Favorite Photos from 2008 - People

A boy keeps an eye out for customers in the neighborhood of La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

A policeman takes a mate and cigarette break in Montevideo, Uruguay (see original posts I and II)

A tribe of San bushpeople, indigenous to the Kalahari, leads a desert walk in Botswana (see original post)

A group of school girls lines up for class in Zanzibar (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

A Bedouin man plays music in the desert of Wadi Rum, Jordan (see original posts I and II)

Women come to pray and pay their respects at the Shiite Sayyida Ruqayya Mosque in Damascus, Syria (see original posts I, II and III)

Students celebrate university commencement week with a massive parade running through the center of Porto, Portugal (see original posts I, II, III and IV)A young woman sits in the courtyard of Gazi Husrev Bey Mosque in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

A girl carries her little brother on her back through the countryside of Vang Vieng, Laos (see original posts I, II, III, IV and V)

A group of young monks gathers for a service at Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai, Thailand (see original posts I and II)

Favorite Photos from 2008 - Nature

Water thunders over Iguassu Falls, Argentina (see original posts I and II)

Late afternoon sun illuminates the desert peaks of Spitzkoppe, Namibia (see original post)

Sunset at the water hole in Etosha National Park, Namibia (see original posts I and II)

A dead tree stands at the base of the sand dunes at Sossusvlei, Namibia (see original posts I and II)

Sunrise over the plains at Etosha National Park, Namibia (see original posts I and II)

A peaceful stream meanders through the misty forest in Teplice nad Metuji, Czech Republic (see original post)

Crystal-clear water reflects the Teton range at the Oxbow Bend wetland area of Grand Teton National Park, U.S.A. (see original posts I, II and III)

Algae and bacteria create bright colors in Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A. (see original posts I, II and III)

Still water reflects the dramatic sky over Rosemarie Meadows, John Muir Trail, U.S.A. (see original post)

Sunlight filters through the mist of Tat Kuang Si waterfall near Luang Prabang, Laos (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

Favorite Photos from 2008 - Animals

A lion wakes up from his nap near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (see original post)
A zebra parent and child in Etosha National Park, Namibia (see original posts I and II)

Elephants in Ngorongoro Crater at Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

An adult and baby giraffe walk through fields of wildflowers in Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

A herd of buffalo in Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

A cheetah with a full belly looks for a good place to nap in Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

A swan floats along peaceful Lac Leman near Montreux, Switzerland (see original post)
A bison grazes in Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A. (see original posts I, II and III)

A mountain goat and baby walk along the snow near Hidden Lake Overlook at Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, U.S.A. and Canada (see original posts I, II and III)

A Buddhist cat pays its respects at a small temple atop Phu Si mountain in Luang Prabang, Laos (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

Favorite Photos from 2008 - Architecture

Colorful doors and windows brighten the historic Old Town of Paraty, Brazil (see original posts I, II and III)

The ancient and magnificent Pyramids of Giza, Egypt (see original post)

The classic postcard picture of Petra, Jordan: the view of the Treasury (Al-Khazneh) from within As-Siq (see original posts I and II)An ornate doorway frames distant towers in the Citadel of Aleppo, Syria (see original posts I, II and III)

Colorful flowers and laundry adorn a windowsill in Granada, Spain (see original posts I, II and III)

Light streams through a beautiful stained glass window in St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague, Czech Republic (see original posts I, II, III and IV)The quaint little island of Sveti Stefan near Budva, Montenegro (see original posts I and II)

Colorful buildings and waterside cafes line Nyhavn, a picturesque harbor canal in Copenhagen, Denmark (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

Angkor Wat and its enormous moat, Cambodia (see original posts I, II and III)

Favorite Photos from 2008 - Food

A man sells rice crackers and nuts from his street-side stand in Damascus, Syria (see original posts I, II and III)
Pyramids of baklava dress the windows of a pastry shop in Damascus, Syria (see original posts I, II and III)

Aromatic spices and teas for sale by the scoop in Damascus, Syria (see original posts I, II and III)

Men deftly twirl pastry dough, which will later be topped with ground lamb and baked like mini pizzas, in Aleppo, Syria (see original posts I, II and III)
Endless varieties of seafood pintxos (small plates) entice diners in San Sebastian, Spain (see original posts I and II)

White, ruby and tawny port for tasting at the Graham cellars in Porto, Portugal (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

Churros con chocolate, a popular treat in Seville, Spain (see original posts I, II and III)

Every kind of exotic fruit imaginable can be found at Mercat de la Boqueria in Barcelona, Spain (see original post)Fried spider is on the menu in Kampong Cham, Cambodia (see original posts I and II)

A woman opens a steamy container of fluffy pork-filled buns in Hanoi, Vietnam (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

Favorite Photos from 2008 - Flowers

A tulip gathers dew at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey (see original posts I, II, III and IV)Purple and yellow pansies border the Generalife gardens at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain (see original posts I and II)
Downy purple wildflowers dot the green hillsides in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland (see original posts I, II and III)
A perfect peony at the Swiss Open Air Museum in Ballenberg, Switzerland (see original posts I, II and III)
A thistle reaches for the sun at Isole di Brissago on Lake Maggiore, Switzerland (see original posts I and II)
A bright red bottlebrush at Isole di Brissago on Lake Maggiore, Switzerland (see original posts I and II)
A trio of calla lilies at Isole di Brissago on Lake Maggiore, Switzerland (see original posts I and II)
Orange roses ablaze in the setting sunlight at Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway (see original posts I, II and III)

A purple water lily covered in raindrops brightens a cloudy day in Hoi An, Vietnam (see original posts I, II, III and IV)

A delicate pink flower hangs from a vine at the Ho Chi Minh Complex in Hanoi, Vietnam (see original posts I, II, III and IV)