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0854 TAIWAN - Dragon and Tiger Pagodas
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0855 ARGENTINA (San Juan) - Ischigualasto Natural Park (UNESCO WHS)
Part of the western border of the Central Sierras, that rise sharply from the surrounding pampa region of Northwest Argentina, Ischigualasto Natural Park is a desert area, formed by layers of continental sediments deposited by rivers, lakes and swamps over the entire Triassic period (245-208 million years ago). It is the only place in the world where nearly all of the Triassic is represented in an undisturbed sequence of rock deposits. The sediments contain fossils of a wide range of plants and animals including the ancestors of mammals and dinosaurs. They constitute the world's most complete continental fossil record known from the Triassic, revealing the evolution of vertebrates as well as the environments they lived in during this period. This is why this park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 2000, together with Talampaya Natural Park.
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0390 & 0856 SWEDEN (Stockholm) - Vasa, the ship which sailed only 1300 meters
Posted on 20.11.2012 and completed on 06.11.2013
On 10 August 1628, Vasa, the first in a series of five warships which aimed to had to end a series of defeats suffered by Swedish fleet and to make this country the dominant maritime power of the Baltic Sea, left the port of Stockholm in its maiden voyage. To mark the solemnity of the occasion, several volleys were fired by the cannons placed on the two decks, on both sides. While the majestic ship headed slowly towards the exit of the harbor, a gust of wind tilted it on its side. After redressed it, another gust tilted it again. The water entered through the open cannons ports, and Vasa sank, taking with it in depths between 30 and 50 of the 150 crew members. The ship sailed just 1300 meters and it was at only 120 meters of the shore full of people came to attend the event, including foreign ambassadors.
The news of the sinking reached the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, who led the army in Prussia, after two weeks. Obviously, the disaster had to be the result of "foolishness and incompetence," and the guilty must be punished. Of course that anyone didn't take into account the impatience of the king to see the ship joining the Baltic fleet in the Thirty Years' War, reason why the subordinates didn't have the courage to discuss frankly the ship's structural problems. The leaders of the inquest concluded that the ballast was insufficient in relation to the rig and cannon, and the ship was well built, but incorrectly proportioned. So in the end no one was punished for the fiasco.
Most of its 64 bronze cannon were recovered in the 17th century, but the ship was salvaged, with a largely intact hull, only in 1961. First it was housed in a temporary museum called Wasavarvet (The Wasa Shipyard), and in 1987 was moved to the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, located on the island of Djurgården. The museum is dominated by a large copper roof with stylized masts that represent the actual height of Vasa when she was fully rigged. The main hall contains the ship itself and various exhibits related to the archaeological findings of the ships and early 17th century Sweden, which means 2,000 objects, a small part of the museum collection, comprising 46,000 objects. Although its career wasn't meritorious, Vasa is considered a symbol of the Swedish "great power period".
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0232, 0266 & 0857 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (FBiH) - Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar (UNESCO WHS)
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| Old Bridge in Mostar after 2004 |
Posted on 31.05.2012, 03.07.2012, and 09.11.2013
Very few cities in the world are so connected to a single construction as is Mostar (the political and cultural center of Herzegovina) and its Stari Most (Old Bridge). Basically, the city grew around this stone bridge, which link the two banks of the Neretva River at the narrowest point of the river gorge, and gave the name to the city (mostari mean the bridge keepers). It replaced a wooden bridge that marked the center of the settlement in the 15th century. From the middle of the next century, the settlement had grown significantly, making Mostar the main regional connection between the Adriatic Sea and the interior, linking cities to the north, south and west. Its strategic location led the Ottomans to build a permanent and solid crossing.
Designed by the architect Mimar Hajrudin the Younger, a pupil of the Mimar Sinan, the chief architect for sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and erected between 1557 and 1566 by Dalmatian craftsmen, the bridge, built in local tenelija stone, a limestone known for its endurance, had 29m long and 4m wide, and the vault supporting the roadway had 77cm thick. The stones were fastened together with iron clamps and then joined with molten lead. The bridge was later fortified at either end with a tower where stationed the guards, on the east bank (the Tara, or Hercegusa Tower) in 16th century, and on the west bank (the Halebinovka or Celovina Tower) in the 17th century.
