World Portraits: A View From Below

SAUDI ARABIA...Ornate wooden balconies dot the landscape of Saudi Arabia’s residential areas, inviting you to picture countless days where students reviewed notes for upcoming exams and families offered tea and coffee on a lazy weekend afternoon.

Sailors of the 15th and 16^th centuries roamed the Indian Ocean for the prized East Indian redwood., valued for its resistance to insects and humidity. The region was rewarded with an architectural look that has become the signature for townhouse-style residences.