Sri Lanka - Golden Temple of Dambulla

"A sacred pilgrimage site for 22 centuries, this cave monastery, with its five sanctuaries, is the largest, best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka. The Buddhist mural paintings (covering an area of 2,100 m2) are of particular importance, as are the 157 statues.” 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Dambullah Cave Temple is the largest and best-preserved cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. The rock towers 160 m over the surrounding plains.There are more than 80 documented caves in the surrounding area. Major attractions are spread over five caves, which contain statues and paintings. These paintings and statues are related to Gautama Buddha and his life. There are a total of 153 Buddha statues, three statues of Sri Lankan kings and four statues of gods and goddesses. The latter include Vishnu and the Ganesha. The murals cover an area of 2,100 square metres (23,000 sq ft). Depictions on the walls of the caves include the temptation by the demon Mara, and Buddha's first sermon.

Prehistoric Sri Lankans would have lived in these cave complexes before the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka as there are burial sites with human skeletons about 2700 years old in this area, at Ibbankatuwa near the Dambulla cave complexes.

Three beautiful stamps used for postage are as below:-

• Right most stamp - issued in 2016 at the eve of "World and Sri Lanka Cub Scouts Centenary 1916-2016". 
• Center Stamp - a part of a set of 10 stamps issued on Solar System in 2014 and shows the Sun. 
• Left most stamp - The Greater Flamingos stamp on the left side is a part of 4-stamp set issued by Sri Lanka on World Wetland Day and the birds are shown in Chundikulam National Park.

Azerbaijan - Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower

"Built on a site inhabited since the Palaeolithic period, the Walled City of Baku reveals evidence of Zoroastrian, Sasanian, Arabic, Persian, Shirvani, Ottoman, and Russian presence in cultural continuity. The Inner City (Icheri Sheher) has preserved much of its 12th-century defensive walls. The 12th-century Maiden Tower (Giz Galasy) is built over earlier structures dating from the 7th to 6th centuries BC, and the 15th-century Shirvanshahs' Palace is one of the pearls of Azerbaijan's architecture." 
Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Postcard # 1

A lovely postcard from Azerbaijan's capital city Baku showing an ensemble of Shirvanshah's Palace.

Beautiful stamps were pasted at the back of the postcard.

• The two stamps on the left side featuring cats were issued in 2014 as a part of a set of 5 definitive stamps showing cats.
• The stamp on the right side features a photo of an Azarbaijani poet Mammad Araz (1933-2004). Some of Araz's famous works include:-
• If There Were No War
• The World is Yours, The World is Mine
• The Sound Written on the Rocks
• Father of Three Sons
• One of his famous poem goes like this:-

If There Were No War (1956)

If there were no war,

We could construct a bridge between Earth and Mars

Melting weapons in an open-hearth furnace.

If there were no war,

The harvest of a thousand years could grow in one day.

Scientists could bring the moon and stars to Earth.

Vietnam - Hoi An Ancient Town

"Hoi An Ancient Town is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique heritage site." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage 

Postcard # 1
Here's my first postcard from Hoi An Ancient Town. It has beautiful buildings, shrines and beach. The back of the postcard reads,
"The historic town of Hoi An breathes a charm quite unlike other places in Vietnam. The late afternoon sunlight plays with shadows on an old Chinese house".

The postcard was sent to me by Andrew and Elizabeth from Vietnam.
The stamp used on the postcard is part of a set of 6 Definitive stamps showing landscapes. The stamp also shows a scene from Hoi An Ancient Town. The postcard is marked from a post office in Saigon!