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| Old Bridge in Mostar after 2004 |
"The bridge is like a rainbow arch soaring up to the skies, extending from one cliff to the other", wrote the well-traveled Evliya Çelebi in the 17th century "...I, a poor and miserable slave of Allah, have passed through 16 countries, but I have never seen such a high bridge. It is thrown from rock to rock as high as the sky."
With the old bridge at the center, new mahalas (quarters) began to spring up on both sides of Neretva River, Mostar quickly becoming a key trading partner with the Adriatic's coastal cities and experienced a long period of cultural, political and economic growth. Many beautiful mosques and medresas (religious schools) were constructed in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. All three ethnic / religious communities (the bosniaks / muslims, the croats / roman catholic, and the serbs / orthodox) lived in harmony for centuries, the Ottomans having a high level of religious tolerance.
When the Ottoman Empire started to decline, Austria-Hungary included Bosnia and Herzegovina in its administrative region, building railroad, bridges, and schools. After WWI much of Bosnia and Herzegovina experienced harsh economic and political struggles, and Mostar wasn't a exception, but after WWII the city enjoyed great prosperity.
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| Original Old Bridge in Mostar in 1890 |
The things changed rapidly in 1992, when began the Bosnian War. Mostar experienced its worst part of history, the town being subject to an 18 month siege, and most of the city being completely devastated. On November 9, 1993, the bridge, which crossed more than four centuries without problems, even surviving two world wars, being an enduring symbol of the region's multiculturalism, was purposefully destroyed by Bosnian Croat tank shells.
The bridge was rebuilt and inaugurated on July 23, 2004, but what seems to me very interesting and significantly is that International Stari Most Foundation, the World Bank, UNESCO, the Council of Europe Development Bank and various governments - including Italy, Croatia and Turkey - offered financial and technical support for the reconstruction process, together with the local and national governments of Mostar and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Moreover, Stari Most was reconstructed by ER-BU Construction and Trade, a Turkish company specializing in the reconstruction of Ottoman stone bridges. On 2005 the Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar was included among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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0858 MEXICO (Michoacán) - Historic Centre of Morelia (UNESCO WHS)
Located in the Guayangareo Valley, in a area inhabited in pre-Hispanic era by Purépecha and Matlatzinca, Morelia was founded in 1541 by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, under the name Valladolid. In 1580 it became the capital of the colonial province, and after the Mexican War of Independence, the city was renamed Morelia, in honor of José María Morelos. The city was the birthplace of several important personalities of independent Mexico and has played a major role in the country's history. Because it is an outstanding example of urban planning, which associates the ideas of the Spanish Renaissance with the Mesoamerican experience, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. More than 200 historical buildings, all in the region's characteristic pink stone, reflect the town's architectural history, revealing a masterly and eclectic blend of the medieval spirit with Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical elements.
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0859 TURKEY (Aegean Region) - A zeibek from the Aegean Region
I found this little marvel in one of the souvenir shops located near the temple of Apollo in Didim, one of those stalls studded with thousands of articles, where the kitsch coexist peacefully with authentic handicraft. When he saw me skimming discontented through the postcards displayed on the wire rack at the entrance, the seller (who was probably also the owner) invited me inside. "I have others too. Maybe you will find among them something to your liking", he said, leaving me in front of other racks, filled with hundreds of common postcards, not a few of them discolored, bent, and stained by flies. I ransacked among them more than half an hour, but I haven't regretted, because I found this postcard and another one, with a belly dancer. "Oh, is from our area, an outlaw or something like that," said the man staring at the image. "I didn't even know that I have it."
