 metres (558 ft).

Casa Batlló is a key feature in the architecture of modernist Barcelona. It was built by Antoni Gaudí between 1904 and 1906 having been commissioned by the textile industrialist Josep Batlló.
It seems that the goal of the designer was to avoid straight lines completely. Much of the façade is decorated with a mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles (trencadís) that starts in shades of golden orange moving into greenish blues. The roof is arched and was likened to the back of a dragon or dinosaur. A common theory about the building is that the rounded feature to the left of centre, terminating at the top in a turret and cross, represents the lance of Saint George (patron saint of Catalonia, Gaudi's home), which has been plunged into the back of the dragon.

The last continent discovered by men, the sight of Antarctica cannot be described with ordinary words as it was often difficult to tell where the land ended and the sea began. Some used the term "Whitescape" to depict the white and shades of blue with so much reflection that there are no real dark shadows, and I tend to agree with that. It is not a lifeless land; however, as the predominant faunas are the much beloved penguins and the ever presence seals. Seabirds also found refuge along the coasts and the outlying islands. It is what this earth suppose to be.

These photos were taken in Antarctica Peninsula, Deception Island, Elephant Islands, South Georgia Islands, Falkland Islands.

These photos were taken in the Antarctica Peninsula and the outlying islands, namely, South Georgia Islands. The main faunas in the region consist mainly of penguins (prior album) and different variations of seals; predominantly the elephant seals. Then there are few species of sea birds that live their lives mainly in the ocean until the time for mating which they will find a cliffs on land. The reindeers are not native of Antarctica, someone (Norwegians?) brought them here a century ago and they did survive on the cold islands. Thanks for stopping by.

FCB-Sporting: Superior football (3-1)

Barça put in a gritty performance to see off an ultra defensive Sporting team despite playing most of the second half with ten men after Piqué was sent off

Late goals from Keita and Xavi sealed the win after Iniesta had opened the scoring in the first half

Sumo is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler (rikishi) attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring (dohyō) or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally. (wiki)

Jutting out some 2800m above the Patagonian steppe, the Torres del Paine (Towers of Paine) are spectacular granite pillars that dominate the landscape of what may be South America's finest national park. These breathtaking spires are flanked by the summit of Paine Grande (3050m) and the sharp tusks of black sedimentary peaks known as Los Cuernos (The Horns; 2200m to 2600m). The National Park has been part of Unesco's Biosphere Reserve system since 1978.

With breathtaking Snow-capped mountain peaks, cascading rivers and waterfalls, glaciers and mirrored lakes, this 598,593 acres park is internationally recognized as one of the most beautiful, unique and uncontaminated places on the planet. Yes, these are the famous Patagonian mountains that you see on posters and book covers all over the world.

Edinburgh is one of Europe's most beautiful cities, draped across a series of rocky hills overlooking the sea. It's a town intimately entwined with its landscape, with buildings and monuments perched atop crags and overshadowed by cliffs - in the words of Robert Louis Stevenson, 'a dream in masonry and living rock'. From the Old Town's picturesque jumble of medieval tenements piled high along the Royal Mile, its turreted skyline strung between the black, bull-nosed Castle Rock and the russet palisade of Salisbury Crags, to the New Town's neat grid of neoclassical respectability, all columns and capitals, porticoes and pediments, the city offers a constantly changing perspective. And it's all small enough to explore easily on foot.

Photos were taken from 111st floor of ICC building across the harbour.

With its historical Old Town and unique location amidst the famous hedges and impressive scenery of the surrounding Venn region, Monschau is a health climate resort with plenty to offer. As a stroll through its winding alleys will soon reveal, the romantic half-timbered houses harbour a rich mosaic of art, culture and museums.

Belgium’s French-speaking southern half. Step across the linguistic divide to seemingly enter a different country. Gone are the flat fields and affluence of the north – here it’s forested hillsides, intimate villages and industrial decay. Then burrow down in the Ardennes, Wallonia’s southeastern corner, where ancient castles loom over tranquil hamlets.