Albania: Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra

"Berat and Gjirokastra are inscribed as rare examples of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period. Located in central Albania, Berat bears witness to the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities down the centuries. It features a castle, locally known as the Kala, most of which was built in the 13th century, although its origins date back to the 4th century BC. The citadel area numbers many Byzantine churches, mainly from the 13th century, as well as several mosques built under the Ottoman era which began in 1417. Gjirokastra, in the Drinos river valley in southern Albania, features a series of outstanding two-story houses which were developed in the 17th century. The town also retains a bazaar, an 18th-century mosque and two churches of the same period."
Source: UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites

The town of Berat is one of the oldest in Albania, with the earliest traces of settlement dating from 2600-1800 BC. There are also ceramics from the 7th or 6th century BC. The Berat people were first called Illyrians, then Arbër, and finally Albanians.
The castle area had stone fortifications by the middle of the 4th century. An Illyrian town developed under its protection.
In antiquity, Berat was known as Antipatreia, a fortified centre which succeeded in resisting the Roman legions for a time. The town is mentioned by Polybius and Livy, and in the list of fortifications of Emperor Justinian. During the Byzantine period, in 533, Berat is called Pulcheriopolis, after the 5th century Byzantine Empress Pulcheria. It developed at the summit of the hill. The castle and its fortifications were rebuilt.
In 1834, the Castle of Berat was damaged, and lost its defensive function. Nevertheless, it has retained much of the historic fabric. Until 1961, the condition of Berat remained practically the same. The historic town was then recognised as an important heritage property by the Albanian government.
These two fortified historic centres are remarkably well preserved, and this is particularly true of their vernacular buildings. They have been continuously inhabited from ancient times down to the present day. Situated in the Balkans, in Southern Albania, and close to each other, they bear witness to the wealth and diversity of the urban and architectural heritage of this region.
Berat and Gjirokastra bear witness to a way of life which has been influenced over a long period by the traditions of Islam during the Ottoman period, while at the same time incorporating more ancient influences. This way of life has respected Orthodox Christian traditions which have thus been able to continue their spiritual and cultural development, particularly at Berat.
Gjirokastra was built by major landowners. Around the ancient 13th century citadel, the town has houses with turrets (the Turkish kule) which are characteristic of the Balkans region. Gjirokastra contains several remarkable examples of houses of this type, which date from the 17th century, but also more elaborate examples dating from the early 19th century.

Albania: Butrint

"Inhabited since prehistoric times, Butrint has been the site of a Greek colony, a Roman city and a bishopric. Following a period of prosperity under Byzantine administration, then a brief occupation by the Venetians, the city was abandoned in the late Middle Ages after marshes formed in the area. The present archaeological site is a repository of ruins representing each period in the city’s development."
Source: UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites

The Butrint site is located on a hill, just close to a lake connected to the sea by a canal. It has been inhabited since prehistoric times. A Greek colony was founded there in the late 7th century BC, when the city (called Buthros) was surrounded by fortifications. Roman occupation prompted the development of the city and during the Christian era, it became the seat of a bishopric. Many religious structures were built by the Christians. From the time the Slavs came to the Balkans (7th century) until the founding of the Epirus despotate (after the taking of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204), the city underwent great trials. Its last era of prosperity was under Byzantine administration (Epirus). After a short period of occupation by the Venetians (late 14th century), the city under Ottoman administration was threatened by the marshes that formed around the lake and was abandoned by the population.
This archaeological site is a veritable conservatory of major monuments in ruins from each period of the city's development. Thus, the fortifications bear testimony to the different stages of their construction from the time of the Greek colony until the Middle Ages. The most interesting ancient Greek monument is the theatre, which is fairly well preserved. The major ruin from the paleo-Christian era is the baptistery, built inside the Roman public baths. The floor has a beautiful mosaic decoration. The paleo-Christian basilica was rebuilt in the 9th century and the ruins are sufficiently well preserved to permit analysis of the structure (three naves with a transept and an exterior polygonal apse).
The archaeological site of Jam was successfully nominated as Afghanistan's first World Heritage site in 2002. It was also inscribed in UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger, due to the precarious state of preservation of the minaret, and results of looting at the site.

