Antalya, Turkey

Christian churches have their bell towers. Islamic masjids have their prayer towers. Both are used to call the faithful to worship, and the both mark the landscape with a symbol of dominance by one religion or the other. The prayer towers attached to mosques are called minarets. When they look like pencils, you can be sure their origins are Ottoman. [2014]

Bethlehem, Palestine

Merry Christmas! You will understand the greeting only if you are an Armenian and, therefore, a part of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Their calendar marks January 6 as the official birthday of Jesus. Here, the Holy Family keeps watch over Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity, where Armenian priests help to invigilate the Altar of the Nativity. [2000]

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

What's left of the hotel is now a youth hostel, but the iconic sign lingers on as a memento of the early automobile era. The same principle gave rise to the the Downtowner sign as gave rise to today's cloud-tickling Interstate signs. To keep up with the competition, you have to catch travelers' eyes before they get to town, and that means going vertical. [2019]

Muleshoe, Texas, USA

Sometimes a community's best asset is its name: Take Muleshoe, for instance. With a name like that, you just know visitors will remember being there. And, you just know who everyone will be watching play football on Friday nights: The Muleshoe Mules. [2018]

Ruston, Louisiana, USA

Nothing warms the cockles of a geographer's heart more than finding a map on the landscape. Here, it is held up proudly for all to see. What can you do in your community to make the ordinary extraordinary, to make the unnoticed noticed, to make the utilitarian aesthetic? [2018]

Adair, Iowa, USA

Because of the town's water tower, everyone in Adair wakes up happy every morning. Here is a salience with a name and a face to give it personality: just like you. What gives your community personality? What puts a smile on your face every day? Just like you. [2008]

Covington, Kentucky, USA

Look again. Here we have not just a rainbow, but a double rainbow. It's a twofer, a metaphor for the year ahead, a year that gives us a 2-for-1 2 and a 2-for-1 0. Or, if you prefer, a year that gives us a 2-for-1 20. Now, have a look at the order of colors in the second polychromatic arc. You have a Happy New Year to figure out what is going on here. [2019]