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When you take a photo, the world stands still. The moment you captured stays the same forever, offering future generations a glimpse at what life was like at the time. Old photos of cities are specifically fascinating, featuring people, buildings, and society that has been lost to the past. From Tokyo's canal-riding past to Rio without Christ the Redeemer, here are the some of the oldest photos of the world's major cities.

▲A snap of Moscow's Cathedral of the Assumption, also known as Dormition Cathedral, taken back in 1869.

▲Here's a view of the Tuileries Palace taken back in 1839. The historical building was a casualty of an insurrection in 1871 and burned down. Its stone structure continued to stay in place, until when in 1879 the local government decided to have it demolished (a task completed in 1883).

▲A view of the Berlin cityscape, featuring the Unter Den Linden and Stadtschloss. The photo was taken in 1870.

▲A Victorian gentleman is photographed on a park bench in 1850s London.

▲Madrileños may recognize Sol, the city's traditional center. Here are horse-drawn trams carrying goods around in 1880.

▲A snap of Rio circa 1860. The famous Christ the Redeemer would arrive later in 1931.

▲The Summer Palace looks onto the lake, located in former Peking (Beijing). It was built back in 1750, and the photo was taken roughly 100 years later.

▲The futuristic city was once lined with canals, with barges transporting goods way back in 1880.

▲Muhammadan women wear middle-class attire, standing by a wall in Mumbai, then known as Bombay. Photo taken in 1863.

▲A picture of Gyeonghoeru, a key part of the Gyeongbokgung Palace complex located in Seoul. This photo was taken around 1900.

▲Here's a view of the sprawling city, showing the entry of Mexican President Benito Juarez in 1867.

▲A jubilee kicks off on Broadway, in this photo taken back in September 1858. It was a premature celebration of a transatlantic telegraph cable connecting New York to Ireland.

▲Laborers pose for the cameras, during a construction in Los Angeles, taken in the early 1900s.

▲Circa 1870, the woman on the left wears a crinoline underneath her dress while being attended to by the other two women, this in a Cairo harem.

▲Raiders with King Abdulaziz make their way into Riyadh to recapture the Saudi city, in 1910.

▲Sightseers gaze at the Roman Colosseum in 1860. The ancient construction was built back in 70-80 CE, and of course is still open to this day.

▲Dubai is one of the world's newest cities. Here's a photo taken in the mid '60s, showing the Al Ras district and Dubai's saltwater creek.

▲The Turkish super city has had a fiery history. Here's a snap of rebels crossing Galata Bridge, back in 1890, when the city was known as Constantinople.

▲Jerusalem is one of the world's oldest cities, but this snap was taken in 1870, when the city was under Ottoman control. You can spy a Russian church on the left horizon.

▲Taken circa 1880, crowds swarm round Plaza de la Victoria in the Argentinian capital.

▲A view of the sublime Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, a series of glazed shopping arcades, taken around 1890.

▲Stockholm's harbor in all its early 20th century glory. The port historically made Stockholm an influential city. Photo taken in 1900.

▲An early look at Manly, a beachside suburb in the Australian city. Photo taken circa 1880.

▲Streetcars pass through Toronto in 1890. This streetcar system was swapped out for electric-powered streetcars two years later.

▲Taken back in 1864, this photo offers an alternative view of Vienna's famed Danube Canal.

▲Another city with an ancient history, Athens has an archive of exciting photos. This one, taken in 1852, offers an early glimpse of the city's Tower of the Winds.

▲Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge reflect in the Vltava river. Photo taken in 1898.

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This photo, taken in 1885, shows the church of St Nicholas in all its black-and-white glory.