Lebanon - Anjar - UNESCO World Heritage Site

"The city of Anjar was founded by Caliph Walid I at the beginning of the 8th century. The ruins reveal a very regular layout, reminiscent of the palace-cities of ancient times, and are a unique testimony to city planning under the Umayyads."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage List

Founded during the Umayyad period under Caliph Walid Ibn Abd Al-Malak (705-715), the city of Anjar bears outstanding witness to the Umayyad civilization. Anjar is an example of an inland commercial centre, at the crossroads of two important routes: one leading from Beirut to Damascus and the other crossing the Bekaa and leading from Homs to Tiberiade. The site of this ancient city was only discovered by archaeologists at the end of the 1940s.  Excavations revealed a fortified city surrounded by walls and flanked by forty towers, a rectangular area (385 x 350 m).
Dominated by gates flanked by porticos, an important North-South axis and a lesser East-West axis, superposed above the main collectors for sewers, divide the city into four equal quadrants.  Public and private buildings are laid out according to a strict plan: the great palace of the Caliph and the Mosque in the South-East quarter occupies the highest part of the site, while the small palaces (harems) and the baths are located in the North-East quarter to facilitate the functioning and evacuation of waste waters.
Secondary functions and living quarters are distributed in the North-West and South-West quarters. The ruins are dominated by spectacular vestiges of a monumental tetrapyle, as well as by the walls and colonnades of the Umayyad palace, three levels of which have been preserved. These structures incorporate decorative or architectonical elements of the Roman era, but are also noteworthy for the exceptional plasticity of the contemporary decor within the construction.
Anjar was never completed, enjoying only a brief existence. In 744, Caliph Ibrahim, son of Walid, was defeated and afterwards the partially destroyed city was abandoned. Vestiges of the city of Anjar therefore constitute a unique example of 8th century town planning. Built at the beginning of the Islamic period, it reflects this transition from a protobyzantine culture to the development of Islamic art and this through the evolution of construction techniques and architectonical and decorative elements that may be viewed in the different monuments.
What do you think about this lovely Lebanese UNESCO site?

Mauritania: Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata

"Founded in the 11th and 12th centuries to serve the caravans crossing the Sahara, these trading and religious centres became focal points of Islamic culture. They have managed to preserve an urban fabric that evolved between the 12th and 16th centuries. Typically, houses with patios crowd along narrow streets around a mosque with a square minaret. They illustrate a traditional way of life centred on the nomadic culture of the people of the western Sahara."
Source: UNESCO World Heritage List

It literally seems to be as a red village and is an amazing site! The complete site is listed in the list as "Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata" whereas the view on the postcard is from "Ancient Ksour of Ouadane".

What do you think?

Mauritius: Aapravasi Ghat - A UNESCO World Heritage Site

"In the district of Port Louis, lies the 1,640 m2 site where the modern indentured labour diaspora began. In 1834, the British Government selected the island of Mauritius to be the first site for what it called ‘the great experiment’ in the use of ‘free’ labour to replace slaves. Between 1834 and 1920, almost half a million indentured labourers arrived from India at Aapravasi Ghat to work in the sugar plantations of Mauritius, or to be transferred to Reunion Island, Australia, southern and eastern Africa or the Caribbean. The buildings of Aapravasi Ghat are among the earliest explicit manifestations of what was to become a global economic system and one of the greatest migrations in history."
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Sites Page

Aapravasi Ghat is another beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site and it is located in Mauritius.

This postcard is also sent by Postcard Interactive Company of Sydney.

Cambodia: Angkor

"Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations. UNESCO has set up a wide-ranging programme to safeguard this symbolic site and its surroundings."
Source: UNESCO World Heritage List
This superb Cambodian postcard was sent to me by Zarah from Cambodia.

As mentioned by Zarah at the back of the postcard, "Angkor Temple is the World's Largest Religious Structure", a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a truly magnificent Khmer architectural masterpiece and the highlight to every tourist's visit to Cambodia. I've been there many times and it never fails to amaze me everytime. And who doesn't? It truly is a world wonder."

 The stamp used on the postcard was issued in 2003 at the eve of 45th Anniversary of Cambodian-Chinese Friendship and shows another UNESCO World Heritage Site from China - The Great Wall of China. It is one stamp of the set of two stamps issued on the event. The 2nd stamp featured Angkor Wat Temple from Cambodia. You can see the complete set here.

