Great Mosque and Hospital of Divriği - Turkey

Getting a card from this turkish site seemed quite difficult, I've actually never seen any cards with these buildings. Thanks to Ercan, I've finally seen and got a card with the the first turkish buildings  inscribed on the World Heritage List.  

Renowned for its monumental architecture and traditional stone carving decorations of Anatolia, this masterpiece, with its two-domed mosque, hospital and tomb, was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.

This building complex was commissioned in the 13th century by Ahmet Shah and his wife Melike Turan of the Principality of Mengüçlü. 

The Great Mosque and Hospital have plain facades. Their status as a unique masterpiece rests on the merits of the stone carving decorations that adorn the great portal of the Hospital, the northern portal of the Mosque, the western portal of the Mosque and the portal of Shah’s dais. Each and every figure in the decoration is a unique marvel of art and architecture, as well as a feat of engineering.

Tire Cards & Printing Office

The Great Mosque of Divriği is the most splendid example of the mosques built during the Seljuk Period in Anatolia. Art historians and architects agree that there are no other examples of the three dimensional and intricate geometric styles and flowing figures of plants.

Its portals appear to be a mixture of Baroque, Seljuk and Gothic styles, but nevertheless represent a unique and distinct style of their own. All figures carved on the portals and walls are asymmetrical and each square has thousand of stone carved figures. The most prominent characteristic of the designs featured in the portals is their uniqueness: each is distinct from other decorations. For example, the wreath of life used on the portal on the north facade is noteworthy, as it depicts an imaginary plant world that only existed in the imagination of the craftsman.

In addition to the portals, all bases, shafts and capitals of the columns, as well as the inner surface of the dome, are decorated with a different, distinct and unique style. The hospital, situated next to the Great Mosque is, in itself, a masterpiece of stone carving. It shares a splendid unity with the Great Mosque. The hospital is a two-story building with a central courtyard surrounded by porticoes, and designed as a hospital where cures included the soothing sound of flowing water from the fountains. - in: http://www.turkishculture.org/general/unesco-world-heritage/great-mosque-and-1037.htm

St Nikola Fortress, Sibenik - Croatia

We all love surprise cards and I like them even a bit more when they are from missing UNESCO sites. Agata surprised me with this beautiful view of Sibenik with St. Nikola Fortress, one of the 2 croatian places classified by UNESCO as part of the Venitian Works of Defense. 

Hvala Agata.

The unusual island fortress of St Nikola in Sibenik is part of the Venetian Defensive System that Unesco has recently inscribed on its list of World Heritage Sites. Like Zadar's Walls, the Republic of Venice built St Nikola's fortress in the 16th century to protect the town from attacks by Ottoman Turks.

With its unique triangular shape and sturdy construction, it became the strongest fort on the Croatian coast.

Sibenik was important to La Serenissima for its agricultural products and nearby salt pans. The fortress was erected to protect Sibenik's vital port and thus was situated at the entrance to the narrow milelong channel of St Anthony (Sv Ante) which connected Sibenik to the open sea. Like other forts in the Venetian Defensive System, St Nikola was a bastioned fort in the alla moderna style. The celebrated Venetian architect, Michele Sanmicheli, designed it and his nephew, Giangirolamo Sanmicheli, built it between 1540 and 1547. - in: https://www.croatiatraveller.com/central%20dalmatia/St-Nikola.html

Starigrad Paklenica - Croatia

Any postcard collector of UNESCO sites complains every now and then about how hard it its to get cards from certain sites; the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is definitely one of them. These forests can be found in 12 countries but so far I only have cards from 3 of them, Germany, Ukraine and now Croatia. In Croatia the classified forests are located in Northern Velebit and Paklenica National Parks, where this card sent by Antonella is from. 

Paklenica National Park is located slightly inland from the coast of North Dalmatia, situated about 47 kms northeast of Zadar. The nearest coastal town is Starigrad Paklenica.

The park is south of Velebit  range of mountains (the largest in Croatia) and covers an area of just under 100 square km. It has a mixture of high peaks with stunning views, deep gorges and beech and pine forest. - in: https://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/croatia-destinations/north-dalmatia/paklenica-national-park/

PL-1506754

I've never heard about Żagań before. I've discovered and visited so many beautiful places thanks to postcards. Postcards are kind of geography, history and culture teachers. 

fot: Dariusz Krakowiak

PL-1506754, sent by Kasia.

Żagań is a town on the Bóbr river in western Poland, with 26,253 inhabitants. 

