Castilla y Leon - Spain

These two Castilla y Leon cards have also been sent by Paulo. The 1st card is a panoramic view of Zamora and the on the 2nd we can see the San Bartolomé Chapel, in Soria.

Castile and León (Castilla y León), known formally as the Community of Castile and León, is one of the 17 autonumous communities of Spain.

"Zamora is a city in Castile and Léon, Spain. It lies on a rocky hill in the northwest, near the frontier with Portugal and crossed by the Duero river, which is some 50 km downstream as it reaches the Portuguese frontier. With its 24 characteristic Romanesque style churches of the 12th and 13th centuries it has been called a "museum of Romanesque art". Zamora is the city with the most Romanesque churches in all of Europe." - in: wikipedia

In the Parque Natural del Cañon del río Lobos, among a karst landscape with steep cliffs, sits a singular Romanesque building, the San Bartolomé chapel, built in the 8th century. It sits on top of a rock which was sculpted by the current of the Lobos Rivers.

Ceuta - Spain

Last week i've received a generous offer of almost 50 cards. Can you imagine, 50 cards in an envelope as a gift?? It was like a dream :) The cards are from different countries, Portugal, Spain, France, Brazil, Estonia, Angola, Venezuela, Thailand.... and probably 1 or 2 more that i don't remember right now.

This wonderful offer was a gift from Paulo. He also has a postcard blog http://postcardsoftheworld.blogspot.com/ If anyone wants to trade, just contact him.

Almost 50, i think it were 49 cards, are just too many to upload and post here, so i chose a few that i'll try to post in the next days. Lets start with 2 cards from Ceuta.

"Ceuta is a 18.5 square kilometres (7.1 sq mi) autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Starit of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Medeterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish exclave Melilla are the only Spanish territories located in mainland Africa." - in: wikipedia

The Monument to the Heroes of Africa is located in the Africa Square, it was "designed in 1892 by the military engineer José Madrid Ruiz. This monument is a crypt containing the remains of some of the heroes of the 1859-60 African War. It is in the Neo-gothic style and has several bronze reliefs whose moulds are the work of the Sevillian sculptor Antonio Susillo. It is thirteen and a half metres tall and was opened on 4 May, 1895.

The Port Authority Building was built in 1929 following a design by the architect Manuel Latorre Pastor on the site of a palatial building designed by Andrés Galmés Nadal. It is a clear example of Modernist architecture, with machinery aesthetics. Inspired by a boat, with imposing projecting eaves, porthole-shaped windows and spaces resembling funnels, it has been restored on several occasions." - in: http://www.ceuta.es/

US-980370

An official from the US.

US-980370, sent by Jeff.

On the back of the card: "Picture yourself here with mosquito welts the size of eggs, flies in your food and your friendly neighborhood skunk dropping by for a visit. Then there is the fun of scrubbing soot off pans and the lovely aroma of insect repellent."

RU-307151

I wanted to make more updates tonight but i started to watch CSI and Criminal Minds and time flew really fast. Now its almost 1.30 am, this is my 1st update and i still have a lot of cards waiting for the spotlight.

I should start before i get too sleepy.

This is another beautiful church from Russia, located in Saratov.

RU-307151, sent by Olya.

"There are many beautiful churches in Saratov, but a small church “Ease my sorrows”, which is in the historical center of the city touches everyone. Its architecture resembles one of St. Vasilii Cathedral in Moscow. The Church’s design is quite simple. A square one-story base is crowned with a thin faceted drum, on top of which a dome tent with a golden cupola stands. The drum stays on two rows of graceful kokoshniks, and is surrounded by small onion domes like on its Moscow prototype. The church is painted in bright colors: a snow-white façade, green and pink kokoshniks, multicolored domes. All this makes the church look like a birthday cake. The Church-chapel was solemnly founded in 1930. The church is named in honor of the icon “Ease My Sorrows”, a copy of the Moscow miracle-working icon. Its very name is a prayer to the Mother of God for the deliverance from mental and physical diseases and afflictions. On the icon “Ease My Sorrows” Mother of God holds her left hand to her head which is slightly bent to the left like listening to those who pray and ask. She is holding her Divine Child with her right hand." - in: http://www.advantour.com/russia/saratov/church-mother-god-saratov.htm

Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul - Peterhof

This is a wonderful card, i just love it. It was sent by Alena "nastroeniya" and it shows the Catedral of St. Peter and Paul in Peterof.

