Atomic Bomb Dome - Japan

With the official that I got last October, I've now 3 cards of the Atomic Bomb Dome, the most recognizable monument at Hiroshima Peace Memorial. 

The 1st two cards are officials, one of them from Indonesia, and the 3rd card was sent in 2009 by Adriana. 

ID-193304, sent by Febriani.

The A-Bomb Dome is a symbol of peace which most people have at least seen at one time in a picture. The building, which was designed by a Czech architect in 1915, had been used as the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall.

JP-642775, sent by Kiyoshi.

Hiroshima citizens back then loved so much European modern-style buildings of the time. In 1912, the National Confectionery Exposition was held in this place. From that exposition, Baumkuchen, which represented German cake, was manufactured and sold in Japan for the first time. Since the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall was located only around 160 meters from the hypocenter, the building was blown up, and all those inside the building died.

However, the building was not destroyed completely because the blast of the atomic bomb, which was vaporized in the air, prevented it from totally collapsing. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996 and has been representing people's prayers for a lasting peace. - in: http://visithiroshima.net/world_heritage/a-bomb_dome.html

Chengjiang Fossil Site - China

China has many, many UNESCO sites, and by many I mean 50 sites, it is the 2nd country with most sites. The country with most sites in Italy. 

It wasn't easy to get cards from all the chinese sites but thanks to Chenzhen and Danise, I've now these 2 cards of the Chengjiang Fossil Site, inscribed in 2012. 

A hilly 512 ha site in Yunnan province, Chengjiang’s fossils present the most complete record of an early Cambrian marine community with exceptionally preserved biota, displaying the anatomy of hard and soft tissues in a very wide variety of organisms, invertebrate and vertebrate. They record the early establishment of a complex marine ecosystem. 

The site documents at least sixteen phyla and a variety of enigmatic groups as well as about 196 species, presenting exceptional testimony to the rapid diversification of life on Earth 530 million years ago, when almost all of today’s major animal groups emerged. It opens a palaeobiological window of great significance to scholarship. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1388

Gol Gumbaz - India

This is the 2nd card K. R. Bhat sent me. 

Gol Gumbaz, the mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah (AD 1626 –56) located in Bijapur, District Bijapur, Karnataka State is an important monument of Indo-Islamic architecture aptly known for its amazing dimensions and unique acoustic features. 

The construction of this building was completed and the deceased king was interred in this building in 1034 AH (AD 1656) and contains the sepulcher containing the tombs of Muhammad Adil Shah (AD 1626-1656), the seventh Sultan of the Adil Shahi dynasty, his wives and daughters. Soon after his accession to the throne in AD 1626, the Sultan started constructing this edifice for burying his mortal remains. He was buried in the vast vault beneath the floor along with other family members. The exact position of the real tomb is indicated by the wooden canopy kept on the high platform at the middle of the floor of the hall.

This edifice ranks among the most imposing ones in India for the sheer monumentality of its massive dome and its floor area. - in: http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_tktd_karnataka_golgumbaz.asp

Golden Temple - India

After a UNESCO trade with K. R. Bath, we traded again. He was looking for markets and stalls cards. I had two available cards and choose this and another card from his albuns. The 2nd of these 2 cards was sent in 2013 by Sarah.

The Golden Temple is located in the city Amritsar, Northern Punjab, India, which is close to the border of Pakistan.

The Harmandir Sahib is the holiest shrine in Sikhism. Previously (and still more commonly) known as the Golden Temple, it was officially renamed Harmandir Sahib in March 2005. The temple (or gurdwara) is a major pilgrimage destination for Sikhs from all over the world, as well as an increasingly popular tourist attraction.

Unlike many historical sacred sites, the Golden Temple of Amritsar is still fully alive with religious fervor and sacredness, and visitors are welcomed to join in the experience. Although the building itself has great historical and architectural interest, it is the Golden Temple's great spiritual meaning for Sikh believers (and others) that is most memorable to visitors. In a country that is exceptionally rich with vibrant devotion, Frommer's rates the Golden Temple "the most tangibly spiritual place in the country."

Construction of the Golden Temple began in 1574 on land donated by the Mughal emperor Akbar. The building project was overseen by the fourth and fifth Sikh Gurus. The temple was completed in 1601, but restoration and embellishment continued over the years. The temple had to be substantially rebuilt after it was sacked in the 1760s.

