A postcard and a tea

City of Safranbolu

14 May 2015 | From Selin of Turkey

OFFICIAL POSTCROSSING

Safranbolu is a town and district of Karabük Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The Old Town preserves many old buildings, with 1008 registered historical artifacts. These are: 1 private museum, 25 mosques, 5 tombs, 8 historical fountains, 5 Turkish baths, 3 caravanserais, 1 historical clock tower, 1 sundial and hundreds of houses and mansions. Also there are mounds of ancient settlements, rock tombs and historical bridges. The Old Town is situated in a deep ravine in a fairly dry area in the rain shadow of the mountains. The New Town can be found on the plateau about two kilometers west of the Old Town.

Safranbolu was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1994 due to its well-preserved Ottoman era houses and architecture. The City of Safranbolu is a typical Ottoman city, with typical buildings and streets, and played a key role in the caravan trade over many centuries. The settlement developed as a trading centre after the Turkish conquest in the 11th century, and by the 13th century, it had become an important caravan station. Its layout demonstrates the organic growth of the town in response to economic expansion, and its buildings are representative of its evolving socio-economic structure up to the disappearance of the traditional caravan routes and beyond.

My first postcard from Honduras

The Copan Ruins, Honduras

6 May 2015 | From Wilmer of Honduras

POSTCROSSING SWAP

Discovered in 1570 by Diego García de Palacio, the ruins of Copán, one of the most important sites of the Mayan civilization, were not excavated until the 19th century. The ruined citadel and imposing public squares reveal the three main stages of development before the city was abandoned in the early 10th century.

Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. The city was located in the extreme southeast of the Mesoamerican cultural region, on the frontier with the Isthmo-Colombian cultural region, and was almost surrounded by non-Maya peoples. In this fertile valley now lies a city of about 3000, a small airport, and a winding road.

The city has a historical record that spans the greater part of the Classic period and has been reconstructed in detail by archaeologists and epigraphers. Copán was occupied for more than two thousand years, from the Early Preclassic period to the Postclassic. The city developed a distinctive sculptural style within the tradition of the lowland Maya, perhaps to emphasize the Maya ethnicity of the city's rulers

Source: UNESCO

My first postcard from Bermuda

St. George's, Bermuda

6 May 2015 | From Carol of Bermuda

POSTCROSSING SWAP

St. George's, located on the island and within the parish of the same names, settled in 1612, was the first permanent English settlement on the islands of Bermuda. It is often described as the third successful English settlement in the Americas, after St. John's, Newfoundland, and Jamestown, Virginia.

The Town of St. George is the oldest continuously occupied town of English origin in the new world. Picturesque cottages, quaint lanes and alleyways and a wealth of historic architecture attract visitors from all over the world. The town and its surrounding fortifications were recently designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Dotted with 18th century homes, colonial landmarks, and thriving businesses, restaurants and shops, the Town of St. George is a breathtaking blend of both colonial and modern worlds.

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, located off the east coast of North America. The island is surrounded by a fantastic coral reef that harbors colorful fish and has ensnared scores of shipwrecks, making for memorable diving and snorkeling. Bermuda boasts a balmy climate that's comfortable all year round and friendly people who readily strike up conversations with strangers. And there's plenty of distinctive local color as well, from a landscape of tidy pastel houses to dapper businessmen dressed in Bermuda shorts.

Source: GoToBermuda, Lonely Planet

Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kiev

St. Sophia Cathedral, XI Century AD

6 May 2015 | From Natalia of Ukraine

OFFICIAL POSTCROSSING

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. The cathedral is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the Kiev Cave Monastery complex.

Aside from its main building, the cathedral includes an ensemble of supporting structures such as a bell tower and the House of Metropolitan. In 2011 the historic site was reassigned from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. One of the reasons for the move was the fact that both "Sofia Kyivska" and Kiev Pechersk Lavra are recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage Program as one complex, while in Ukraine the two were governed by different government entities.

The cathedral's name comes from the 6th-century Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinople (meaning Holy Wisdom, and dedicated to the Holy Wisdom rather than a specific saint named Sophia). Architecture-wise, its model could have been the 13-domed oaken Holy Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod (c. 989), which Yaroslav I the Wise determined to imitate in stone as a sign of gratitude to the citizens of Novgorod who had helped him secure the Kievan throne in 1019.

Source: Wikipedia

Slovakia's UNESCO Heritage Sites

Majestic Castles and Historic Towns

24 Apr 2015 | From Zuzana of Slovakia

THANK-YOU POSTCARD

Despite its rather small size, Slovakia offers great diversity of landscapes, untouched nature, numerous magical castles, charming historic towns - many of which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Shown in the postcard are Levoča, Bardejov, Žehra, Vlkolínec, Spišská Kapitula, Lukov-Venécia, Banská Štiavnica, and Kežmarok.

