1st Postcrossing Meeting in Porto Alegre - Brazil

 On the 9th of July, the capital of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, hosted a Postcrossing meeting for the 1st time. Luzia and 8 other postcrossers were present and visited the Cultural House Mário Quintana.

 

Photo: @aana.franzen

Opened to the public in December 1990, the Casa de Cultura Mário Quintana (Cultural House Mário Quintana) occupies the premises of the former Hotel Majestic, home to the poet Mário Quintana (1906-1994) between 1968 and 1980. The several spaces of the museum which honor artists from Rio Grande do Sul are focused on different artistic and cultural expressions. There are libraries, exhibition halls, regular courses and workshops, dance and theater rehearsals and performances, three cinemas and two theaters. The space Acervo Elis Regina (Elis Regina Collection) and the Quarto do Poeta (Poet’s Room), a faithful reconstruction of the room where Mário Quintana lived for more than ten years, are mandatory visits. - in: http://museubrasil.org

JP-1737226

The Togetsukyo Bridge is a landmark in Western Kyoto's Arashiyama Distric.

 

JP-1737226, sent by Chinami.

The Togetsukyo Bridge (lit. "Moon Crossing Bridge") was originally built during the Heian Period (794-1185). The original wooden bridge was repeatedly damaged by floods. The cycle of wipeout and restoration finally ceased with the present-day concrete construction of the bridge in 1934.

The bridge looks particularly attractive in combination with the forested mountainside in the background. A riverside park with dozens of cherry trees is located just adjacent to the bridge.

Asakusa, Tokyo - Japan

Asakusa is one of Tokyo's major sightseeing areas. 

Asakusa is famous in particular for Sensoji Temple. The temple's imposing red Kaminarimon Gate dominates Asakusa's main street and is the district's best known landmark.

Asakusa offers the sights, sounds and smells of old, historical Tokyo like nowhere else in the metropolis can. Life is still very much lived on the streets of Asakusa, tangible and visible in the roadside vending, the rickshaws for hire, and regular street festivals. - in: https://www.japanvisitor.com/japan-city-guides/asakusa-guide

JP-1150938, sent by Satomi.

Originally built by military commander Taira no Kinmasa and dating back to 942 A.D., Kaminarimon Gate was later relocated to its current site. Reconstructed several times after being damaged by fire, the current gate dates from 1960. 

The gate’s centerpiece is a magnificent red lantern made by a Kyoto lantern maker and inscribed with kanji characters meaning "thunder gate,". 

 

JP-1739692, sent by Junko.

The Hōzōmon is the inner of two large entrance gates, that houses the treasures of the Sensō-ji.
The Hōzōmon was also built in 942 AD by Taira no Kinmasa. Destroyed by fire in 1631, it was rebuilt by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1636. It stood for 300 more years until it was once again burned down during the Tokyo air raids of 1945. In 1964, the present steel-reinforced concrete structure was built with fire-resistant materials for the safety of the temple treasures.
Unlike the Kaminarimon, which houses four different statues, the Hōzōmon houses two guardian statues that are located on either side of the gate's south face.
he gate also features three large lanterns. The largest and most prominent lantern is a red chōchin that hangs under the center of the gate's opening.

Odawara Castle - Japan

I've been getting a lot of Japaneses cards and I've got a bit of everything, volcanoes, castles, temples, you name it.

 

JP-1737210, sent by Hannah. 

Odawara Castle is probably the best example of a castle to visit in the immediate Tokyo area.
"The Odawara castle is actually a restoration of the original castle. The original castle was constructed in 1590 by the lord Ujinao Hojo. It was later beseiged and taken over by the Okubo Clan. Fires, wars and earthquake all took their toll on the original building.

PL-221216, sent by BP.

The new construction was completed in 1960. The viewing area at the top of the castles offers some nice views of Odawara city and nearby Sagami bay. The inside of the castle houses an interesting collection of samurai armour and swords. On the grounds of the castle there is a somewhat out of place small zoo and an elephant." - in: http://www.tokyoessentials.com/odawara.html

Aso-Kuju National Park - Japan

I've received my 1st Mt. Aso card maybe 10 years ago and now, in less than 2 weeks, I've received, not 1, not 2 but 3 cards from this park/vulcano.

Located in central Kyushu, the Aso-Kuju National Park is named after and centered around the active volcanoes of Mount Aso and the Kuju Mountains. Furthermore, it includes Mount Yufu which overlooks Yufuin Onsen and Mount Tsurumi above Beppu, but these areas are less rigorously protected. Established in 1934, Aso-Kuju National Park is one of Japan's oldest national parks. 

 

 

The national park is one of the best places in Japan to hike or drive through dramatic volcanic landscapes and observe active volcanoes. Mount Aso allows tourists to take a glimpse into its active crater, while the Kuju Mountains, the highest mountains on the island of Kyushu, attract hikers with an attractive network of trails. - in: https://www.japan-guide.com

 

Photo by Takahiro Taguchi on Unsplash

JP-1737252, sent by Yuki.

Mount Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan, is located in Kumamoto. Mt. Aso's peak is at a towering 1,592 meters above sea level, forming a stunning mountainside view from the Aso city. Mt. Aso itself consists of five peaks — Mt. Naka, Mt. Kijiima, Mt. Eboshi, Mt. Neko, and Mt. Taka. It's believed that Mt. Aso was formed by four large eruptions that happened more than 200,000 years ago. - in: https://en.japantravel.com

Nahal Me'Arot - Israel

UNESCO site #991 in my collection. The Caves of Nahal Me'arot, in the Carmel mountain range near Haifa in northern Israel, are classified since 2012. Marcel visited them in 2019 and he sent me this card a few days ago.

 

© Photography by A. Shabataev

Situated on the western slopes of the Mount Carmel range, the site includes the caves of Tabun, Jamal, el-Wad and Skhul. Ninety years of archaeological research have revealed a cultural sequence of unparalleled duration, providing an archive of early human life in south-west Asia. This 54 ha property contains cultural deposits representing at least 500,000 years of human evolution demonstrating the unique existence of both Neanderthals andEarly Anatomically Modern Humans within the same Middle Palaeolithic cultural framework, the Mousterian. Evidence from numerous Natufian burials and early stone architecture represents the transition from a hunter-gathering lifestyle to agriculture and animal husbandry. As a result, the caves have become a key site of the chrono-stratigraphic framework for human evolution in general, and the prehistory of the Levant in particular. - in: https://whc.unesco.org

UA-1874448

A card from Ukraine!! What a surprise. In a country at war, some people still write postcards. I guess it could work as some quite of glimpse of normality, past and hope for the future. Alla, who sent me this postcard from Vinnysia, in west-central Ukraine, was missing postcrossing and requested 2 addresses. She got mine. In the current circumstances, it is quite special to have this postcard now with me.

 

UA-1874448, sent by Alla.

I tried but I didn't find out much about this church in the village of Vovche. In this case it's not even that important. What really matters is that Alla and her family are safe and well and that this war ends soon.