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands with impressive architecture, lovely canals that criss cross the city, great shopping, and friendly people who nearly all speak English well. There is something for every traveller's taste here, whether you prefer culture and history, serious partying, or just the relaxing charm of an old European city. Amsterdam has over a million inhabitants in the urban area, and is in the Province of North-Holland. Amsterdam is not the seat of government (which is in The Hague), but it is the biggest city and the cultural and creative centre of the Netherlands.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a constitutional monarchy, is an independent sovereign state, tucked between Belgium, France and Germany (cf Luxembourg in Europe map). The country is 84 km (51.7 miles) long and 52 km (32.5 miles) wide, encompassing an area of 2586 square kilometres (999 square miles) with a population of 502 066

The bulb growing area’s Flower parade on Saturday 16 April 2011, follows a forty kilometers route from Noordwijk to Haarlem and passes Keukenhof in the afternoon, over the ‘Keukenhof Corso Boulevard’ [Parade Boulevard]. This parade is called the ‘face of Spring’ for very good reason and is the most famous parade in the Netherlands. The procession consists of about twenty floats and more than thirty vehicles all covered with flowers and decorated lavishly. A festive promotional convoy precedes the procession. Musical groups lead the procession along the length of the ‘Keukenhof Corso Boulevard’.

Bruges (Brugge) was founded in the 9th century by Vikings who settled here at the end of the little river 'de Reie'. In the 14th century, Bruges was an economic powerhouse, a centre for the export of Flemish cloth which was an important product in medieval Europe. When its sea trade dried up in the 16th century, the city lost its leading trade position to Antwerp.
Bruges today is cosidered to be one of the most beautiful gothic cities in Europe, "The Venice of the North", and I couldn't disagree more.

The historic center of Bruges has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site in since 2000.

Luberon region is the real Provence, full of character. A sweet dolce vita of a climate and pure clean air which just breathes the incredible contrasts between a rich, and variable natural environment : the blue strides of lavender, the subtle nuances of green in the forests. This is the living Luberon, where everything goes back to "man's " relationship with the basic element. The dry stone walls and bories, the imposing "bastides", villages perched on the sides of hills between church and château. It's one of those places where time is of no essence.

A much criticized exhibition by Takashi Murakami in the Château de Versailles.
Murakami, who was born in Tokyo in 1962, displaying his sculptures and paintings in 15 rooms in the palace's Hall of Mirrors and the apartments of the King and the Queen during 14 Sept to 12 Dec, 2010.

The capital of Spain since 1561, is located on the geographic center of the Iberian Peninsula. Because of its central location and high altitude, the climate of Madrid is characterized by warm dry summers and cool winters. Madrid is a city of great monuments. Among its highlights are the medieval center dating back to the Habsburg Empire and the Prado Museum.
But Madrid is not just a cultural destination. It is also a lively metropolis with many pubs, cafes, discotheques and nightclubs open late into the night. Don't be surprised if you get stuck in a traffic jam at four in the morning, and the people you meet are not necessarily going off to work..

Tenerife, a Spanish island, is the largest of the seven Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Tenerife has an area of 2034.38 square kilometers, and 899,833 inhabitants. It is the most populated island of the Canary Islands and Spain. About 43% of the population of the Canary Islands is on this island. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, which is also one of the busiest Spanish resorts and the first of Canary Islands.

Fuerteventura is the oldest island in the Canary Islands dating back 20 million years to a volcanic eruption from the Canary hotspot. The majority of the island was created about 5 million years ago and since then has been eroded by wind and weather. The climate on Fuerteventura is pleasant throughout the year. The island is also often referred to as the island of eternal spring. The sea adjusts the temperature making the hot Sahara winds blow away from the island. The island's name in English translates as 'strong fortune' or 'strong wind', the Spanish word for wind being 'viento'.