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0860 CZECH REPUBLIC - A Škoda 99E1 locomotive near Libochovany
Czech Railways (České dráhy - ČD) is the largest Czech company by the number of employees and holds 856 electric locomotives, all built by Škoda Works (Škodovy závody), the largest industrial enterprise in Austria-Hungary and later in Czechoslovakia. Among these locomotives are a few dozen of model 71E/99E, from the ČSD Class E 499.3, classified now as Class 163. E 499.3 locomotives operate on the 3,000 V DC system and are essentially a DC only version of the ES 499.1. They were produced between the years 1984 and 1992 in four series of 20, 40 (2nd and 3rd serie) and 60. In the postcard is the locomotive with number 163 073-0 (built in 1991), photographed in the summer of 1999 near Libochovany, 60 km north-west of Prague.
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0861 CANADA (Alberta / British Columbia) - Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks - Banff National Park - Peyto Lake (UNESCO WHS)
Renowned for their scenic splendor, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 (extended in 1990), are comprised of Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho national parks and Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine and Hamber provincial parks. Studded with mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves, they form a striking mountain landscape. Located at110-180 km west of Calgary, Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885.
Named for an early trail guide and trapper in this area and located in Banff National Park, Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860m. During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise colour. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River.
About the stamps
The first two stamps, in se-tenant format, was illustrated by Suzanne Duranceau, and was issued on June 15, 2012, for celebrate the bicentennial of the War of 1812, which had as belligerents on the one hand the United States of America and on the other the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, its North American colonies and its Indian allies. The stamps depict two important leaders rise in this war, British Major-General Sir Isaac Brock and War Chief Tecumseh. The facial expressions of the two men depict mutual respect. The background of the Brock stamp shows a European settlement, as it would have looked circa 1812. Chief Tecumseh is shown with encampments scattered around him, indicating that more than one tribe has taken to arms under his command. Stamp designer Susan Scott notes that, “The setting is a visual representation of the motivation for each man - this is what they were fighting for. And the body of water speaks to the dominance of the British naval power.”
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0398, 0509 & 0862 BRAZIL (Paraná) - Iguazú Falls (UNESCO WHS)
Posted on 28.11.2012, 18.02.2013 and 15.11.2013
"It is said that many years ago, there was a big and monstrous serpent which lived in the Iguazú river and its name was Boi. Once per year, the guaranies had to sacrifice a beautiful maid as an offer to Boi, by throwing her to the river. All the tribes, including the ones which lived far away, were invited for this ceremony. One year, a young boy whose name was Tarobá, became leader of the tribe. When Tarobá knew the beautiful maid Naipí was the chosen girl for the sacrifice, rebelled to elderly members of the tribe and tried in vain to convince them of not offering her. In order to save Naipí, he decided to kidnap her the night before the sacrifice. So he put her on a canoe and escaped by the river. But Boi knew about this; she became furious and her anger was so deep that she vent over her back, split the river forming the falls catching Naipí and Tarobá. Boi turned Tarobá into trees, that we can observe from the upper circuit, and the long hair of the beautiful Naipí into the falls. Then Boi submerged in the Devil's Throat and from this place she watches Naipí and Tarobá never come together again... however, on sunny days the rainbow surpasses Boi's power and join them..."
Taller than Niagara Falls, twice as wide with 275 cascades spread in a horsehoe shape over 2.7 kilometres of the Iguazu River, Iguazú Falls (named also Iguassu Falls or Iguaçu Falls; in Portuguese Cataratas do Iguaçu, and in Spanish Cataratas del Iguazú, from the Guarani words for Big Water) is actually the result of a volcanic eruption which left yet another large crack in the earth. Lying on the Argentina - Brazil border, in the place where the Iguazu River tumbles over the edge of the Paraná Plateau, 23 kilometres upriver from the Iguazu's confluence with the Paraná River, it was discovered by the Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541 (do you remember the fascinating movie The Mission?). In March 1944, when she saw it, Eleanor Roosevelt exclaimed "Poor Niagara!" It seems to be only a legend, because Eleanor Roosevelt never saw this waterfall (read here), but it is as beautiful as that from the beginning of my post.