Indonesia: Borobudur Temple Compounds

"This famous Buddhist temple, dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is located in central Java. It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 m2. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The monument was restored with UNESCO's help in the 1970s."
Source : UNESCO World Heritage Sites List

Borobudur Temple is a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site.
The Borobudur Temple Compounds is one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world, and was built in the 8th and 9th centuries AD during the reign of the Syailendra Dynasty. The monument is located in the Kedu Valley, in the southern part of Central Java, at the centre of the island of Java, Indonesia.
The main temple is a stupa built in three tiers around a hill which was a natural centre: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,520 m2. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha.
The postcard was sent to me by Naya from Indonesia. As per Naya, "Borobudur Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in the World and was built in 9th century. Completed almost 100 years from the time construction began, Borobudur is constructed as a 10-terraces building. It also has 1460 Relief Panels and 504 Buddha Effigies."

India: Elephanta Caves

"The 'City of Caves', on an island in the Sea of Oman close to Bombay, contains a collection of rock art linked to the cult of Shiva. Here, Indian art has found one of its most perfect expressions, particularly the huge high reliefs in the main cave."
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site List

The construction time of the famous Elephanta Caves is still very much debated and varies from the 6th century to the 8th century according to different specialists. They constitute one of the most striking collections of rock-art in India. The above postcard features a dancing but broken sculpture of Shiva as Nataraja and is dancing the celestial dance.
There are two groups of caves. To the east, Stupa Hill (thus named because of a small brick Buddhist monument at the top) contains two caves, one of which is unfinished, and several cisterns. To the west, the larger group consists of five rock-cut Hindu shrines. The main cave is universally famous for its carvings to the glory of Shiva, who is exalted in various forms and act ions. The cave consists of a square plan mandapa whose sides measure about 27 m.
The postcard was sent to me by Anuradha Shankar from Mumbai in Maharashtra State of India.

The postcard also features a beautiful Butterfly Stamp of India. This Red Butterfly Indian Stamp was issued by India Post on 20 November 2000 and is of Rupees 15 denomination. It is a part of definitive series - Wildlife. The back of the postcard also shows a nice monogram of India Post.

Russia: Historic Center of St. Petersburg and Related Group of Monuments

"The 'Venice of the North', with its numerous canals and more than 400 bridges, is the result of a vast urban project begun in 1703 under Peter the Great. Later known as Leningrad (in the former USSR), the city is closely associated with the October Revolution. Its architectural heritage reconciles the very different Baroque and pure neoclassical styles, as can be seen in the Admiralty, the Winter Palace, the Marble Palace and the Hermitage."
Source : UNESCO World Heritage Site List

The ensembles designed in St Petersburg and the surrounding area by several international architects exerted great influence in the 18th and 19th centuries on the development of architecture and monumental arts in Russia and Finland. The site links outstanding examples of Baroque imperial residences with the architectural ensemble of St Petersburg, the Baroque and neoclassical capital par excellence. St Petersburg was, moreover, directly associated with events of universal significance.

 The card also feature two beautiful stamps - one with a castle issued in 2011 and the other showing a boat, issued in 2009.
I am sure that you will like this postcard. You can see another post regarding the same postcard at my regular postcard blog here.
Please leave your comments, if you like this poatcard.

Australia: Sydney Opera House

"Inaugurated in 1973, the Sydney Opera House is a great architectural work of the 20th century that brings together multiple strands of creativity and innovation in both architectural form and structural design. A great urban sculpture set in a remarkable waterscape, at the tip of a peninsula projecting into Sydney Harbour, the building has had an enduring influence on architecture. The Sydney Opera House comprises three groups of interlocking vaulted ‘shells’ which roof two main performance halls and a restaurant. These shell-structures are set upon a vast platform and are surrounded by terrace areas that function as pedestrian concourses. In 1957, when the project of the Sydney Opera House was awarded by an international jury to Danish architect Jørn Utzon, it marked a radically new approach to construction."
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site List

Postcard # 1
This beautiful real-posted Australian Postcard shows Sydney Harbour and the architectural marvel, Sydney Opera House itself. The postcard showcases 3 distinctive scenes as follows (from right top, clockwise):-