Gran Canaria (in English, "Grand (or Great) Canary") is an island of the Canary Islands. Located in the Atlantic Ocean about 150 kilometers (~93 miles) off the northwestern coast of Africa and about 1350 km (~838 miles) from Europe.[1] Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands after Tenerife.

La Gomera is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area, it is the second-smallest of the seven main islands of this group.

Lanzarote is of volcanic origin. The island was created about 35 million years ago by the Canary hotspot. Alfred Wegener arrived in 1912 and studied the island and showed how it fitted in with his theory of continental drift. The island along with others was created after the breakup of the African and the American continental plates. The greatest recorded eruptions occurred between 1730 and 1736.

Bathed in an ever-changing display of brilliant light, this is Sydney Opera House as you've never been seen it before. The iconic building - famed throughout the world for its graceful white 'sails' - has been transformed into a canvas for a kaleidoscopic array of images. Called 77 Million Paintings, the installation is the work of artist and music producer Brian Eno and features 300 of his drawings.

A small town in the southeast part of Iceland, the landscapes are just breathtaking.

Spectacular landscape of Iceland taken from a small airplane.

Gullfoss is actually two separate waterfalls, the upper one has a drop of 11 metres and the lower one 21 metres. The rock of the river bed was formed during an interglacial period.

Water flows over Gullfoss at an average rate of 109 cubic metres per second. The heaviest floods have recorded a flow of 2000 cubic metres per second.

Þingvellir (Thingvellir) is the National Park where the Althing – an open-air assembly, which represented the whole of Iceland – was established in 930 and continued to meet until 1798. Over two weeks a year, the assembly set laws – seen as a covenant between free men – and settled disputes.

Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon is one of Icelands most spectacular sights, located about 60 km east of Skaftafell National Park and almost 400 km from Reykjavik. Jokulsarlon borders south and east part Iceland, at the roots of Europe's largest glacier Vatnajokull.

One of the most scenic water falls in Southern China.

For more than 1,300 years, the ethnic people of Hani in the Southern China's province of Yunan have been terracing the sides of mountains planting rice, the backbone of their diet. In Yuanyang, the area of terraced fields amount to more than 11,000 hectares, with more than 3,000 steps of fields stretching from the foot of a hill to the top. During the magic hours of sunrise and sunset, the scenes become amazing calaidosopes of reflection that these photos cannot really do their justice.

It is reported that Chinese scientists have successfully cultivated a kind rapeseed whose oleaginousness goes as high as 54.72% which is 2% higher than the oleaginousness of cabbage which had been considered the highest in the world. Rapeseed also has excellent characteristic of short grow period and disease-resistance. More important is that the rapeseed is not transgenic production and it could grow in high areas.

These fields of rapeseed were taken near the city of Luoping, China.

Stockholm is built across 14 islands and is often called the Venice of the North. With more foreign visitors than any other city in Scandinavia it is also considered to be the Capital of Scandinavia. Stockholm is situated at the point where the vast Lake Mälaren flows into the Baltic Sea and was built on this strategic spot in the mid 13th century, enabling the founder to tax merchant vessels going in and out of the lake.

The Phuket King's Cup Regatta is Asia's biggest and most popular regatta. Inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event has been held every year since during the first week of December.

Alesund, Norway is found on the northwest coast of Norway midway between Bergen and Trondheim.
Alesund has a wonderful look and feel--most of the buildings are a mixture of Art Nouveau and traditional styles. This look is the result of the rebuilding of Alesund after a devastating fire in 1904 destroyed over 850 structures. The views of the city, surrounding mountains, and fjords from the summit of Mount Askla are not to be missed.

Stockholm is situated at the point where the vast Lake Mälaren flows into the Baltic Sea and was built on this strategic spot in the mid 13th century, enabling the founder to tax merchant vessels going in and out of the lake.

Some basic facts: 1,3 million people live in the greater Stockholm area. The average temperature in Stockholm is around -2 C (28 F) in January and about 18 C (64 F) in July.