"The cathedral of St. Peter and paul is an architectural monument in the Russian style. The construction project was ordered by Emperor Alexander III and the construction lasted from 1894 to 1905. The pyramidal building, which is 70 metres tall, is encircled with a covered gallery and crowned with five hip domes, holding 800 people. The walls are faced with dark red and light yellow bricks and embellished with sandstone columns and glazed tiles, and the apse features decorative arches. Earlier the facades had been adorned with icons of saints and patrons of the members of the Imperial family. The hip-roofed belfry and a chapel are located near the entrance. The main altar boasts a five-tier iconostasis made of glazed tiles; the other iconostases are from white marble. In 1938, SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral was closed down. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, it was damaged and used as a storehouse. In the 1970s-80s, the Cathedral was restored and in 1989 - returned to the eparchy." - in: http://www.encspb.ru/en/article.php?kod=2804010255

More Unesco cards

Niina "bessie" pruposed me a unesco private trade, i've sent her 3 spanish unesco cards and she sent me these from Albania, Armenia and Lebanon. I'll post here the albanian and armenian cards.

Gjirokastra and Berat are was among the few Albanian cities preserved in the 1960s and 1970s from modernizing building programs. Both cities gained the status of "museum town" and are Unesco World Heritage Sites since 2005 as "a rare example of well-preserved Ottoman cities".

"Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the archaeological remains at Zvartnots are World Heritage Sites in Armenia. They provide a glimpse into the evolution of the architecture of Armenian churches. It is from these medieval churches that the central-domed, cross-hall design of Armenian churches was derived, influencing the architectural style of the region." - in: http://www.worldgreatestsites.com/cathedral-churches-of-echmiatsin-archaeological-site-of-zvartnots_armenia.htm
The card shows the Zvartnots Cathedral, a ruined seventh century circular Armenian cathedral built by order of the Catholicos Nerses the Builder from 641-653. It is located at the edge of the city of Echmiadzin. Zvartnots was built at a time when much of Armenia was found under Byzantine control and during the early invasions of srmenia by the Muslim Arabs. Zvartnots remained standing up until the end of the tenth century; afterwards, historical sources are silent as to the cause of its collapse. Zvartnots remained buried until its remains were uncovered at the start of the 20th century.

Australian Unesco cards

Phillipa "crankypants" was offering Unesco cards from Australia and i decided to trade with her twice. The first time she sent me the Tasmania card with the Port Arthur, one of the 11 Australian Convict Sites and the second time, a Parnululu National Park card.

Besides de Port Arthur, the card also shows the Dove Lake and Cradle Mountain and Wineglass Bay.

Port Arthur is a small town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula. Port Arthur is one of Australia's most significant heritage areas and the open air museum is officially Tasmania's top tourist attraction. It is located approximately 60 km south east of the state capital, Hobart.

"The Port Arthur penal settlement began life as a small timber station in 1830. Originally designed as a replacement for the recently closed timber camp at Birches Bay, Port Arthur quickly grew in importance within the penal system of the colonies.
The initial decade of settlement saw a penal station hacked from the bush, and the first manufactories - such as ship building, shoemaking, smithing, timber and brick making - established. The 1840s witnessed a consolidation of the industrial and penal nature of the settlement as the convict population reached over 1100. In 1842 a huge flour mill and granary (later the penitentiary) was begun, as well as the construction of a hospital.

1848 saw the first stone laid for the Separate Prison, the completion of which brought about a shift in punishment philosophy from physical to mental subjugation. Port Arthur also expanded geographically as the convicts pushed further into the encircling hills to extract the valuable timber." - in: http://www.portarthur.org.au/index.aspx?base=2559

"Bungle Bungle Range is the landform that is the major component of the Purnululu National Park in Western Australia - it is often used as a direct synonym for the national park area.

The distinctive beehive-shaped towers are made up of sandstones and conglomerates (rocks composed mainly of pebbles and boulders and cemented together by finer material). These sedimentary formations were deposited into the Ord Basin 375 to 350 million years ago, when active faults were altering the landscape. The combined effects of wind from the Tanani Desert and rainfall over millions of years shaped the domes.

Purnululu is the name given to the sandstone area of the Bungle Bungle Range by the kija Aboriginal people.
Purnululu National Park was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. " - in: wikipedia