Some of it's monuments are the Town Hall; the old Market Square; the  Baroque Ducal Palace and the Evangelical Church Tower. 

DE-7449054

I've received this card last monday, the same day I booked a flight to Germany. I won't fly to Stuttgart though, I'll go to Nuremberg. Germany wasn't in my plans for this year but things just happened and I'm kind excited with the idea of exploring some beautiful places, including UNESCO sites, in Bavaria. 36 days to go. 

© Fotoverlag HUBER

DE-7449054, sent by Ute.

Stuttgart Airport (...) is the international airport of Stuttgart, the capital of the German state Baden-Württemberg. It (...) is the sixth busiest airport in Germany with 10.5 million passengers having passed through its doors in 2015. The airport is an important hub for Eurowings and features flights to several European cities and leisure destinations as well as a long-haul service to Atlanta.

The airport is located approximately 13 km (8.1 mi) (10 km (6.2 mi) in a straight line) south of Stuttgart and lies on the boundary between the nearby town of Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Filderstadt and Stuttgart itself. - in: wikipedia

Linderhof Palace - Germany

Ludwig II of Bavaria architectural and artistic legacy includes many of Bavaria's most important tourist attractions. Ironically, the very castles which were said to be causing the king’s financial ruin have today become extremely profitable tourist attractions for the Bavarian state. 

Linderhof Palace was the only one Ludwig lived to see completed and the one in which he stayed more than anywhere else.

The 1st of these card was sent by Irene, who contacted me via the official PC site and the other three are officials. 

 © Fotoverlag HUBER

 Linderhof Palace occupies the original site of the Königshäuschen hunting lodge which belonged to Ludwig's father, King Maximilian II. In 1874, Ludwig had the Königshäuschen pulled down and moved to its current location. A vestibule and staircase were added to the royal villa, followed by a hall of mirrors and two tapestry chambers. 

 © Fotoverlag HUBER

DE-4694029, sent by Uschi.

Like all other state rooms in the palace, it is decorated in the style of the second rococo era. The original wooden exterior was clad with solid stone, which enabled the building to take on the representative character of French palaces and become the focal point of the estate. 

Copyright Foto Studio Verlag Kienberger

DE-7366631, sent by Sandra.

Linderhof Palace Park is a stunning example of historicist-era landscape gardening. Immediately outside the palace are baroque partitions such as garden and water parterres as well as terraces and cascades arranged in the Italianate Renaissance style. 

 © Fotoverlag HUBER

DE-7448360, sent by Veronica. 

Every year on 24 August fires are lit on the hills surrounding nearby Oberammergau to celebrate the birthday of Bavaria's favourite king. - in: http://www.germany.travel/en/leisure-and-recreation/palaces-parks-gardens/linderhof-palace.html

Castillitos Battery - Spain

Murcia is perhaps the Spanish regions from where I have fewer postcards. Vanesa went there on holidays and sent me this card. 

Despite the name and the appearance, this structure is not a castle, it is a battery.

Castillitos Battery, locally known as Batería del Castillitos, lies on the ridge of a cape above the sea, west of the city of Cartagena in the province of Murcia in Spain. 

WW I had resulted in huge technological advances, which rendered the defenses of Cartagena obsolete. Cartagena then already was the headquarters and main military port of the Spanish Navy. So in 1926 a Defense Plan called for the construction of a new defense system, compromising the building of tens of new fortifications around Cartagena, giving it full protection against attacks from sea and air. 

Fotografia: Miguel A. Gomez

Cabo Tiñoso, a cape some 25 kilometers from Cartagena, was amongst the sites chosen to be used. On the ridge of this cape were built 3 batteries; Atalayón, Castillitos and Jorel. Castillitos Battery was built between 1933 and 1936. It was an anti shipping battery armed with two massive Vickers 381 mm 45 caliber anti shipping guns. They had a reach of about 35 kilometers. 

The battery was deliberately built into the top of the ridge to render it invisible from the sea. For the buildings of this battery the builders used a style of eclectic modernism, decorating them with crenellations and towers like a medieval castle.

At the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 Castillitos Battery was almost operational, only lacking its fire-control system. In 1937 it fired one shot against a Nationalist squadron, and the knowledge of the havoc the guns could wreak was enough of a deterrent to ensure that they were not required to take part in further combat. With the passing of time the guns became obsolete and the battery was decomissioned in 1994. It was subsequently dismantled and abandoned. The two Vickers guns remained. In 2010/2011 it was somewhat restored. It is still owned by the Ministry of Defense. - in: http://www.castles.nl/castillitos-battery