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(Shea Beebe, age 36, Converse, Texas, Photographed May 2006) Beebe took a photograph of her then-8-year-old daughter, Peyton, layered an image of a tree over it and added "gold tint to give it a more dream-like quality." Often, Beebe, who plans to pursue a photojournalism degree this fall, will look at unaltered photos "and try to imagine what they could be if I added an unusual color or layered them with another photo of mine."

Prize Pictures

Our photo contest attracted thousands of photographers from 86 nations. And the winners are...

The Sucevita Monastery was built in the last decades of the 16th century in the Moldavian style, a blend of Byzantine and Gothic art and architecture. The exterior walls' striking frescoes (above, "The Ladder of Virtues," contrasting the order of heaven with the chaos of hell) still retain their brilliant hues.

Scripture Alfresco

450-year-old paintings on the exterior of monasteries and churches-—now open again for worship-—tell vivid tales of saints and prophets, heaven and hell

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Port Uncorked

The sweet wine rejuvenates its image

The Gullah Geechee perform an ancestral ceremony on Sullivan's Island.

Summertime for Gershwin

In the South, the Gullah struggle to keep their traditions alive

Joelle Linhoff, winner of our 4th Annual Photo Contest, spent three days on a hill overlooking a New Zealand pasture before she snapped the photo that would net her the grand prize. “I just took as many photos as I could,” she says, “using as much film as I had brought. I allotted one whole roll of film to the pasture.”

Capturing the Moment

The winner of the 4th Annual Photo Contest shows off her work in this exclusive photo gallery

Mariza is gaining a reputation as the new queen of fado.

Portugal's Soulful Sound

Often compared to American blues, fado is gaining global appeal

Portuguese King Manuel I (who ruled from 1495-1521), commissioned this Belgian tapestry to commemorate explorer Vasco da Gama's "discovery" of India in 1498. Da Gama is the figure at the left, kneeling before an Indian sultan. In the center, Portuguese sailors load exotic animals—including, strangely, a unicorn—into their ships, for transport to the Portuguese royal zoo.

Global Empire

The curator of an ambitious new exhibition explains how Portugal brought the world together

Around the world (above, Halabja, Iraq), an array of rich and varied wedding rituals exists, full of symbolism intended to reinforce a couple's marital bond and ensure their lasting happiness.

Global Weddings

How "I do" is done around the world

Julia Pierson has headed protective operations for the White House and served on security details of Presidents George H. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

FOR HIRE: Secret Service Agent

Our new series looks at the jobs you wish you had. First up, the agency's highest-ranking woman

Princess Alexandrina Victoria, 18, ascends to the British throne when her uncle, King William IV, dies June 20, 1837.

June Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

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Chat with Jimmy Carter

Discuss "The Ethiopia Campaign" with President Carter

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Prophet on the Mount

The devout pay respects to Aaron

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Risks and Riddles

The Soviet Union was a puzzle. Al Qaeda is a mystery. Why we need to know the difference

One of the few entryways into Petra is a narrow passage, the Siq, at the end of which Petrans carved elaborate monuments into the soft rock.

Reconstructing Petra

Two thousand years ago, it was the capital of a powerful trading empire. Now archaeologists are piecing together a picture of Jordan's compelling rock city

Joan of Arc retains her status as a religious and patriotic heroine, especially in France.

France's Leading Lady

Relics from her 1431 execution are a forgery. Will we ever know the real Joan of Arc?

"Getting to the Pacific by ship, without having to go over land, was the biggest challenge of that period," says Helen Nadar. "[Magellan's] the one that solved it" (above, a color engraving).

The Man Who Sailed the World

Ferdinand Magellan's global journey gave him fame, but took his life

Wimbledon has been more than a site for the greatest players to shine; often, it has shaped the entire sport.

A Brief History of Wimbledon

From a 19th century garden-party event to today's international spectacle, the storied tournament has defined tennis

"It's a crisis on top of a crisis," says May Berenbaum about the honeybee decline.

Interview: May Berenbaum

On the role of cellphones, pesticides and alien abductions in the honeybee crisis

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Wild Things: Life as We Know It

Great sharks, manakins and dino digs

Lang's Butterfly, opus 410.

Into the Fold

Physicist Robert Lang has taken the ancient art of origami to new dimensions

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