The waterfall is shared by the Iguazú National Park (Argentina) and Iguaçu National Park (Brazil), the two parks being designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984 and 1987, respectively, and in 2011 being announced as one of the seven winners of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. It is also home to many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna, among them the giant otter and the giant anteater.
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0863 CZECH REPUBLIC (Vysočina) - Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená Hora (UNESCO WHS)
John of Nepomuk was the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, being drowned in 1393 in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans and King of Bohemia, because, as the confessor of the queen of Bohemia, refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. In 1719, when the Roman Catholic Church declared the tongue of John of Nepomuk to be "incorruptible", was started the work to a church in Zelena Hora (Gruenberg), near the border between Bohemia and Moravia, where the future saint had received his early education. It was consecrated immediately after John's beatification in 1720, although construction works lumbered on until 1727.
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0864 UNITED STATES (Florida) - Everglades National Park (UNESCO WHS)
"A river of grass flowing imperceptibly from the hinterland into the sea", Everglades is a large tropical wetlands in the southern portion of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The national park with the same name protects the southern 20% of the area, and it has been declared an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Wetland of International Importance, being one of only three locations in the world which appear on all three lists. It has fresh and brackish water, and the shallow bays and the deeper coastal waters creates a complex of habitats supporting a high diversity of flora and fauna. It contains the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, the largest continuous stand of sawgrass prairie and the most significant breeding ground for wading birds in North America. The complex biological processes range from basic algal associations through progressively higher species and ultimately to primary predators such as the alligator, crocodile, and Florida panther; the food chain being superbly evident and unbroken.
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0865 NETHERLANDS (North Holland) - Two girls from Volendam
In a song is said that "anyone who wants to see the real beauty of Holland, goes to Volendam". As a result of its insulated location, but also because of the fishermen's vitality, this village preserved its character for six centuries. The characteristic small houses, which together with the canals and the drawbridges form the most picturesque spots, present the visitor an atmosphere of geniality and romance. No wonder that in the early part of the 20th century it became something of an artists' retreat, with Picasso and Renoir spending time here. Volendam is also well known for its traditional clothing, still worn by some residents. The women's costume of Volendam is one of the most recognizable of the Dutch traditional costumes, and is often featured on tourist postcards (although now there aren't more than 50 women wearing the costume in their daily lives).
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0866 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO (Trinidad) - The White Hall
Originally called Rosenweg, the White Hall is one of The Magnificent Seven (a group of mansions located at the northwest corner of Queen's Park Savannah on Maraval Road, in Port of Spain), and was built by the cocoa planter Joseph Leon Agostini. The construction began in 1904, in accordance with Agostini's own design, influenced by the Moorish Mediterranean style and the architecture of Corsica from where the Agostini family originated.
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0019, 0071, 0759 & 0867 SINGAPORE - The Downtown Core
Posted on 26.11.2011, 14.12.2011, 22.07.2013, and 19.11.2013
The Downtown Core of Singapore, which surrounds the mouth of the Singapore River and southeastern portion of its watershed, is part of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district. The mouth of the Singapore River contained the old harbour of the Port of Singapore, so the city grew around it, and the area which is now known as the Downtown Core was the financial, administrative and commercial centre of the colony. In forefront of the first postcard is seen the Merlion statue (8.6m hight and 70t weight), made by Lim Nang Seng in 1972, but placed in Merlion Park, where it’s now, barely in 2002. Designed by Fraser Brunner in 1964 for the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board, this symbol of Singapore is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Its body is made of cement, skin from porcelain plates and eyes from small red teacups.
The highest six buildings that are visible in the back in the first postcard are, from left to right: Hitachi Tower (179m - completed in 1992), Republic Plaza (280m - completed in 1995), Singapore Land Tower (190m - completed in 1980), One Raffles Place (280m - completed in 1986), Maybank Tower (175m - completed in 2001), and United Overseas Bank Plaza / UOB Plaza (280m - completed in 1995). Republic Plaza, One Raffles Place and UOB Plaza are the highest skyscrapers from Singapore (to equality).
