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  • BHUTAN:THE LAST SHANGRI LA 2: A Buddhist monk enters the formidable doors of Trongsa Dzong, the Ancestral home of Bhutan?s monarchy. The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has sat in isolation for thousands of years and only recently has been thrust into the glare of modern times after centuries of solitude. Bhutan is a tiny, remote, and impoverished country wedged precariously between two powerful neighbors, India and China. Violent storms coming off the Himalaya gave the country its name, meaning "Land of the Thunder Dragon." This conservative Buddhist kingdom high in the Himalaya had no paved roads until the 1960s, was off-limits to foreigners until 1974, and launched television only in 1999 . By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • KOLHAPUR, INDIA - MARCH 19: Indian boys practice the three thousand year old sport known as "Kushti", a form of wrestling, in its traditional form at the fight club Gangawesh on March 19, 2006 in Kolhapur, India. In feudal times, wrestling matches were often fought to the death but over centuries, it was gradually modified to become one of the most popular sports in the region. The wrestlers train with total devotion and intensity, through exercise, diet, self-control and celibacy. They have a rigorous schedule of waking up at 4am six times a week and they practice more than 6 hours every day. They have been compared to holy men because of their celibacy and dedication and they practice exercises like standing on one's head for lengths of time to expel "filthy" thoughts. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • Adema Balde washes near her family's rice fields in the village of Dembel Jumpora located in the West African country of Guinea Bissua. She died as a teenager later that year after trying to escape an arranged marriage. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • Dembel Jumpora is nestled in the eastern part of the country. The climate is hot and humid but by the end of the dry season, there is little water to be found above ground. The children take advantage of the rains and spend a great amount of time swimming in the touffe. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • Boys play soccer underneath an enormous Bontang tree. Though the Fulani are a Muslim tribe, they also believe that this tree has a spirit. This mixture of animist beliefs and Islamic law creates a society which has a great respect for the land around them, the supernatural world and the laws of God. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • Alio Balde scrubs his body in front of the touffe, a place where bricks for the huts were originally made which had filled up with water. The end of the rainy season is the richest time of year when time to escape the daily chores is more readily available in the remote village of Dembel Jumpoa in the West African country of Guinea Bissau. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • In a culture where the opportunities for women to be so honored, celebrated and recognized are few, circumcision becomes disproportionately significant, in spite of the pain it brings. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • An Indian prays in the holy Ganges river December 11, 2001 in Varanasi, India. The late George Harrison, a longtime devotee of Hinduism, reportedly left over a million dollars to build a temple in the holy city of Varanasi according to Hare Krishna devotees. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • Muslim children sit inside Dariya Khan Ghhumnat Rahat refugee camp set up outside a school in the state of Gujarat in Ahmedabad, India May 10, 2002. The extent of the damage and displacement of more than 120,000 people has threatened the secular ideals of India and left the government under attack for its inadequate relief arrangements.... By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • Camel traders from India look at the vast offerings as sun falls at the largest camel fair in the world in Pushkar, India in the state of Rajasthan November 26, 2001. Thousands of camels and traders come to the annual event which some say have been going on for centuries. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • Jelha Ram, a camel trader from Nagor, India lstands with one of his camels as sun sets at the largest camel fair in the world in Pushkar, India in the state of Rajasthan November 11, 2005. Thousands of camels and traders come to the annual event which some say has been going on for centuries. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • Hindus wash after making prayers to Lord Shiva at the river Saruj in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • Ganges-Shrine-The steps leading to a shrine on the holy Ganges river are filled with early morning bathers and sheep December 11, 2001 in Varanasi, India. The late George Harrison, a longtime devotee of Hinduism, reportedly left over a million dollars to build a temple in the holy city of Varanasi according to Hare Krishna devotees. The news came as hundreds of Harrison fans still waited expectantly by the banks of the River Ganges for his ashes to arrive, amid confusion on how they were to be scattered. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • A Kashmiri man paddles to a floating market in the early freezing temperatures before sunrise on Dal Lake in the summer capital of Kashmir, Srinagar India, November 24. In the background, echoing through the nearby mountains, gunshots and fighting could be heard. Kashmir was once a tourist hotspot but now vendors struggle to survive in a place that has seen nearly 1000 civilians killed this year alone and 1,765 wounded in a brutal conflict that the United Nations calls the most dangerous place in the world. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • KOLHAPUR, INDIA - MARCH 22: Indian men practice the three thousand year old sport known as "Kushti", a form of wrestling, in its traditional form at the fight club Shahupuri in Kolhapur, India. In this south-eastern Indian city Kushti has a long tradition. It used to be supported by local maharajas and is financed by the government. But its days are numbered. Last year, the Indian Fighters Federation in the capital of New Delhi stunned thousands of fighters when it announced prohibition of fighting on red soil and ordered fight clubs to buy mattresses for their arenas. Ending the traditional red clay wrestling was an idea sprouted from the aspiration to achieve more Olympic medals since the last and only medal India brought home in wrestling was a bronze in 1952. So far no one here in Kolhapur is buying the mattresses and instead they continue the rigorous schedule of waking up at 3:30am six times a week and practicing more than 6 hours every day. They live together in one small room above the arena and their only belongings are a blanket, a few items of clothes and some books about the art of Kushti. They have been compared to holy men because of their celibacy and dedication and they practice exercises like standing on one's head for lengths of time to expel "filthy" thoughts. (Photo by Ami Vitale) By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • A Monk tries to get the last pears out of a tree in Bhumthang, Bhutan October 18, 2005. (Ami Vitale) By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • NABLUS, ISRAEL, JAN. 31,2003: A young teenage Palestinian couple defy a curfew and dance together during their wedding ceremony January 31, 2003 in the West Bank city of Nablus. A British non-governmental agency recently reported that Palestinians are currently living in a state of extreme, worsening poverty and fear for their future. Almost three-quarters of Palestinians now live on less than US$2 a day Ñ below the United Nations poverty line.. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • Buddhists meditate next to the tree where Buddha got his Enlightment in Bodh Gaya, India in December 2006. Buddhists from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Tibet, Bhutan and Japan have been streaming to the holy city, circumambulating the temple, performing prostrations and offering prayers in a multitude of languages. By photographer Ami Vitale
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  • A young Ladakhi Buddhist who is studying to become a monk wears a mask during the annual festival celebrating the birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, the founder of Lamaism (an off-shoot of Buddhism) in the eighth century. The two-day festival is marked by ritual dancing in Hemis Gumpa, 28 miles southeast of Leh in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir June 28 and 29, 2004. The Hemis Gumpa is the oldest and largest monastery in Ladakh. By photographer Ami Vitale
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