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1. By virtue of my bus trip from Belfast to Donegal Town this year, I got the chance to enjoy a four-hour layover in Derry, the island of Ireland’s fourth largest city. Entering from the River Foyle side, I entered the walkway atop the centuries-old walls and climbed toward the center, as seen here.

2. Derry is reportedly rare amongst European cities in that its defensive walls have never been breached. The grid design of the city, which leads to a central square called “the Diamond,” was much copied by the British colonies of North America. Here you see one of the historical cannons left on the walkway. I don’t think the Huns ever got anywhere near Derry.

3. The Bogside neighborhood of Derry was a hot spot during the Troubles, a period of confrontation between various nationalist and unionist movements and organizations which lasted from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. The conflict had a number of root causes, including, but not limited to, British rule of the six counties that are now considered Northern Ireland. Here a young Bogside nationalist readies a petrol bomb for the British troops.

4. The Bogside, a nationalist Roman Catholic community, is festooned with murals and monuments recounting important incidents in the violent past of both the neighborhood and nationalist movement. These murals are painted on the sides of regular apartment blocks where ordinary people live. Though these murals are painted by locals and serve the principles of locals, they are also designed to be tourist-friendly – many sights have small plaques explaining the significance of what you see.

5. The Museum of Free Derry is a small but very well designed center that focuses on the history of Derry and the first decade or two of the Troubles. It is located within sight of the “Bloody Sunday” marker. Here you see the bloodied shirt of a man killed by troops that day. The man’s brother was operating the museum on the day I visited, and spoke with me at length about the Troubles, violence in Ireland and how things have changed and stayed the same.

6. “Bloody Sunday” occurred in Derry on January 30, 1972, when British troops opened fire on crowds at a Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march and reportedly shot 26 protesters, killing 13 instantly, 6 of whom were minors. Subsequent inquiries held few troops responsible (though the results of a second inquiry are still due later this year) and witnesses said none of those shot had been armed. Music fans might note that in addition to U2’s immortalizing the incident in “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” Paul McCartney recorded a song soon thereafter called “Give Ireland Back to the Irish,” which was promptly banned by the BBC.

7. One of the first confrontations during the Troubles, the Battle of the Bogside occurred in August 1969 when police forces tried to break up nationalist protests during a unionist parade and rioting ensued. It had already been a violent year. This sign marked the beginning of an autonomous section of Derry which, thanks to barricades and armed defense, had become off-limits to British troops and police after a civil-rights march was attacked in early January. The area repelled invasion for more than three years. Finally, in 1972, thousands of British troops were deployed to take back the area and effectively end Free Derry. The sign still stands.

8. What appear at first to be traffic signs on a side street are actually nationalist mementos of the Troubles. “RUC” stands for “Royal Ulster Constabulary,” the Northern Ireland police force loathed by the nationalists who accused it of widespread discrimination and brutality.

9. On the top is a “Sniper at Work” sign. During the Troubles, and especially in rural areas like South Armagh, this sign was posted by the IRA to reemphasize the danger posed to British troops along specific routes. The IRA used signs a lot, even sometimes using “Bomb Ahead” signs to divert locals before explosions. Trying to remove an intimidating “Sniper at Work” sign could have fatal consequences itself, as many were booby-trapped with explosives.

10. Although the violence of the Troubles has largely given way to political bargaining between nationalist and unionist organizations, the issue of a united Ireland is hardly a thing of the past, as graffiti throughout the Bogside attests. “RIRA” stands for “Real Irish Republican Army,” a splinter group from the Provisional Irish Republican Army that was formed in 1997 by members disenfranchised with brokered peace deals.