Terracotta Army - China

I finally found a great card showing the Terracotta Army, thanks to Ran "ranwe". This army is on the Unesco World Heritage Site list since 1987 under the name "Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor" and is a new unesco in my collection.

"The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China.

The figures, dating from 210 BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.

The figures vary in height 1.83–1.95 metres (6.0–6.4 ft), according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits." - in: wikipedia

Unesco cards from Morocco

Just a few days ago i didn't have any unesco cards from Morroco but last weekend i was in Madrid and bought this Marrakech card on a street fair. Next monday arrived the Fes card sent by Celina.

On the street fairs all we need is patiente and good luck. Besides this Morocco card, i've also found some hard-to-get unesco cards from Spain.

The Medina of Marrakech is on the Unesco list since 1985. On this card there's the Kasbah Mosque, dating from 1190. Next to the mosque there's the Saadian Tombs, dating back from the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). "The tombs were only recently discovered (in 1917) and were restored by the Beaux-arts service. The tombs have, because of the beauty of their decoration, been a major attraction for visitors of Marrakech.

The mausoleum comprises the corpses of about sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty. Among the graves are those of Ahmad al-Mansur and his family. The building is composed of three rooms. The most famous is the room with the twelve columns. This room contains the grave of the son of the sultan's son Ahmad al-Mansur. The stele is in finely worked cedarwood and stucco work. The monuments are made of Italian Carrara marble.

Outside the building is a garden and the graves of soldiers and servants." - in: wikipedia

The Medina of Fes, Fes el Bali, is the oldest and walled part of Fez, Morocco. Fes el Bali is the larger of the two medinas of Fes. Fes el Bali was classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1981.

"One of the most interesting sites in Fes is the Leather Souq and the oldest leather tannery in the world. The tannery dates back at least nine centuries.

The tannery is composed of numerous stone vessels filled with a vast range of dyes and various odorous liquids. The tannery processes the hides (skins) of sheep and goats, turning them into high quality leather products such as bags, coats, shoes, slippers and other similar products. This is all achieved manually, without the need for modern machinery. Men work in unbearably hot conditions (in the summer - 40 degrees and above).
The workers stand in the stone vessels arranged like honeycombs, filled with different dyes, dying the arms and legs of the men. The hides are first soaked in diluted acidic pigeon excrement and then transferred to other vessels containing vegetable dyes such as henna, saffron and mint. When the dying process has been completed the hides are dried on the roofs of the Medina." - in: http://www.technologystudent.com/culture1/fez1.htm

Portugal x Other Countries RR - Group 2

Kel was originally hosting this RR but she stoped doing it and now Ana "ninocas" re-opened this RR again. I've joined the group 2 and received these cards from Russia, Netherlands and Spain.



Valerie "redlynx" sent this Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius in Sergiyev Posad. In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List. The card shows the five-domed Church of John the Baptist's Nativity, built between 1693-1699 and was commissioned by the Stroganovs. Other 17th-century structures include the monks' cells, a hospital topped with a tented church, and a chapel built over a holy well discovered in 1644.

This is not only a RR card but also a meeting card. This meeting was in Hellevoetsluis, a small village on Voorne-Putten Island in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland.
The card, send by Lotty, shows the St. Nicholas Church, a Roman Catholic church in the centre of Amsterdam.
Officially the church was called St. Nicholas inside the Walls, i.e. the oldest part of the Amsterdam defence works. The architect, Adrianus Bleijs (1842-1912) designed the church basing himself on a combination of several revival styles of which Neo-Baroque and Neo-Renaissance are the most prominent models.

Brian "fisherman" lives in Ireland but she goes to Lanzarote, a spanish island, every now and then.
This is a card of the Timanfaya National Park in the southwestern part of the island of Lanzarote. The parkland is entirely made up of volcanic soil.
"The greatest recorded eruptions occurred between 1730 and 1736. The volcanic activity continues as the surface temperature in the core ranges from 100 to 600 °C at the depth of 13 metres (43 ft), which is demonstrated by pouring water into the ground, resulting in a geyser of steam which is an attraction for tourists.There is only one active volcano, Timanfaya volcano which the park is named after.
In 1993, Unesco designated a Biosphere reserve covering the whole of Lanzarote. The national park is one of the core areas of the biosphere reserve." - in: wikipedia

Coro - Venezuela

I've received 2 cards today and this one from Venezuela was 1 of them. This is my 2nd card from this country and like the other one, it was sent by Jorge and it's a new unesco whs. Coro and its port is on the Unesco World Heritage List since 1993.

The building on the card is the House of the Iron Windows.

"Coro is the capital of Falcón State and the oldest city in the west of Venezuela.

Since the 1950s Coro has been conserved as a national monument, and in 1993 Coro and its port were designated by Unesco as a World Heritage Site. However, in 2005 Coro was inscribed in the List of World Heritage Sites in danger.

From historic, colonial architecture to unique natural scenery, Coro presents a diverse set of tourist attractions. The World Heritage Site conserves an urban landscape of typically 18th and 19th century appearance with cobbled streets and hundreds of historic and traditional buildings. Some buildings reflect the Spanish "mudéjar" (i.e. Islamic) style, others reflect the cultural influence of Holland via its colony of Curaçao. There are interesting churches, a small synagogue and an old Jewish cemetery. Other colonial towns in Venezuela tend not to have conserved their heritage so well, and in any case the cross-cultural influences of Coro are probably unique." - in: wikipedia

Oshakan - Armenia

Yesterday there was no mail because of the holiday and today i've received this armenian card, my 1st card from Armenia. It was sent from Russia by Alisa "marylend".

This is a card from the Oshakan village in the west of the country.

The card shows the Church of Saint Mesrop Mashdots which happens to be the burial place of Saint Mesrop Mashdots, the creator of the Armenian alphabet. The church houses his grave and was rebuilt by Catholicos George IV in 1875.

Palmela Meeting - Portugal

On October 23th, 5 portuguese postcrossers, including me :), had a meeting. The meeting point was Palmela castle. The meeting was supposed to be only 1 day but we extended it till sunday. Anyway, the 1st day it was me, Susana "susanaportugal", Graça "gracinha", Nelinha and Joana "joaninha". Besides Palmela we also have been to other places and on the 2nd day we went to Cascais wanting to buy cheap cards.

I bought a lot of cards there and i've sent me this card with King D. Pedro I statue. The card was also signed by Suana and Joana.

It was a lovely weekend :)

Frauenkirche - Germany

Karina "kazinhabueno" from Brazil was in Europe on holidays and visited a few countries. Germany was 1 of them and she had been to Berlin, Munich and Dresden. This is a card from Dresden with the Frauenkirche. If i ever visit Germany, Dresden is one of the cities i would like to visit.

"The Dresden Frauenkirche (literally Church of Our Lady) is a Lutheran church in Dresden, Germany.

Built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed in the firebombing of Dresden during World War II. It has been reconstructed as a landmark symbol of reconciliation between former warring enemies. The reconstruction of its exterior was completed in 2004, its interior in 2005 and, after 13 years of rebuilding." - in: wikipedia