Right in back of the Merlion statue, in the first postcard (the building with columns), but also in the second postcard, is the Fullerton Hotel, whose the northern end covers the site of Fort Fullerton. Commissioned in 1919 as part of the Crown colony's centennial celebrations, the building was designed as an office building by Major P.H. Keys, and was opened in 1928. Initially, General Post Office covered the two lower floors (until 1996), and the exclusive Singapore Club rented premises on the upper floors (until 1961). In the WWII the building was the one in which General Percival discussed with Sir Shenton the possibility of surrendering Singapore, and subsequently became the headquarters of the Japanese Military Administration. In 1997, Sino Land (Hong Kong) Company Ltd acquired the Fullerton Building and converted it into a hotel, officially opened in 2001.
In the second postcard is also Cavenagh Bridge, the only suspension bridge in Singapore, opened in 1870 to commemorate Singapore's new Crown colony of the Straits Settlements status in 1867. Originally known as the Edinburgh Bridge, is currently a pedestrian bridge, with lighting added in the 1990s to accentuate its architectural features at nightfall.
In the third postcard is the north shore of Marina Bay, in which flows Singapore River. In the left side can be seen Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, a waterside building located on six hectares of waterfront land, built to be the centre for performing arts for the island nation of Singapore and completed in 2002. It contains a concert hall which seats about 1,600 and a theatre with a capacity of about 2,000 for the performing arts. The unique architectural design has been said to have an appearance similar to either a durian or the eyes of a fly. Hence, the building is colloquially known to locals as "the durians".
In the right side of the postcard is the Singapore Flyer (which appear in the fourth postcard). Between the two points is spanning Marina Centre, a zone of reclaimed land within the Downtown Core, which contains Suntec City, Marina Square and Millenia Walk. In the center of the postcard, with the roof in the form of a truncated cone, is Millenia Tower which also can be seen in the second postcard. It has 218m height and was completed in 1996.
On the fourth postcard isone ofthe 28capsulesoftheSingaporeFlyer, the tallest Ferris wheel in the world (total height - 165 m), officially opened to the public on 1 March 2008. Initially rotating in a counter-clockwise direction when viewed from Marina Centre, its direction was changed on 4 August 2008 under the advice of Feng shui masters. A complete rotation of the wheel, described by its operators as an observation wheel ("a moving experience at every turn"), takes approximately 37 minutes, to give customers time to admire the city panorama. In fact The Flyer is an entire complex, with a wide range of shops, restaurants, activities and facilities.
About the stamps
On the first, third and fourth postcard
The stamp belongs to the new low value definitive stamp series release by SingPost on April 13, 2011. This series complete the Pond Life definitive collection, which contain the following ten stamps:
• Water Lily / Nymphaea (first local stamp)
• Water Hyacinth / Eichhornia crassipes(the second local stamp)
• White-Collared Kingfisher / Todiramphus chloris (0.05 SGD) - it's on other postcard
• Diving Beetle / Dytiscidae (0.20 SGD) - it's on other postcard
• Common Redbolt (Dragonfly) / Anisoptera (0.30 SGD) - it's on other postcard
• Ornate Coraltail (Damselfly) / Zygoptera (0.45 SGD)
• Black Marsh Terrapin / Siebenrockiella crassicollis (0.50 SGD) - it's on this postcard
• White-Breasted Waterhen / Amaurornis phoenicurus (0.55 SGD)
• Common Greenback / Hylarana erythraea (0.65 SGD)
• Common Toad / Bufo bufo (0.80 SGD)
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0868 ROMANIA (Suceava) - Frozen morning in Pleşa village
"Pleşa, the most beautiful village in the whole world, as told me a man from there," wrote Marius on this postcard, and I have no reason not to believe him, although I know that his skill as photographer plays a key role in the enhancement of the landscapes. Anyway, pour serenity in soul this picture of the hills guarding the valley of the Humor brook, as the backs of some sleeping dragons, on one of the backs seeing the village's houses, and among them, bright, St. Anne's Church, consecrated by more than a century ago.
