Istanbul’s glorious Hagia Sophia

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When the votes were in for the New Seven Wonders of the World, Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia failed to figure among the magnificent seven, although...

Westminster’s chiming clock

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Tucked away at the north-eastern end of London’s Houses of Parliament is that ultimate British icon — Westminster’s Great Clock Tower. The name of...

Yurt 4 U?

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In Old Turkic, yurt is the homeland, the dwelling place. For the nomadic people living on the steppes of Central Asia, it described their...

Tolling for peace

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Christchurch has a Peace Bell. In 2007, the pavilion in which it is now suspended scored three design awards — two from the New...

They’re changing guards at Buckingham Palace . . .

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This month HRH Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60 years of marriage to HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Dr Kerry Rodgers thought it appropriate...

M. Eiffel’s Eyesore

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In 1887 Gustave Eiffel got the nod from the Paris authorities to begin construction of his tower. It was intended as no more than...

Beijing’s Beaut Birds Nest

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Dr Rodgers takes a gander at the auspicious centrepiece of China's 2008 Olympics   Its image has appeared in newspapers and on television for...

Kawau’s Cornish pumphouse

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Just two years after Lieutenant-Governor William Hobson RN did his thing at Waitangi, a thin copper lode was discovered on Kawau Island. Four years...

I K Brunel’s masterpiece

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It was a late autumn day in 1973. We had just left Plymouth and turned a corner on the A38. There it was branded...

The simple dignity that is Avebury

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Avebury has always affected me deeply. I saw its standing stones first in 1973. It wasn’t their immensity, nor their simple grandeur — rather,...