Guess where this is?

[Brian Ellis]

If you look at the photo carefully, you can see for yourself, considering that it was taken about midday and there is no land in sight beyond the shoreline..

[Kurt]

bleh...depending on the altitude (and the water in suspension over the sea)...your best bet is about 9.6km till you can't see anything above the horizon. there's a lot of places that fill the condition.

[Brian Ellis]

Does the sun shine from the North?

[Nowhere]

It's a neighbour _country_. St Petersbug was easy too

Minister~=Priest, hence the comment

Well, yeah...it's just that in many minds Kaliningrad region isn't exactly Russia...(now probably it is though...)

[KvHagedorn]

Alright, southern side of the Mediterranean has two cities of that size, Algiers and Alexandria. The flora says it's more likely Algiers.

[Kurt]

been there, done that, but haven't found what we're looking for.

@Brian: it's hard to judge from the sun; it's to the right of the pic at an angle of about 45°.

[Brian Ellis]

Alright, southern side of the Mediterranean has two cities of that size, Algiers and Alexandria. The flora says it's more likely Algiers.

Well, it's certainly not in Algeria.

[Brian Ellis]

been there, done that, but haven't found what we're looking for.

@Brian: it's hard to judge from the sun; it's to the right of the pic at an angle of about 45°.

There are not many places along the N. Med coastline, with an unobstructed sea view, where the sun shines in the direction from land to sea, are there?

[KvHagedorn]

Well, Spain makes a little hook, but Valencia isn't near 3,000,000 population. The East shore of Italy is not the Mediterranean, but the Adriatic, and there are no cities that size there. Palermo is too small, as are any other island cities. It must be Alexadria if it isn't Algiers.

[Brian Ellis]

OK, that's the hard part. Now for the easy one: what is the main building and what is it used for?

[KvHagedorn]

Montazah Palace was built east of Alexandria and overlooking a beautiful beach, it is now a state guesthouse.

[Brian Ellis]

Yup! It was originally the king's summer palace and is now the official guesthouse for visiting heads of state. I'm told that it is possibly the most luxurious palace in Egypt..

[KvHagedorn]

Alright, what is this and who lived here?

[Brian Ellis]

The "what is this?" is the easy part. It's a ruined castle. It could be almost anywhere, even on this island which has a plethora of ruined castles. What intrigues me is what appears to be a bas-relief of a bird in flight on the panel facing the camera. The vegetation does not give much of a clue. The staircase implies it is a tourist spot, but I don't see any tourists. This suggests that it may be out-of-the-way. The architectural style is fairly nondescript and could be anything from, say, the Crusades to the 14th c., assuming it is not a more modern "folly". I'll assume that the inhabitant you are seeking is somewhat well-known, but was he the guy who built it, in the first place. I'll start by two suppositions:
ex-Warsaw Pact country???
rather to the south than the north of Europe???

[Nowhere]

Dracula castle in Romania?