• Sydney Opera House
• Fort Denison with ferries in the foreground
• HMA Naval Dockyard garden Island

The Sydney Opera House constitutes a masterpiece of 20th century architecture. Its significance is based on its unparalleled design and construction; its exceptional engineering achievements and technological innovation and its position as a world-famous icon of architecture

This UNESCO postcard was sent to me by Ann Wiggins who has added 3 magnificednt stamps at the back too.  The stamp on the left was issued to mark Australian Day in 1981, where as the the centre stamp shows the portraits of the explorers Eyre (1841) and Vancouver (1791).

The stamp on the right shows the same image as on the postcard showing "HMA Naval Dockyard garden Island".

What do you think about this post?

Afghanistan: Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley

"The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley represent the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient Bakhtria, integrating various cultural influences into the Gandhara school of Buddhist art. The area contains numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified edifices from the Islamic period. The site is also testimony to the tragic destruction by the Taliban of the two standing Buddha statues, which shook the world in March 2001."
Source: UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites

Postcard # 1:
The Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan  really became World-renowned when the news of their destruction by Taliban Government spread around the globe in 2001. Talibans destructed two large Buddha Statues in Bamiyan Valley. Although they were some of the largest Buddha statues in the World, yet the archaeological site is not just restricted to those two statues. There are numerous other statues, monasteries and sanctuaries in the area.

Interestingly, I found this beautiful postcard in one of the postcard shops in Pakistan. Bamiyan Valley is one of the 35 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Danger.
Your comments on the postcard are warmly welcomed in Comments Section below!

Pakistan: Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro

"The ruins of the huge city of Moenjodaro – built entirely of unbaked brick in the 3rd millennium B.C. – lie in the Indus valley. The acropolis, set on high embankments, the ramparts, and the lower town, which is laid out according to strict rules, provide evidence of an early system of town planning."
Source : UNESCO World Heritage Site List

Postcard # 1:
Moenjodaro means The Mound of the Dead. These are the remains of the Buddhist Stupa in Indus Valley civilization which are as old as 3rd Millenium B.C. It is the most ancient and the most well-preserved urban ruins on the Indian Subcontinent. This 5000-year-old civilization is one of the largest in the Old World and shows the earliest signs of urbanization. Its urban planning surpasses that of many other sites of the oriental civilizations that were to follow.

 The stupa mound, built on a massive platform of mud brick, is composed of the ruins of several major structures - Great Bath, Great Granary, College Square and Pillared Hall - as well as a number of private homes. The extensive lower city is a complex of private and public houses, wells, shops and commercial buildings. These buildings are laid out along streets intersecting each other at right angles, in a highly orderly form of city planning that also incorporated important systems of sanitation and drainage.
Of this vast urban ruin of Moenjodaro, only about one-third has been reveal by excavation since 1922. The foundations of the site are threatened by saline action due to a rise of the water table of the Indus River. This was the subject of a UNESCO international campaign in the 1970s, which partially mitigated the attack on the prehistoric mud-brick buildings.

Postcard # 2:
The postcard below shows the portrait view of the King Priest, excavated from Moenjodaro Excavation Site. You can read a detailed account of King Priest from Moenjodaro here.

Feel free to leave your comments below!

Malaysia : Melaka, George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca

"Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. With its government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications, Melaka demonstrates the early stages of this history originating in the 15th-century Malay sultanate and the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. The two towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia."
Source : UNESCO World Heritage Site List

Postcard # 1:
This beautiful postcard was sent to me by Ilyani Mat alias Imajica from Malaysia. The postcard shows generations-old Chinese houses, built in 15th century, which still line the banks of Malacca River till today. It is an amazing sight, seeing houses built so close to the flowing river. The civilization in this region started as early as 13th century.

The stamp used on the postcard is from the Malaysian Cartoons Series from 2008. It is one of the 4 stamps of the set and says "Permainan Anak Kampung". I wonder what this means in English? Can someone tell us?

 What do you think about this postcard? You can leave your comments below!