okay, so maybe mankind isn't all that bad.

Normally I like to bitch about how selfish we are and how much we suck, but this time I'm going to praise us.

It has been my dream for maybe two years to stay in the Burj Al Arab. That is the most beautiful hotel in the world. When I saw it on the cover of Owl City I knew I'd love the album instantly, haha. But... let me post a few pictures of some beautiful buildings that actually kind of make me almost maybe love construction for almost a few moments.

Okay, the story behind this. Look. Like, wow. This is the poster story for a loving husband- the Taj Mahal in Agra was built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial for his second wife, Mumtaz Maha, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child in 1631. It's a tomb, basically. The prettiest freaking tomb in the world. As said by the same site the picture is from, it's an extravagant, white-marble monument to love, which may explain all the young, starry-eyed couples wandering around it. Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore describes it as "a tear drop on the face of eternity." So pretty.

This is the Potala palace in Tibet. It's 13 stories high, contains thousands of rooms, and styled like a traditional Buddhist temple. It's "perched above the city of Lhasa" and once served as the seat of the government of Tibet and the winter home of the Dalai Lama. More than 7,000 workers were said to have been involved in its construction during the 7th century AD.

Now, the Imam Khomeini Mosque in Isfahan, Iran, is something gorgeous. My father would kill me if I told him this, but I think Arabic architecture is sooo beautiful. (I just realized I have no idea how to spell architecture, but I think I spelled it right.) Anyway, the decoration is crazy. It is so beautiful. It's a stunning 17th-century mosque, with its tiles seeming to change colour depending on the light conditions. It's also on the back of Iran's 20,000 rials banknote. way cool. It's also positioned just so it faces Mecca.

ZOmG more mosques. This is the Hagia Sophia, which started out as a church, then went to a mosque, but has been a museum since 1935. So take that, warring Christians and Muslims. Reigning from Istanbul, Turkey, it was built in only 5 years, in the 6th century CE. So, so, so pretty.

This is the Millennium Dome, in London, I think. It's actually not on the list of pretty stuff, it's one of those things that was built to be pretty or cool but I think it actually looks a bit more like a demented sea slug. Cool colors, though, haha. Just thought I'd show you. Still, though it isn't beautiful in an obvious sense, the structure is really what makes it a very interesting contemporary building.

http://www.zoopy.com/data/media/15464/original.jpg

The Kremlin- sounds like a name that belongs to a freaky roller coaster, but it's just a cathedral in Moscow, Russia. And a Kremlin is actually a Russian citadel, not a roller coaster. Now this, I'd post a picture in the post like the res here, but I couldn't fit it to give it enough justice. It is so elaborate and beautiful.

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Fran. Construction began during the Depression and the bridge opened in May 1937. The actual idea for the bridge was conceived in 1872, but they didn't have the technology then to battle the winds and waters to build such a bridge yet. It was the world's longest suspension bridge until 1964, beaten by the Verrazano-Narrows bridge in NYC I believe. Pedestrian traffic is actually encouraged. Awesome.

Fallingwater. I'm sure you've seen the chain mails, but still. It's built and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the house straddles Bear Run at the top of a waterfall. It was built for the Kauffman family as a summer home, but the grounds are now maintained by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

Of course, the Sydney opera house. It's a multi-venue performing arts center, obviously in Sydney, Australia. It was designed and built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, and contrary to its name it is not just an opera house. Instead of just one opera hall there are two main venues- the opera theater and concert hall.

And now, the Burj Al Arab, the most beautiful hotel in the world. I think. If you click the pictures it makes it bigger because I poorly shrank them down. But anyway. From Dubai in the UAE, the pictures say it all. It's also on the cover of Owl City's Ocean Eyes. Good choice, Adam Young.

I'm done. Go be inspired to build pretty buildings, or to stay in the Burj Al Arab. Adieu.