Levoča  is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Renaissance church with the highest wooden altar in the world, carved by Master Paul of Levoča, and many other Renaissance buildings. Another Slovak town inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List is the historic Bardejov, one of the oldest Slovak towns. Bardejov is spoken of as the “most Gothic of towns in Slovakia”. Its centre consists of a set of historical buildings arranged in the area limited by an almost continuous belt of town fortifications.

Žehra is a village and municipality in the Spišská Nová Ves District in the Košice Region of central-eastern Slovakia. The Žehra Church  was declared a Czechoslovak National Monument in 1985, and in 1993 was listed as a World Heritage Site together with the nearby Spiš Castle, Spišská Kapitula, the National nature reserve of Dreveník (a travertine formation).

Vlkolínec, situated in the centre of Slovakia, is a remarkably intact settlement of 45 buildings with the traditional features of a central European village.  It is a remarkably well preserved rural medieval settlement featuring wooden architecture typical of hillside and mountain areas.

A unique church dedicated to Saint Kosmos and Saint Damian stands on the top of a hill at the edge of the village of Lukov-Venécia in north-eastern Slovakia.  It is the log structure consisting of three parts built on stone masonry. The architectural particularity of this church is the overhanging attic on pillars around the building. It is also the only church in Slovakia with a cellar. Another wooden church listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site is the Evangelical articular churches in Kezmarok. These “articled” churches are built under the article of the law issued by Emperor Leopold I at the end of the 17th century, and possess an extraordinary worldwide value.

Banská Štiavnicais a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as Štiavnica Mountains.  It is a completely preserved medieval town. Because of their historical value, the town and its surroundings were proclaimed by the UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site.

Sources: Wikipedia, Slovakia Travel, UNESCO

The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site

Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks

17 Apr 2015 | From Ronda of Canada

OFFICIAL POSTCROSSING

The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks form a striking mountain landscape, that includes a full range of glaciation features and harbours the renowned Burgess Shale fossil site. Its highest peak is Mount Robson at 3,954 m. The contiguous national parks of Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho, with the adjoining Mount Robson, Hamber and Mount Assiniboine provincial parks (50°34'-53°28'N, 115°10'-119°32'W), are World Heritage Sites located at the continental divide of the central Rocky Mountains at their highest point. 

The parks include mountains, glaciers and hot springs and the headwaters of major North American river systems. Active glaciers and ice fields still exist throughout the region. The area is known for its natural beauty and biological diversity. A total of 56 mammalian species have been recorded, and some 280 avifaunal species have been noted.

The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks possess exceptional natural beauty, attracting millions of visitors annually.

Península Valdés, Argentina

Whale-watching in Golf Nuevo, Valdes Peninsula

30 Mar 2015 | From Sue of Guernsey

POSTCROSSING FRIEND | POSTCARD SENT FROM GUERNSEY

Inside the Atlantic Patagonia, the city of Puerto Madryn stands out for the transparency of its waters in the Nuevo Golf - which is the starting point for a tour in Valdes Peninsula. The Valdes Peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast in the Viedma Department in the north east of Chubut Province, Argentina. It is an important nature reserve which was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The coastline is inhabited by marine mammals, like sea lions, elephant seals and fur seals. Southern right whales can be found in Golfo Nuevo and Golfo San José, protected bodies of water located between the peninsula and the Patagonian mainland.  The whales are born in the Golf Nuevo and San José do not necessarily return every year to the area of  Valdes Peninsula. They have well defined areas for their autumn migration and summer.

They travel thousands of miles in each migration. In the autumn, they move to the north, is the breeding season, up to parallel 20, further north which are often some groups is on the coast of Brazil in South America and between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar in Africa. They are also found in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Source: eco-lodge

Greetings from Aachen

Abendlicher Dom. Aachen Cathedral at night

10 Mar 2015 | From Michael of Germany

OFFICIAL POSTCROSSING

This is the second postcard Michael sent me which shows the Aachen Cathedral. Frequently referred to as the "Imperial Cathedral", it is a Roman Catholic church in Aachen, Germany. The church is the oldest cathedral in northern Europe and was known as the "Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen" during the Middle Ages. For 595 years, from 936 to 1531, the Aachen chapel was the church of coronation for 30 German kings and 12 queens. The church is currently the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Aachen, so named in 1802.

Aachen Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Aachen. The present-day cathedral consists of several constructions whose respective times of formation include the periods of early middle ages to modern times. The Cathedral is the church of the coronation for 30 German Kings.

