Monthly Fav. Surprise RR * February '23

Cards from England, Malaysia, Russia and Belgium.

 

 I've heard about Bath's Royal Crescent but I didn't know there were other crescents in the city. There are 7 crescents in Bath and this card sent by Nan, shows 4 of them.

* One of the most visited and photographed places in the world, the Royal Crescent consists of 30 terraced houses laid out in a 150 metre crescent, close to the centre of Bath. Designed by John Wood the Younger, and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the UK, and listed Grade I. Particularly in combination with the Circus, designed by John Wood the Elder and accessed through Brock Street, the Royal Crescent is the jewel in Bath’s architectural crown;

* Designed by John Palmer, Lansdown Crescent, completed in 1793. The buildings have a clear view over central Bath, being sited on Lansdown Hill.
The crescent comprises 20 houses, each originally having four floors together with servants’ quarters in the basement. It is arranged as a concave crescent, and is flanked by Lansdown Place West and Lansdown Place East, both convex crescents;

* Norfolk Crescent was built between c.1793 and c.1822 the original design was by John Palmer, but minor alterations were later made by John Pinch.
The Georgian terrace includes numbers 1 to 7, which have been converted into flats known as Cumberland House, and numbers 8 to 18 consecutively. Each has five storeys (basement, ground floor, piano nobile, second floor and attic) and the central portion has 6 Ionic pilasters;

* Camden Crescent was built by John Eveleigh in 1788; it was originally known as Upper Camden Place. The houses are of three storeys, with attics and basements. - in: https://discoverbath.co.uk

 

Built between 2004 and 2009, the Tuanku Mizan Zain al-Abidin Mosque, also known as the Putrajaya Iron Mosque, was designed in a distinctive architectural style that was largely inspired by German and Chinese architectural influences. What distinguishes it the most is the absence of a minaret and the fact that it was built mostly of steel. 

The mosque can accommodate up to 20,000 worshipers at one time. 

card sent by Jessie from Malaysia.

 

Beautiful snowy view of the Holy Trinity-St Sergius Lavra, the largest monastery in Russia. Now it is the home for 300 priests. It is considered the symbol of Russian Orthodoxy. The present monastery complex includes 45 buildings and monuments. They were created during the 15th – 19th centuries and represent different periods and styles of ancient architecture. - in: https://www.advantour.com

Card sent by Nadezhda.

Photo: Christian Collet

I love cows but I know nothing about their breed. Lara got me googling about cattle breeds in Belgium. These are either Belgium White Blue, since the second half of the 19th century, this unique breed has been Belgium’s national pride or Charolais, one of the largest, oldest meat breeds in the world, originally from France.