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0869 TURKEY (Aegean Region) - Archaeological Site of Troy (UNESCO WHS)
I don't think there is anyone in the modern world who have completed at least primary school and/or has a TV at home and never heard of Troy. If he didn't read the Iliad, at least he saw the movie with Brad Pitt or played a video game with the Trojan War. Perhaps the importance of this event was much exaggerated by Homer, but the legend crossed millennia and has inspired great artists throughout the world ever since. Schliemann was the one who discovered the location of the ancient stronghold and began the first excavations, but his thirst for glory and gold made him to find Troy several times, because the site revealed several cities built in succession. Now the layers of ruins in the citadel at Hisarlık are numbered from I to IX, with various subdivisions, and it is known that the hill was inhabited between 3000 BC and 500 AD. Troy VIIa (1300-1190 BC) has been identified with the Hittite Wilusa, and is generally (but not conclusively) identified with Homeric Troy.
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0348 & 0871 SWITZERLAND / AUSTRIA - A prehistoric pile dwellings from the Alps (UNESCO WHS)
Posted on 30.09.2012 and 21.11.2013
Among the sites included in 2011 by UNESCO in its list of World Heritage Sites is one called Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, which contains, as say its name, pile-dwelling settlements in and around the Alps, built on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. So far have been identified 937 such sites, of which UNESCO has chosen 111, located in Austria (5), France (11), Germany (18), Italy (19), Slovenia (2), and Switzerland (56).
These settlements were built between 5,000 and 500 BC, i.e. during Neolithic and Bronze Age, a period about which we know little, but for which clarification would be an important step in finding our origins as Europeans. For now it is clear that at the end of the Neolithic has occurred a profound transformation, due to the penetration in Europe of a Proto-Indo-European populations wave, named by Marija Gimbutas Kurgan Culture. Equally clear is that these populations, more warlike and technologically superior to the ones found in Europe, were imposed and caused a cultural leap.
Unclear is whether the Indo-Europeans exterminated the populations which they have found here or just conquered their territories and assimilated them. Perhaps some will find unimportant this "detail". To me it seems important to know if in our veins flowing those people's blood or not. To those uninterested in this aspect, I tell just that to drive safely on the history's highway, is needed not only a large windscreen, clear and clean, but also a proper rearview mirror.
Undoubtedly UNESCO involvement will positively influence the extent of archaeological research in the area, but probably the answer to this question can't be given than with the help of genetics. For now, UNESCO say only "The exceptional conservation conditions for organic materials provided by the waterlogged sites, combined with extensive under-water archaeological investigations and research in many fields of natural science, such as archaeobotany and archaeozoology, over the past decades, has combined to present an outstanding detailed perception of the world of early agrarian societies in Europe. The precise information on their agriculture, animal husbandry, development of metallurgy, over a period of more than four millennia, coincides with one of the most important phases of recent human history: the dawn of modern societies." Which isn’t at all less, but neither enough it isn't.
Obviously, the dwellings from the first postcard it isn't an original one, but a reconstruction done to a Park and Archaeological Museum Laténium, located in Hauterive, a suburb of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), and the ones from the second postcards are a computer animation of some dwellings which are nowadays on the bottom of the Keutschacher See, a lake in Carinthia (Austria).
About the stamp
On the first postcard
I've never seen by now a stamp with a caricature, but that doesn't mean much, because I'm not philatelist. Well, the stamp that it used Zasa Lein even this is: a caricature. One that fits beautifully with the subject of this year's Europa stamps, respectively Visit... For a country like Switzerland, known for its natural wonders, but also for its people, cities and villages, I would have expected to something about them. To my pleasant surprise, it went out far beyond the clichés, and I would have expected to take one of the awards of Best Europa Stamp Contest. Commission wasn't of the same opinion. Neither this year. Obviously, we haven't the same criteria.
On the second postcard
The stamp is the third of the series Austrian Photographic Art, begun in 2011. If the one from 2012 was dedicated to Elfie Semotan (I wrote here about it), the one from this year, issued on March 13, 2013, was dedicated to Valie Export and one of her emblematic works, VALIE EXPORT - SMART EXPORT.