Since 1978, the Cathedral of Aachen was listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

Feast day in the Monastery

The Trinity-St Sergius Monastery

10 Mar 2015 | From Kris of Russia

POSTCROSSING FRIEND

Considered to be the most important monastery in Russia and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church, the St. Sergius Lavra is often nicknamed the ‘Russian Vatican’. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad. It was founded in 1345 by one of the most venerated Russian saints, Sergius of Radonezh, who built a wooden church in honour of the Holy Trinity on Makovets Hill. Early development of the monastic community is well documented in contemporary lives of Sergius and his disciples.

The ensemble of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad is an outstanding example of 14th- to 18th-century Russian architecture. Many of these buildings were models for later buildings in Russia. The main church of the Lavra, the Cathedral of the Assumption (echoing the Kremlin Cathedral of the same name), contains the tomb of Boris Godunov. Among the treasures of the Lavra is the famous icon, The Trinity , by Andrei Rublev.

World's Biggest Buddhist Monument

The Borobudur

10 Mar 2015 | From Handi of Indonesia

POSTCROSSING SWAP (INSTAGRAM)

Borobudur temple is the world's biggest Buddhist monument. It is located in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Borobudur is the place for Buddhists to say their prayers and one of the most atrractive places in Indonesia.

A 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple, the monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues each of which is seated inside a perforated stupa.

Built in the 9th century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty, the temple was designed in Javanese Buddhist architecture, which blends the Indonesian indigenous cult of ancestor worship and the Buddhist concept of attaining Nirvana. The temple also demonstrates the influences of Gupta art that reflects India's influence on the region, yet there are enough indigenous scenes and elements incorporated to make Borobudur uniquely Indonesian.

Tràng An Scenic Landscape Complex

Beautiful landscape of Trang An - Ninh Binh

11 Feb 2015 | From Mu Chu of Vietnam

THANK-YOU POSTCARD

Ninh Binh (pronounced Neeng Beeng) is the capital city of Ninh Binh Province in North Vietnam, famous for the nearby Karst scenery and the village of Tam Coc. The Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex is located in the districts Hoa Lu, Gia Vien, and Nho Quan of Ninh Binh Province in northern Viet Nam. The heritage property is spread over a large area of 10,000 hectares, and is made up of three individual components within a single buffer zone. 

The Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex is situated inland on the coastal plain of within the highly eroded limestone block of Hoa Lu, part of the Truong Yen – Bich Dong mountain range.  This range comprised of by limestone karst peaks of high fragmentation forming low mountains separated by valley floors composed of sedimentary rock, where shales predominate. These valley floors are characterized by a long process of denudation, erosion, and surface runoff which has accumulated as a mixture of aluvi – deluvi – proluvi.

The Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For Vietnamese people throughout the ages, the landscape of Trang An, with its dramatic mountains, mysterious caves, and sacred spaces, has provided a vision of beauty and a metaphor for the Vietnamese culture.  It is a place of inspiration where natural history and cultural history are inseparable. A place where culture encounters the wonder, mystery, and magnificence of the natural world and is transformed by it.

Source: Halong Travel

Yosemite National Park

The Drive-through Tree

24 Nov 2014 | From Teddy of USA

POSTCROSSING SWAP

Yosemite National Park lies in the heart of California. With its 'hanging' valleys, many waterfalls, cirque lakes, polished domes, moraines and U-shaped valleys, it provides an excellent overview of all kinds of granite relief fashioned by glaciation. 

The park represents practically all the different environments found within the Sierra Nevada, including sequoia groves, historic resources, evidence of Indian habitation, and domes, valleys, polished granites and other geological features illustrating the formation of the mountain range.

This famous drive-through tree is in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Redwoods. Mariposa Grove is a sequoia grove located near Wawona, California, United States, in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park. It is the largest grove of Giant Sequoias in the park, with several hundred mature examples of the tree. Two of its trees are among the 30 largest Giant Sequoias in the world.

My first postcard from Ethiopia

 
Simien National Park
24 Nov 2014 | From Kate of Ethiopia
POSTCROSSING SWAP

The postcard shows a view of the Chennek and Imet Gogo in the Simien Mountains National Park. They are some of the most spectacular spots for trekking route through the Simiens - a UNESCO World Heritage site blessed with jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys and sharp precipices dropping some 1,500 m. It is also home to some extremely rare animals such as the Gelada baboon, the Simien fox and the Walia ibex, a goat found nowhere else in the world.

The Simien National Park, located in northern Ethiopia, was formed massive erosion over millions of years and has created such a spectacular landscape of mountains and valleys.

The site is located in the western Simen Mountains, 120 km north-east of Gondar in Begemder Province, north-west Ethiopia. With its abundance of creviced basalt rock, Simen serves as an ideal water catchment area, replenished by two wet seasons and the Mayshasha River, which weaves its way north to south through the national park. Consequently the park is rich in a wide range of wildlife and vegetation.

