Nemrut Dağ

Card # 58 This postcard sent to me by Cuneyt


When the Seleucid Empire was defeated by the Romans in 189 BCE at the Battle of Magnesia it began to fall apart and new kingdoms were established on its territory by local authorities. Commagene being one of the Seleucid successor states occupied a land in between the Taurus mountains and the Euphrates. The state of Commagene had a wide range of cultures which left its leader from 62 BCE - 38 BCE Antiochus I to carry on a peculiar dynastic religious program, in which it included not only Greek and Persian deities but Antiochus and his family as well. This religious program was very possibly an attempt of Antiochus to unify his multiethnic kingdom and secure his dynasty's authority.

Some of the statues near the peak of Mount Nemrut

Antiochus supported the cult as a propagator of happiness and salvation. Many of the monuments on Mount Nemrud are ruins of the imperial cult of Commagene. The most important area to the cult was the tomb of Antiochus I, in which was decorated with colossal statues made of limestone. Although the Imperial cult did not last long after Antiochus, several of his successors had their own tombs built on Mount Nemrud. For about a half a year Mount Nemrud lays covered in snow which in effect has increased its weathering in which has in part caused its statues to fall in ruin. Read more
Information and Image Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago

Card # 57
Another WH-UNESCO from Satu

In 2006, the Kvarken Archipelago was added as an extension to the World Heritage Site of the High Coast (located on the western shore of the Gulf of Bothnia) in Sweden, because it is "continuously rising from the sea in a process of rapid glacio-isostatic uplift, whereby the land, previously weighed down under the weight of a glacier, lifts at rates that are among the highest in the world. As a consequence of the advancing shoreline, islands appear and unite, peninsulas expand, lakes evolve from bays and develop into marshes and peat fens. This property is essentially a "type area" for research on isostasy; the phenomenon having been first recognized and studied here." Most of the World Heritage Site is situated in the Korsholm municipality. Read more

Information Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout

Card # 56 Another WH-UNESCO postcard from postcrossing, Marleen

Kinderdijk is a village in the Netherlands, belonging to the municipality of Nieuw-Lekkerland, in the province South Holland, about 15 km east of Rotterdam.

Kinderdijk is situated in a polder at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. To drain the polder, a system of 19 windmills was built around 1740. This group of mills is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands.

The windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the best known Dutch tourist sites. They were placed on the list of UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997. Read more

Information Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Old City of Dubrovnik

Card # 55
This postcard sent to me by Goran

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast in the extreme south of Dalmatia, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the center of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its population was 43,770 in 2001 down from 49,728 in 1991. In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

In Croatian, and all other Slavic languages, the city is known as Dubrovnik; in Italian as Ragusa, its historical name, in Greek as Raiyia (Ραυγια) or Ragousa (Ραγουσα).

The current Croatian name was officially adopted in 1918 after the fall of Austria–Hungary. Historical lore indicates that Ragusa (Dubrovnik) was founded in the 7th century on a rocky island named Laus, which provided shelter for Dalmatian refugees from the nearby city of Epidaurus. The Latino-dalmatian founders were escaping from the Slavic invasions.

Rooftops in Dubrovnik's Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Read more

The RED rooftop really very beautiful view.

Fortress of Suomenlinna

Card # 54 This postcard sent to me by Satu

Suomenlinna, until 1918 Viapori (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands (Kustaanmiekka, Susisaari, Iso-Mustasaari, Pikku-Mustasaari, Länsi-Mustasaari and Långören), and which is nowadays part of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.

Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage site and popular with both tourists and locals, who enjoy it as a picturesque picnic site. Originally named Sveaborg (Fortress of Svea), or Viapori as called by Finns, it was renamed Suomenlinna (Castle of Finland) in 1918 for patriotic and nationalistic reasons, though it is still also sometimes known by its original name. In Swedish-speaking contexts, the name Sveaborg is usually used.

The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against Russian expansionism. The general responsibility for the fortification work was given to Augustin Ehrensvärd. The original plan of the bastion fortress was strongly influenced by the ideas of Vauban, the foremost military engineer of the time, and the principles of Star Fort style of fortification, albeit adapted to a group of rocky islands.

In addition to the island fortress itself, seafacing fortifications on the mainland would ensure that an enemy would not acquire a beach-head from which to stage attacks. The plan was also to stock munitions for the whole Finnish contingent of the Swedish Army and Royal Swedish Navy there. In the Finnish War the fortress surrendered to Russia on May 3 1808, paving the way for the occupation of Finland by Russian forces in 1809. Read more

Old Rauma

Card # 53This postcard sent to me by Simi, 3rd UNESCO postcard from Postcrossing


Old Rauma (Finnish: Vanha Rauma) is the wooden city centre of the town of Rauma, Finland. It is listed as a Unesco world heritage site.

The area of Old Rauma is about 0.3 km², with approximately six hundred buildings (counting both proper houses and smaller buildings like sheds) and about 800 people living in the area. The town of Rauma expanded outside the Old Rauma proper only in the early 1800s. The oldest buildings date from the 18th century, as two fires of 1640 and 1682 destroyed the town. Most buildings are currently inhabited and owned by private individuals, although along the two main streets and around the town square they are mainly in business use.

Locations of special interest include the Kirsti house, which is a seaman's house from the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Marela house, which is a shipowner's house dating to the 18th century but with a 19th century facade, both of which are currently museums. Other sights include the rare stone buildings of the Old Rauma: the Church of the Holy Cross, an old Franciscan monastery church from the 15th century with medieval paintings and the old town hall from 1776. Another church in Rauma, the Church of the Holy Trinity, also from the 15th century, burned in the fire of 1640.

