Monthly Fav. Surprise RR - November '23

These are the last cards of this RR this year. All the 44 cards that I've sent were received and I've received all the cards I was supposed to get. It couldn't have been better! 

Last month the cards came from England, Russia, Germany and USA.

Chester Cathedral is a must-see for every visitor to the city of Chester.  This incredible structure, founded in 1092 as a Benedictine Abbey, was subsequently rebuilt around 1250 and took 275 years to transform the building into the stunning Gothic-style building we see today.

Chester Cathedral has the most complete set of monastic buildings in the country, which includes a Georgian square and series of streets, the remains of Roman barracks on the Dean’s field and the largest open green spaces within the walls, which is loved by both locals and visitors alike. - in: https://chester.com/

The card was sent by Rachel.  

Natalyia sent this card from Russia but the card is from Miskhor, a town in Southern Coast of Crimea. 

Miskhor's brightest architectural attraction - Dulber Palace that is now one of many buildings of the namesake sanatorium - stands out against the background of Crimean Mountains' fabulous views. Finished with colorful mosaics, Beautiful (that is 'dulber' in Crimean Tatar) Palace was built in Mauritanian style in the late 19th century for Russian Prince Petr Nikolaevich, uncle of the Imperator Nikolai II. After the revolution of 1917, the palace was turned into real fortress, where members of House of Romanov hid from Bolsheviks for some time. But in 1922, one of the first Soviet health resorts was opened here. - in: https://discover-ukraine.info

www.papersisters.de

 I'm not exactly a tea lover but I drink tea almost everyday during the cold months. This card was sent by Nadine, a former coffee lover!

Prior to the mid-17th century, this mysterious exotic drink was completely unknown to Europeans. Although tea had first been introduced to Portuguese priests and merchants in China during the 16th century, it was not until the first decades of the 1600s that the Portuguese and the Dutch began to import both black and green tea into Europe from their trading bases in Macao. The drink quickly became established in the Netherlands and Portugal and in 1657 the first consignments of tea reached London. - in: https://chitracollection.com

Photo: Konstantino Hatzisarros

I saw this card and immediately knew that it had been sent by Nan. 

A graffity by Chico somewhere in New York.

Monthly Fav. Surprise RR - October '23

Cards sent from China, Germany, Switzerland and Japan.

Shaoxing, in eastern China, is one of the country's historical and cultural cities.
The area is rich in relics of the past, with innumerable burial sites and with many other sites connected with famous figures from the city’s past. It also has a museum devoted to the writer Lu Xun (1881–1936), who was a native of the city. Baicao Garden is a vegetable garden behind Lu Xun's former residence. 

The card was sent by Mandy.

 

 LOOK-foto: Heinz Wohner

Not my 1st card of this lighthouse on Sylt, the largest of Germany’s North Frisian islands. List-Ost is one of the five lighthouses on the island. 

Card sent by Nicole.

www.papersisters.de

New Happy Postcrossing card sent by Grace. 

The negative temperatures of the last few days certainly make many people miss summer but that's not my case. I love the cold, love winter and I definitely don't miss summer. I like the card, I just don't like the season that much.

 

 Full Colour Black

Banksy Squares Vs. Rat sent by Tomoko.

Yazd - Iran

I was so happy when I saw this card in my mailbox, not only because it is from a new UNESCO site but also because the building on the card, Amir Chakhmaq complex, is really beautiful. I was so happy that almost forgot that I was supposed to get a second card, that unfortunately got lost. Both card were sent by Ehsan. 

Yazd, an ancient city in the heart of Iran, is a place where history, culture, and architecture seamlessly blend to create a mesmerizing experience for travelers. Often referred to as the “City of Windcatchers” or the “City of Zoroastrians,” Yazd is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. Situated midway between Isfahan and the historic city of Kerman, this oasis city stands surrounded by the vast deserts of Iran, creating a stark yet beautiful landscape. With a history spanning over 5,000 years, Yazd has been a center of trade, culture, and religion for millennia.
Amidst the immense desert, Yazd retains its sterling of old in religion, traditions and architecture. It is recognized by UNESCO as holding one of the oldest architecture all over the world. The word Yazd means, sacred and worship, which gives us the idea of being a sacred city in the past.

Photo by Mohsen Daschti

Although more often described as the entrance to a now non-existent bazaar, the chief function of Amir-Chakhmagh structure known as a Tekyeh, and the square before it, was to host Ta’ziyeh – a cycle of passion plays commemorating the martyrdom of the third Imam of Shiites, Imam Hossein, which take place once a year during the mourning month of Moharram. The site dating from fifteenth century, is named after its builder, Amir Jalal Al-Din Chakhmagh,  governor of Yazd. - in: https://www.iransafar.co

Wat Pho - Thailand

One more temple from Bangkok. Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, is the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in Bangkok. 

The cards were sent by Charlie and Nina.

 

It is home to more Buddha images than any other Bangkok temple and it shelters the largest Buddha in Thailand. 

Wat Pho was built as a restoration of an earlier temple on the same site, Wat Phodharam, with work beginning in 1788. It was restored and extended in the reign of King Rama III (1824-51), and restored again in 1982.

Copyright, Art Media (Thailand) Co., Ltda

Wat Pho is the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. Even prior to the temple's founding, the site was a center of education for traditional Thai medicine, and statues were created showing yoga positions. 

During the Rama III restoration plaques inscribed with medical texts were placed around the temple, while in 1962 a school for traditional medicine and massage was established." - in: www.sacred-destinations.com/thailand/bangkok-wat-pho

Jiufen - Taiwan

Founded during the Qing Dynasty, this small town was a relatively isolated village until the discovery of gold during the Japanese occupation in 1893, quickly developing the town due to a gold rush. Many buildings in the town remain unchanged to this day, reflecting the Japanese influence on both architecture and culture on the island.

 

Photo by: yuyen

JP-1994687, sent by Yoko.

During World War II, the town housed a Japanese prisoner of war camp where captured Allied Force soldiers (mainly British) were forced to work in the gold mines. After the war, gold mining activities declined, and the town today exists mainly as a tourist destination remembering and celebrating Taiwanese history and culture.

TW-2932929, sent by Maruko Wei.

From the beginning of the 1990s, Jiufen experienced a tourist boom that has shaped the town into an attraction easily accessible from Taipei City as a nice day trip (around 2 hours away roundtrip by public transit). Today, the town is filled with both retro Chinese and Japanese style cafés, tea houses, and souvenir shops, as well as fantastic views of the ocean. - in: https://guidetotaipei.com

DE-13603468

This is another postcard whose ID does not match the location of the image. The ID is German but this lighthouse is located at the southernmost tip of Norway.

DE-13603468, sent by Claudia.

Lindesnes Lighthouse is Norway's oldest dating back to 1656 but the present lighthouse was built in 1915. 

The lighthouse has been designated a national lighthouse museum, and hosts various exhibitions relating to the development and history of lighthouses, maritime culture, etc. The mountainhall below the lighthouse houses a cinema, exhibitions and a café. The complex also comprises a museumshop, a restaurant and a gallery. You can see the remains of a German WW2 fort, and there are marked paths in the area. - in: https://www.visitnorway.com

NL-5613395

 The ID of this card may be Dutch but the church is English. Buckland in the Moor is a village in the Teignbridge district of Devon, England.

Photography: John Pallent

NL-5613395, sent by Henk.

St Peter's church dates to the late 15th or early 16th century.
The church is famous for its unusual clock face. The clock does not have numbers to indicate the hours, but letters which spell out the words 'My Dear Mother'.

NL-5613392

When people think of Dutch culture, they invariably conjure images of majestic windmills, sunlit canals, the works of Rembrandt and Van Gogh, fields of tulips, millions of bicycles and, of course, Delft Blue pottery.

Though Delft Blue pottery had its heyday between 1640 and 1740, the Dutch began making pottery of the tin-glazed variety as early as 1570. Though it’s often confused with porcelain, Delftware is actually made from a blend of three different clays, one from Delft, one from Tournai and one from the Rhineland.

 

www.postcardsfromessie.nl

NL-5613392, sent by Adriana.

Interestingly, it was actually the Chinese that inspired the creation of Delftware as we know it today. The story goes that back in the 17th century, The Dutch East India Company imported millions of pieces of Chinese porcelain. The Dutch fell in love with the artform and had a deep admiration for the workmanship and attention to detail in each piece.

The steady flow of porcelain from China came to an abrupt halt in 1620 following the death of the Wanli Emperor. Opportunistic Dutch potters seized this opportunity and began to work in earnest to create a cheaper local alternative. The Chinese artworks were dutifully re-created alongside religious motifs and typical Dutch scenes of windmills, fishing boats, hunting expeditions and seascapes.

A lesser-known fact about Delft Blue pottery is that not all of it is blue. In the 1700s, many factories experimented with a number of colours and even gilding. Delftware ranges from vases to sets of jugs and plates and to more tiles than you could shake a stick at (roughly 800 million!).
Sadly, Delft Blue’s popularity started to decline in the 1700s due to the renewed availability of Chinese porcelain and the rise of the English Wedgwood and European porcelain industries. By 1840, only one of the 32 earthenware factories established in Delft remained – De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles, or “Royal Delft”, which has produced Delftware uninterrupted for 365 years. - in: https://www.culturalcruiseseurope.com