Very early in the morning of Colombus Day, I drove to New York City. It was my first visit to Manhattan since the September 11th attacks. Although it was almost a month after that day of horror which shook the world, the things I saw down there left a very strong impression on me. We've all seen so many images of horror and violence on television, both real and fictitious, that we have all become numb to a certain point. Nothing can really prepare you to see this with your own eyes, yet I wish everyone could experience it so that we never let anything like this happen again. Here are some of the pictures which came out of that morning.

I arrived in lower Manhattan around 9:30 AM . At the police barriers, there were few spectators. Of course it was very cold and it was also Colombus day. The atmosphere was very quiet, nobody spoke, people were reflecting on what happened. Nothing like the kind of crowd you would see taking pictures of a famous monument or some tourist attraction.

The picture below shows the now famous piece of the World Trade Center facade which remained somewhat intact after falling on the plaza. To the right in the distance, you can see the giant construction cranes which have become a familar sight to anyone watching the news on television. Many people from the National Guard have been called in to help NYPD officers secure the site.

A few blocks further north, the piece of facade is still visible. The lower buildings which were also part of the WTC are in pretty bad shape too as you can see on the right. This is the destruction that you do not see on CNN. Notice all the flowers and messages that people attached to the fence. This is a scene you can see all around "ground zero".

Taken from the same spot, look at some of the damage that was inflicted to the World Financial Center in the back. Lots of windows broken. Many buildings are covered with that red plastic material on the right. I think it is to protect the workers below from falling pieces of debris from all those buildings which have been damaged.

Some New Yorkers had told me about the stench coming out of the ruins, a distinct odor of rot. Perhaps because of the cold, I did not smell anything like that but the odor of fire was everywhere from the moment I got off the ferry from Jersey City. Although an incredible amount of cleanup has been accomplished in this neighborhood, you can still see signs of that cloud of dust and ash which engulfed lower Manhattan when the towers collapsed. Remember this picture was taken one month after the tragedy.

A few more blocks further north... More flowers, more cards, more destruction. I dont know if it really comes across in this picture but of all the things I saw that morning, this is what struck me the most. In the center, you can see right through to the glass tunnel that went to the ferry terminal. All those pictures are taken from across Broadway, which was the east boundary of the security zone. Chambers Street is as far as you could go from the North side, although I believe they have since then reopened more streets in the area.

From the Jersey side, this is what the lower Manhattan skyline now looks like. Notice the high rise buildings which have been completely covered in that red "stuff". The left-most one of the three is I believe the Millenium Hotel which stands on Church Street right across from the World Trade Center, and which has been badly damaged.

A closer look at the World Financial Center behind which the WTC used to be. Notice the damage to the building on the left, the one with the pointed roof. The whole corner (above the glass tunnel in the picture) has been torn away when tower #1 collapsed.

Here is what the same scene looked like in May of this year. On this picture you can see the three buildings that collapsed on September 11.

Okay, that's enough destruction for just one page. I'll leave you with a couple of more positive images. In the end, you know what came out of that day? I was walking in Liberty State Park at sunset and I was happy to see that even with three buildings missing, New York City still has the most glorious magic hour skyline in the world.

And here is another one just after sunset...