Artur Hazelius, who had previously founded the Nordic Museum on the island of Djurgården near the centre of Stockholm, was inspired by the open-air museum founded by King Oscar II in Kristiania in 1881 when he created his open-air museum on the hill that dominates the island. Skansen became the model for other early open-air museums in Scandinavia and later ones elsewhere. The name "Skansen" has also been used as a noun to refer to other open-air museums and collections of historic structures, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, but also in the United States, e.g. Old World Wisconsin and Fairplay, Colorado. (wiki)

The Geiranger fjord (Geirangerfjorden) is a fjord in the Sunnmøre region, located in the southernmost part of the county Møre og Romsdal in Norway. It is a 15 km long branch of the Storfjord (Great Fjord). At the head in the fjord lies the small village of Geiranger.
The fjord is one of Norway's most visited tourist sites and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, jointly with Nærøyfjord, since 2005. (wiki)

A very picturesque town in the western part of Norway that can be reached by driving over a snowy mountain or through the longest tunnel in the world (23kms).

Photos of the town of Flam, Sognefjord in the western part of Norway.

The train journey provides some of Norway's wildest and most magnificent scenery. On the 20-kilometre long train ride you can see rivers that cut through deep ravines, waterfalls cascade down the side of steep, snow-capped mountains and mountain farms that cling dizzily to sheer slopes.

A small town but not so small on the scenery a few kms from the famous town of Flam in Norway.

The five fishing villages in northern Italy, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Phuket King's Cup Regatta is Asia's biggest and most popular regatta. With the Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King, the Regatta is organised by the Phuket King's Cup Regatta Organizing Committee under the auspices of the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, in conjunction with the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy and the Province of Phuket. (A personal thanks to my good friend, Santi who arranged for my attachment to this race)

Vienna (Wien) is the capital of the Federal Republic of Austria. It is by far the largest city in Austria (pop.~ 1.7m), as well as its cultural, economic, and political center. As the former home of the Hapsburg court and its various empires, the city still has the trappings of the imperial capital it once was, and the historic city centre is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Neuschwanstein Castle, royal palace in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, the most famous of three royal palaces built for Louis II of Bavaria, sometimes referred to as Mad King Ludwig, who grew up nearby at Hohenschwangau Castle. It is this beautiful structure that Disneyland modeled its castle.

Salzburg means “salt castle”, referring to its massive fortress and the white gold from the mountains in the South. The city's magnificent baroque town centre is rated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and can easily be explored by strolling along the charming alleys. The city's most famous son Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart created the area's fame and popularity with music enthusiasts all over the world.

Boasting invigorating mountain views, lake cruises and a picturesque old quarter, LUZERN (Lucerne in French and English, Lucerna in Italian) has long been one of Europe’s most heavily touristed towns. When Queen Victoria came for a long holiday in August 1868, the town was already renowned, and a century of steady growth has resulted these days in five million admirers passing through each year.

One of the most picturesque small town I have visited, Hallstatt, a village in the Salzkammergut, a region in Austria, is very well preserved. The town has been listed as an UNESCO World Heritage site. People have been settling here since prehistoric times and mountaineous salt mining was the main source of wealth, now an attraction. The sceneries are just breathtaking and lives so uncomplicated that time is of no essence.

Innsbruck became the capital of Tyrol in 1429 and in the 15th century the city became a centre of European politics and culture as emperor Maximilian I moved the imperial court to Innsbruck in the 1490s. Many old buildings from the middle ages and modern times survived in the heart of Innsbrucks old town.

The Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) in Vienna has survived through many wars and has become a symbol of Vienna's freedom. The Gothic cathedral was first built in 1147 AD and its most recognizable characteristic, the diamond-patterned tile roof, was added in 1952.

Collection of night scenes taken from places around the world. enjoy..

Selections that are suitable for panoramic treatment IMHO. Please comment freely, thank you.