The Simen region has been inhabited by human settlers and cultivators for at least 2,000 years. Today it is surrounded by old cultural centres such as Aksum, where over 100 hand-carved stone monoliths (stelae) can be found, Lalibela and Gonder, where curious 15th-century churches and palaces still stand. Erosion indicates that cultivation first started on the gentler slopes of the highland valleys but later extended onto steeper slopes. Simen is at the crossing of old trade routes and records of various local features were made in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Source: UNESCO.org

My first postcard from the Vatican

The St. Peter's Basilica

28 Oct 2014 | From Therese of Vatican City

POSTCROSSING SWAP

Vatican City, a walled enclave within the city of Rome, is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world. It is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Bishop of Rome — the Pope.

The Vatican City, one of the most sacred places in Christendom, attests to a great history and a formidable spiritual venture. At its centre is St Peter's Basilica - a Late Renaissance church remains one of the largest churches in the world. St. Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".

A Water Nymph

The Rhine. The Loreley near St. Goarshausen

22 Oct 2014 | From Peter of Germany

OFFICIAL POSTCROSSING

The Lorelei, Loreley in German, is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, Germany. It marks the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea, and is the most famous feature of the Rhine Gorge that was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in June 2002.

Lorelei is also the name of a feminine water spirit, similar to mermaids or Rhine maidens, associated with this rock in popular folklore and in works of music, art and literature.

Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu

4 Oct 2014 | From Victor of Peru

POSTCROSSING SWAP

The Machu Picchu  is a 15th-century Inca site. Located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Machupicchu District in Peru, it is situated on a mountain ridge above the Sacred Valley. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often mistakenly referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is the most familiar icon of Inca civilization.

The Incas built the estate around 1450, but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. Most of the outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better idea of what the structures originally looked like.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its three primary structures are the Inti Watana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu.

Source: Wikipedia

Lineas de Nasca, Peru

Nasca Lines: The Flamingo

4 Oct 2014 | From Victor of Peru

POSTCROSSING SWAP

The Nazca Lines are giant figures of geometric patterns, animals, humans figures and thousands of perfectly straight lines on the desert floor situated nin the Nazca region, scattered over 500 square kilometers of an arid plateau between the Nazca River and Ingenio River. These exceptional collection of geoglyphs in the southern desert of Peru are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage SIte. They have been uner study for several years. However their real purpose are not yet discovered. Some suggest they are related to astronomy or ancient deities. Other goes as to saying they are created alien lifeforms outside the planet.

The flamingo  is the longest figure on the desert, with over 300 meters. Accordingly the beak of this bird points towards the place where the sun rises every year on winter solstice. The exceptionality of these geoglyphs rest in the fact that they can only be seen from the air.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine

The Chamber of the Dwarves

26 Sept 2014 | From Grzegorz of Poland

POSTCROSSING FRIEND

The „Wieliczka” Salt Mine is one of the largest tourist attractions in Poland. Grzegorz described it as one of the prettiest places in Poland and is registered on the UNESCO list. The mine, built in the 13th century, produced table salt continuously until 2007, as one of the world's oldest salt mines still in operation.

The mine's attractions include dozens of statues, three chapels and an entire cathedral that has been carved out of the rock salt by the miners. The oldest sculptures are augmented by the new carvings by contemporary artists. About 1.2 million people visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine annually.

My first postcard from Peru

Images of Machupicchu

26 Sept 2014 | From Vanessa of Peru

POSTCROSSING SWAP

This postcard seems nostalgic. I have always known about Machupicchu since I was a kid. There is a small picture of Machupicchu posted in my bedroom wall. I remember always being fascinated by it and hopes to see it one day - not just through a picture on my wall.

Machupicchu is arguably the most famous of all the archaeological sites in South America. The most-visited tourist destination in Peru, these mysterious ruins are believed to be the residence for resting and relaxation of the Inca and the elite. The Incan built structure has been deemed the “Lost Cities”, unknown until its relatively recent discovery in 1911. Due to it’s isolation from the rest of Peru, living in the area full time would require traveling great distances just to reach the nearest village.

Machpicchu is is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province in Peru. Vanessa describes Cusco as an amazing city. It is a fascinating city that was the capital of the Inca Empire. Cuzco is a Unesco World Heritage Site and is one of Peru's most visited cities.

Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard

10 Sept 2014 | From WuXueyang of China

OFFICIAL POSTCROSSING

"Ripping water shimmering on sunny day,

Misty mountains shrouded the rain; 

Plain or gaily decked out like Xizi;

West Lake is always alluring."

These are the words composed by the famous Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo when he compared the West Lake to Xi Zi, the most beautiful woman in ancient China. West Lake is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China.

West Lake has influenced poets and painters throughout China's history for its natural beauty and historic relics, and it has also been among the most important sources of inspiration for Chinese garden designers. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, described as having "influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries" and reflecting "an idealized fusion between humans and nature".

Source: Wikipedia