Plate 006 · Africa
Abu Simbel
c. 1264 BCE
006 · Abu Simbel, Egypt
fearAbu Simbel
Four seated colossi, cut from a mountain, then moved so a dam would not drown a king.
After Akhenaten — Hymn to the Aten
Corridor 02 · Fear
You built this to keep something out. It is still in the room.
What are you still trying not to be seen by?
61 monuments in this corridor, ordered as the world is.
Rebuild a monument as fearAfrica
Egypt5
Plate 011 · Africa
Citadel of Saladin
12th–19th c.
011 · Cairo, Egypt
fearCitadel of Saladin
A citadel over a city, with a mosque of alabaster that Muhammad Ali used as a signature.
Baligh Hamdi — Umm Kulthum, Alf Leila Wa Leila
015 · Giza, Egypt
fearGreat Pyramid of Giza
You stacked a mountain so death would have to climb.
Unknown Hurrian scribe — Hurrian Hymn No. 6
Plate 016 · Africa
Great Sphinx of Giza
c. 2500 BCE
016 · Giza, Egypt
fearGreat Sphinx of Giza
A lion with a king's face, buried and dug out, still older than our explanations.
Tatyos Efendi — Sama'i Bayati
Plate 019 · Africa
Valley of the Kings tombs
16th–11th c. BCE
019 · Luxor, Egypt
fearValley of the Kings tombs
Tombs cut in a hidden valley, because pyramids had already taught thieves where to look.
After Akhenaten — Hymn to the Aten
Ghana1
South Africa1
Plate 038 · Africa
Castle of Good Hope
1679
038 · Cape Town, South Africa
fearCastle of Good Hope
A pentagonal castle, the oldest colonial building in the country, a pentagon of a company that thought it was a state.
Township traditional — Rhythms of Resistance, toyi-toyi climate
Asia
Azerbaijan1
China2
083 · Northern frontier, China
fearGreat Wall
You built a border so long it became the thing you feared.
Guan Pinghu, after Bo Ya — Flowing Water
Plate 092 · Asia
Terracotta Army pits
c. 210 BCE
092 · Xi'an, China
fearTerracotta Army pits
An emperor took an army into death with him, and we are still counting the soldiers.
Abing — The Moon Reflected on Second Spring
India2
Plate 096 · Asia
Agra Fort
1573
096 · Agra, India
fearAgra Fort
A red fort from which a builder of the Taj watched his masterpiece as a prisoner.
Hindustani dawn raga — Raga Bhairav
Plate 116 · Asia
Jaisalmer Fort
1156
116 · Jaisalmer, India
fearJaisalmer Fort
A living fort of honey stone in a desert, still a town on a hill.
Hindustani dawn raga — Raga Bhairav
Japan5
Plate 138 · Asia
Himeji Castle
1609
138 · Himeji, Japan
fearHimeji Castle
A white heron of a fortress, too beautiful to look like it was made for killing.
Yatsuhashi Kengyō — Rokudan no Shirabe
Plate 139 · Asia
Atomic Bomb Museum Hiroshima
1955 / 1994
139 · Hiroshima, Japan
fearAtomic Bomb Museum Hiroshima
A park of empty space, because the monument is what is missing.
Gagaku — Etenraku
Plate 140 · Asia
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
1915 / ruin 1945
140 · Hiroshima, Japan
fearHiroshima Peace Memorial
The only ruin they refused to clear, so a city would not be allowed to forget.
Gagaku — Etenraku
Plate 148 · Asia
Matsumoto Castle
16th c.
148 · Matsumoto, Japan
fearMatsumoto Castle
A black keep over a moat, as if the mountains needed a second shadow.
Traditional — Sakura Sakura
Plate 160 · Asia
Imperial Palace Tokyo
Edo — 1968
160 · Tokyo, Japan
fearImperial Palace Tokyo
A moat of power in the middle of a megacity, still not for walking through.
Shakuhachi honkyoku — Honshirabe
Uzbekistan1
Plate 224 · Asia
Kalyan Minaret
1127
224 · Bukhara, Uzbekistan
fearKalyan Minaret
A minaret so fine that even Genghis is said to have spared it.
Bukharan court — Shashmaqam, Ushshaq
Europe
Belgium2
Plate 252 · Europe
Palais de Justice
1883
252 · Brussels, Belgium
fearPalais de Justice
A courthouse larger than St. Peter's, so the law would feel like a mountain.
Maurice Ravel — Ma Mère l'Oye
Plate 253 · Europe
Gravensteen
1180
253 · Ghent, Belgium
fearGravensteen
A count's castle dropped into a city so no one would forget who collected the tax.
Maurice Ravel — Ma Mère l'Oye