This is a post for Sunday Stamps #90, run by Viridian from Viridian’s Postcard Blog. The theme of this week is Anything you wish. Click on the button to visit Viridian’s blog and all the other participants.
References
Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps - Wikipedia
Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps - UNESCO official site
Laténium - Official site
Civilizaţie şi cultură, by Marija Gimbutas - Ed. Meridiane, Bucureşti, 1989
Europa postage stamps - Wikipedia
sender: Zasa Lein (direct swap)
sent from Bern (Switzerland), on 20.05.2012
sender: Nina Kramlinger (direct swap)
sent from Vienna (Austria), on 18.11.2013
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0872 SWEDEN (Stockholm) - Royal Domain of Drottningholm (UNESCO WHS)
Even if the City of Stockholm is the official capital of Sweden, the King of Sweden actually lives in Ekerö Municipality, at Drottningholm, a locality situated on the island Lovön in lake Mälaren on the outskirts of Stockholm, which has now about 400 inhabitants and was planned and built in the mid 18th century for the people working at the palace. The current Swedish royal family have used Drottningholm as their primary residence since 1981. Because the ensemble (castle, theatre, Chinese pavilion and gardens) is the best example of a royal residence built in the 18th century in Sweden and is representative of all European architecture of that period, Royal Domain of Drottningholm was designated in 1991 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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0873 TURKEY (Aegean Region) - Hierapolis-Pamukkale (UNESCO WHS)
Pamukkale (cotton castle) is a natural site, located in the River Menderes valley, which contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. In this area, there are 17 hot water springs, and when the water, supersaturated with calcium carbonate, reaches the surface, carbon dioxide degasses from it, and calcium carbonate is deposited. Precipitation continues until the carbon dioxide in the thermal water reaches equilibrium with the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The chemical process is a trivial one, but the resulting landscape seems to be from another planet.
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0874, 0274 & 0322 MALTA - Megalithic Temples of Malta (UNESCO WHS)
Posted on 10.07.2012, 15.09.2012, and 22.11.2013
The Megalithic Temples of Malta are eleven prehistoric monuments, of which seven are UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Ġgantija Temples (on Gozo island - two temples), Ħaġar Qim (in Qrendi), Mnajdra (in Qrendi), Ta' Ħaġrat Temples (in Mġarr), Skorba Temples (in Żebbiegħ) and Tarxien Temples (in Tarxien). Ġgantija temples were listed in 1980, but in 1992 the listing was extend to include the other five megalithic temples. Built during three distinct time periods between 5000 BC and 700 BC, they have been claimed as "the oldest free-standing monuments in the world" (Professor Lord Renfrew), and are considered by archaeologists a result of local innovations in a process of cultural evolution.
Ġgantija Temples, located on the small island of Gozo, at the end of the Xagħra plateau, were built during the Neolithic Age (c. 3600-2500 BC), in the typical clover-leaf shape, enclosed within a boundary wall. The southerly one, better preserved, is the larger, highest (6m) and elder, dating back to approximately 3600 BC. The finding of animal bones in the site suggests that was used for animal sacrifice. According to local Gozitan folklore, a giantess built these temples and used them as places of worship. Even the name of the complex, Ġgantija, is derived from the word Ggant, meaning giant.
Mnajdra, located on the southern coast of the island of Malta, at about 500m from the other complex, Ħaġar Qim, consists of three conjoined but not connected temples, made of coralline limestone, and the main structure, corbelling with smaller stones, but also post-and-lintel with large slabs. Some books assign Mnajdra to the Ggantija phase, but according to Anthony Bonanno both complexes were built during the Tarxien phase (3000 BC - 2500 BC). Anyway, the fact is that the sites aren't contemporaneous. The cloverleaf plan appears more regular than that of Ħagar Qim, and seems reminiscent of the earlier complex at Ggantija. The south, or lower, temple (of which entrance, oriented due east, you can see it on the postcard) is astronomically aligned with the solar equinoxes, but this may be accidental.
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