Cairo, Egypt is an amazing city full of life and movement, and it is that way almost 24 hours every day, with the noisy honking of horns, children playing in the streets and merchants selling their wears and services. And here, the Egyptians are most at home in this powerful, modern and ancient city

Byzantium, Constantinople, İstanbul: by any name it's glorious.

Straddling the Bosphorus, its skyline studded with domes and minarets, İstanbul is one of the truly great romantic cities. Its history tracks back from Byzantium to Constantinople to its place at the head of the Ottoman Empire. Today it hums as Turkey's cultural heart and good-time capital.

Cappadocia is generally regarded as the plains and the mountainous region of eastern central Anatolia around the upper and middle reaches of the river Kizilirmak (Red River) The origins of this unusual region can be traced to the Tertiary period some 50million years ago, when craters and "fairy chimneys" dominated the landscape. Since then huge quantities of volcanic material have spewed out of the many volcanoes. Forces of erosion have shaped the incredible and unique Cappadocian tuff-coned landscape.

Ancient Egypt was a civilization in eastern North Africa concentrated along the middle to lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern nation of Egypt. The civilization began around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it developed over the next three millennia. Great monuments and artifacts were found including the Great Pyramids which is the only one of seven ancient wonders still standing. The album contains pictures of pyramids in Giza, Temple of Abu Simbel, Temple of Luxour, Karnak, Abu, tombs in valley of the kings, and lives of villagers.

AGRA, the emperial capital of the Mughal court during 16th-17th centuries. The Mughals ere prolific builders and nowhere is this more evident than in the picturesque riverine region along the Yamuna. The Taj Mahal, the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri have been declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Jaipur, (City of Victory) was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Jai Singh II, a Kachhwaha Rajput, who ruled from 1699-1744. Being a brainchild of the maharaja, he took special interest in the designing planning and execution works of Jaipur. is blessed with the opulence of cultural and architectural beauty that surpasses most other regions of India.

Stunning cityscapes, medieval town center, timeless bridge, mazes of cobbed lanes, churches beyond number, a thousand year old castle, architectures through ages, the capital of Bohemia is one of the most beautiful city in the world... Prague.

Erected inside a meander of the Vltava River, the town and its Castle benefit from the most natural setting that such a settlement could ever have. A place, whose each single element evokes memories of old days, when people were still at leisure enough to dwell upon details, and to invent a range of artistic solutions to meet their everyday needs... Cesky Krumlov.

What more could you say about the capital of the capital city of the world. The city itself is so charmingly and compactly laid out, so full of history and culture and everything famous, that you can't go to New York without falling in love with it. It is the city of not only Woody Allen but Bob Dylan, Tennessee Williams, Edgar Allan Poe, George Washington, Paul Newman, Jacqueline Onassis, and hundreds of other illustrious and creative people of the past and present.

Created by Peter the Great in 1 703 to be his "window on Europe", St Petersburg combines its fascinating Russian heritage with a distinctly European outlook. Considered the cultural heart of modern day Russia, St. Petersburg is rapidly regaining its reputation as one of the Great Cities of Europe.

A great city in its own right, Moscow is the barometer and nucleus of the changes sweeping through Russia. Nowhere are Russia's contrasts more apparent than here - ancient monasteries and ultra-modern monoliths stand side by side and the elites and the pensioners walk the same street. Nonetheless, under the stoic faces, Moscow is quite a charming city.

SANTORINI... Great poets have sung its praises, a 4,000 year old history. The eternal rock continues to stand, strong and majestic, rising proundly from the sea and guarding well the secrets of Atlantis, waiting to be discovered...

The Great Acropolis, ancient monuments surviving in a sea of cement, startling beauty amid squalor, tradition and modernity side by side. Athens is an intriguing crossroads, blending elements of Middle Eastern and Western cultures, a palpable mediterranean warmth underneath the confusion of modern clutters.