Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

Absolut, a Swedish vodka sold in 126 countries, seemed to be taking sides in the Mexican-American War, which ended in 1848! So provocative was this advertising campaign that it lasted only a few weeks. "In an Absolut world" is translated as "In a Perfect world." After all, isn't Absolut the world's perfect vodka? [2008]

M'hamid, Morocco

Outside of M'hamid is the dump. Almost everything is (or was) biodegradable, so most of the detritus you see is nothing more than bones. Goats and the sun take care of the rest. [1989]

M'hamid, Morocco

On the horizon is M'hamid and the adjacent oasis. Until only a few decades ago, there was no paved road leading into town from any direction. Short of a camel, you arrived by plane. This is the remnant of the old landing strip. [1989]

M'hamid, Morocco

It is here in the village of M'hamid that the road ends and the pistes of the Sahara begin. Next stop:  Timbuktu, but that was in the days of the caravan trade. Today, it is but a few tourists who trade here. Can you identify the mosque with its minaret and the nearby kasbah? [1989]

Gloucester Court House, Virginia, USA

Not every county can have a 1930s service station, but they all can have an archaeological conservancy. Gloucester County has the Fairfield Foundation. Under the principle of adaptive reuse, it is currently restoring the Edge Hill Texaco station using environmentally sensitive technologies and a lot of community labor. [2013]

Hampton, Virginia, USA

Eventually, obsolescence comes to all economies, even service economies. Before there were mobile phones, all phone were immobile. They were fixed in space and reigned as tyrannous dictators. The obedient masses would be drawn to them as if they were omnipotent. Now, their mobile offspring are establishing an authoritarian regime of their own. [2012]

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Eventually, obsolescence comes to all economies. Pittsburgh used to be the 'Steel City.' But, by the 1980s, deindustrialization had almost swallowed the city's economy, and abandoned steel mills stood idle and rusting. It was the era when the Manufacturing Belt became the Rust Belt. [1981]