In the early 19th century, 100 kg of gold were applied to the inverted lotus-shaped dome and decorative marble was added. All this gold and marble work took place under the patronage of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The legendary warrior king was a major donor of money and materials for the shrine and is remembered with much affection by the Sikh community and Punjabi people. - in: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/india/golden-temple-of-amritsar

Channakeshara Temple - India

 Chennakesava Temple (also called Kesava or Keshava temple) is located in Somanathapura, a town located 35 km from the historic Mysore city in Mysore district, Karnataka state, India. 

Photo by V. B. Anand

The temple was built by Somanatha, a Dandanayaka (commander) in 1268 CE under Hoysala Empire King Narasimha III, when the Hoysalas were the major power in South India. The Keshava temple is one of the finest and most complete examples of Hoysala architecture and is also one of the best preserved Hoysala temples. The temple is a trikutachala (a three celled structure), with the three sanctums or shrines connected by a vestibule.

The temple is in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India as a protected heritage site. - in: wikipedia

Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin - Armenia

I've to confess that I don't know much about Armenia but these 2 cards really make me to wish to go there. These monasteries are wonderful. Both are classified as UNESCO WHS. Sini did a great job choosing the cards and the stamps. 

These two Byzantine monasteries in the Tumanian region from the period of prosperity during the Kiurikian dynasty (10th to 13th century) were important centres of learning. Sanahin was renown for its school of illuminators and calligraphers. The two monastic complexes represent the highest flowering of Armenian religious architecture, whose unique style developed from a blending of elements of Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture and the traditional vernacular architecture of the Caucasian region. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/777

Photo by Levon Bakhshyan

Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank, is a medieval monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia.

The monastery was founded by Queen Khosrovanuysh, wife of the Bagratid king Ashot III, probably in 976.

The largest church in the complex, the Cathedral of Surb Nishan, probably begun in 976, was completed in 991 by king Smbat. It is a typical example of tenth century Armenian architecture. 

There are several other structures at the site as well. There is the small domed Church of Sourb Grigor (St. Gregory ) from 1005. Two side chapels were added to the original church; the larger one built in the beginning of the 13th century and the smaller, known as "Hamazasp House", built in 1257. In 1245, a three-story tall free-standing belltower was constructed. Other 13th century additions include the chapel of Sourb Astvatsatsin, the scriptorium, and a large refectory which is outside of the monastery limits.

The monastery has been damaged many times. Sometime around 1130, an earthquake destroyed parts of Haghpat Monastery and it was not restored until fifty years later. It also suffered numerous attacks by armed forces in the many centuries of its existence and from a major earthquake in 1988. Nevertheless, much of the complex is still intact and stands today without substantial alterations. - in: wikipedia

Photo by Levon Bakhshyan

Sanahin Monastery is an Armenian monastery founded in the 10th century in the Lori Province of Armenia.

The name Sanahin literally translates from Armenian as "this one is older than that one", presumably representing a claim to having an older monastery than the neighbouring Haghpat Monastery. The two villages and their monasteries are similar in many ways, and lie in plain view of each other on a dissected plateau formation, separated by a deep "crack" formed by a small river flowing into the Debed river.

As with Haghpat, Sanahin is frequented by an increasing number of tourists, due to its recent inclusion on the itineraries of a great number of Armenian tour agencies, the beauty of its monastery complex matching that of Haghpat's. The complex belongs to the Armenian Apostolic Church with numerous khachkars (stones with elaborate engravings representing a cross) and bishop gravesites scattered throughout it. - in: wikipedia

Kecharis Monastery - Armenia

Saint Grigor's Church is Kecharis Monastery main temple. The image on this card is a few years old because today this church and other structures of the monastery are fully restored. 

Kecharis is a medieval Armenian monastic complex dating back to the 11th to 13th centuries, located 60 km from Yerevan, in the ski resort town of Tsakhkadzor. Nestled in the Bambak mountains, Kecharis was founded by a Pahlavuni prince in the 11th century, and construction continued until the middle of the 13th century. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Kecharis was a major religious center of Armenia and a place of higher education.

The domes of the two main churches were heavily damaged in an earthquake in 1927. The buildings were conserved during the period of the Armenian SSR, and rebuilding work started in the 1980s. A series of nationwide problems led to a halt in the rebuilding for about a decade as the 1988 Armenian earthquake hit, the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Nagorno-Karabakh War broke out, and Armenia was blockaded by its two allied Turkic neighbors. Rebuilding work resumed at Kecharis in 1998 and finished in 2000. The restarted work was paid for by an Armenian donor from Vienna, Vladimir Harutyunian, in memory of his parents Harutyun and Arsenik. - in: wikipedia