Information Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Card # 52 This Postcard sent to me by Jean

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a United States National Park in the Guadalupe Mountains in southeastern New Mexico. The primary attraction of the park for most visitors is the show cave, Carlsbad Caverns. Visitors to the cave can hike in on their own via the natural entrance, or take the elevator (the exit for everyone) directly to the Underground Lunchroom some 750 feet (230 m) below.

Rock of Ages in the Big Room, photo by Ansel Adams, c. 1941

Carlsbad Caverns includes a large cave chamber 3rd largest in the Americas and 7th largest in the world, the Big Room, a natural limestone chamber which is almost 4,000 feet (about 1,219 m) long, 625 feet (190.5 m) wide, and 350 feet (about 107 m) high at the highest point. The largest in the world is the Sarawak Chamber in Malaysia. Read more

Information and Image Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GHF Mirador Featured on CNN’s Wolf Blitzer

Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims

Card #51
This postcard sent to me by Christian

Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Rheims) is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were once crowned. It replaces an older church, destroyed by a fire in 1211, which was built on the site of the basilica where Clovis was baptized by Saint Remi, bishop of Reims, in AD 496. That original structure had been erected on the site of the Roman baths. As the cathedral it remains the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. Notre-Dame de Reims cathedral, the former Abbey of Saint-Remi, and the Palace of Tau were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1991.

A major site for tourism in the Champagne region, it accommodated half a million visitors in 2006. Read more

A shell bursts on the cathedral during the First World War

Links: Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Reims

Information and Image Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

50 World Heritage Postcard

50!!

YEH!!!!!! Super duper!!!! finally reached to 50 WH UNESCO postcards
MY dear wonderful friends thank you very very much for the kind help
on my collection....!!!!:)

Sacred City of Kandy

Card # 50
This postcard sent to me by Aravinda Babu

The Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a temple in the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka. It was built within the royal palace complex which houses the only surviving relic of Buddha, a tooth, which is venerated by Buddhists. The relic has played an important role in the local politics since ancient times, it's believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country, which caused the ancient kings to protect it with great effort. Kandy was the capital of the Sinhalese Kings from 1592 to 1815, fortified by the terrain of the mountains and the difficult approach. The city is a world heritage site declared by UNESCO, in part due to the temple.

Monks of the two chapters of Malwatte and Asgiriya conduct daily ritual worship in the inner chamber of the temple, in annual rotation. They conduct these services three times a day: at dawn, at noon and in the evening.

On Wednesdays there is a symbolic bathing of the Sacred Relic with an herbal preparation made from scented water and flagrant flowers, called Nanumura Mangallaya. This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed among those present. Read more

Historical records suggest that Kandy was first established by the King Wickramabahu (1357–1374 CE) near the Watapuluwa area, north of the present city, and named Senkadagalapura at the time, although some scholars suggest the name Katubulu Nuwara may also have been used. The origin of the more popular name for the city, Senkadagala, could have been from a number of sources. These include naming after a brahmin named Senkanda who lived in a cave near the city, after a queen of King Wickramabahu named Senkanda or after a colored stone named Senkadagala.



Links: Welcome to the World Heritage Kandy City

Information and Image Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wadden Sea

Card # 49
This postcard sent to me by Wilhelm, 2nd UNESCO postcard from Postcrossing

The Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It is rich in biological diversity. In 2009, the Dutch and German parts of the Wadden Sea were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.


The Wadden Sea stretches from Den Helder in the Netherlands in the southwest, past the great river estuaries of Germany to its northern boundary at Skallingen north of Esbjerg in Denmark along a total length of some 500 km and a total area of about 10,000 km².

The islands in the Wadden Sea are called the Wadden Sea Islands or Frisian Islands, named after the Frisians. However, on the westernmost Dutch island, Texel, the Frisian language has not been spoken for centuries. The Danish Wadden Sea Islands have never been inhabited by Frisians. The outlying German island of Heligoland, although ethnically one of the Frisian Islands, is not situated in the Wadden Sea. Read more

Fortifications of Vauban

Card # 48
This postcard sent to me by Christian

Fortifications of Vauban consists of 12 groups of fortified buildings and sites along the western, northern and eastern borders of France. They were designed by Vauban (1633–1707), and were added in 2008 to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Citadel of Besançon (Doubs), 1668-1711

Information and Image Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi

Card # 47
This postcard sent to me by Commodore Vijay Kapre

The Qutb Minar a tower in Delhi, India, is at 72.5 meters the world's tallest brick minaret. It is situated in the Qutb complex, amidst the ruins of ancient Hindu & Jain temples which were destroyed and their stones used to build the Qutb complex and minar. Construction commenced in 1193 under the orders of India's first Muslim ruler Qutb-ud-din Aibak, and the topmost storey of the minaret was completed in 1386 by Firuz Shah Tughluq. The Qutb Minar is notable for being one of the earliest and most prominent examples of Indo-Islamic architecture.

It is surrounded by several other ancient and medieval structures and ruins, collectively known as Qutb complex. The complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Delhi, and was also India's most visited monument in 2006, as it attracted 3.9 million visitors, even more than the Taj Mahal, which drew about 2.5 million visitors. At 72.5 m (234 ft), the Qutub Minar is the world's tallest free standing minaret.

Read more

Information and Image Obtained From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia