World on my postcards

 Riga, the capital of Latvia, is the pearl both of Latvia and the whole of the Baltics. Riga is included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage list. It is located in the central part of the country, on the south coast of the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of our largest river, the Daugava. Riga is home for more than 700,000 inhabitants and is the largest city in the Baltic States.

 Rouche (Raouché, La Roche, Rawche) or Pegion Rocks Beirut, Lebanon are made of sedimentary pale soft porous limestone rock eroded over millions of years by the Mediterranean sea carving them into their present shape. One of the rocks resembles a gate through the opening of which daredavils are known to fly their microlight aircraft. The second rock resembles an ankle-length shoe, appropriate for a city known for its stylist fashionistas.  Beirut has the unusual bragging right of having been a bustling coastal city for thousands of years, and all that history and port city culture still influence it today, where visitors are shown hospitality by bewilderingly diverse religious and cultural groups. In the midst of newly reconstructed Downtown highrises, visitors find themselves standing in front of ancient Roman baths where archaeologists are excavating 2,000 year old mosaics.   Beit ed-Dine is a small Lebanese town in the Chouf District, approx. 50 km southeast

 These are my Lebanese postcards that I got from friend of mine that traveled there! They are so beautifull and of  great quality! Statue of Our Lady of Lebanon, Harissa.On the heights more than 600 m an immense immaculate statue overlooks the bay of Jounieh. Erected at the end of the 19th Century, the statue of the Virgin dominates a sanctuary (a chapel in the pedestal). The city is beautifully located on the majestic Bay Of Jounieh on the sea coast of the Mediterranean. This is the city of ancient civilizations and a modern business center Byblos /Jbeil is a district in the Mount Lebanon Governorate.The ruins of many successive civilizations are found at Byblos, one of the oldest Phoenician cities. Inhabited since Neolithic times, it has been closely linked to the legends and history of the Mediterranean region for thousands of years.

Bermuda music is quite rich with the traditional folk. Within this folk, the Gombey dance and music is the most popular one in the island compared to the other forms. Bermuda Gombey dance is the mixture of British, West African and indigenous new-world cultures. Gombey is quite similar to the dance traditions like Bahamian Goombay. It actually refers to a specific type of drums of African origin. Some also relate Gombay to a Bantu word standing for "rhythm". 

 The Cinque Terre has been under the protection of UNESCO since 1997. The sea that washes the Ligurian shore is considered to be one the purest in the Mediterranean. The natural reserve has been existing for more than ten years. During this time local marine life has regenerated, so the natural reserve has become attractive not only to common holiday makers, but also to divers.

 Columbus saw the existence of Martinique when he did an expedition in 1493. During his fourth voyage, Columbus landed on Martinique. In 1502, it became the first European place to explore.Columbus called the island, Martinique.   It was occupied by Carib Indians. The Carib Indians came from South America. It drove away the Arawaks who once lived in the island.In 1635, France claimed the land of Martinique. In 1674, it was annexed. Martinique was a precious treasure for Both Britain and France. Both countries wanted to get the island. The war was unavoidable. France got the island in 1815.

  Nenagh is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Ireland.Nenagh was originally a market town, and its name in Irish means "The Fair of Ormond" – a reference to the Ormond (East Munster) Fair, of which it was the site. Nenagh is today a busy commercial town and is governed by Nenagh Town council.

Standing proudly above Sydney Harbour, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the architectural jewels in the crown of Australia's most beautiful city.  Instantly recognisable, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world's tallest steel arch bridge. It connects the northern suburbs of Sydney with the city centre, making it a vital link in Sydney's transport infrastructure; more than 200,000 cars travel across the bridge in a single day.

 This postcard came to me from New South Wales in Australia. Interesting fact is that now I live in South Wales in UK.   The history of Europeans in Byron Bay began in 1770, when Lieutenant James Cook found a safe anchorage and named Cape Byron after John Byron. In the 1880s, when Europeans settled more permanently, streets were named for other English writers and philosophers

 The Colosseum is probably the most impressive building of the Roman Empire. Originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater, it was the largest building of the era. It was the first permanent amphitheatre to be raised in Rome, and the most impressive arena the Classical world had yet seen.  For a tourist today, seeing the Colosseum means, as Charles Dickens wrote, "seeing the ghost of old Rome floating over the places its people walk in".

  Yakutia is a territory in the extreme North of Asia whose cultural history pushes its boundaries as far West as Central Asia but whose cultural legacy reaches as far East as Greenland. Centered in Yakutsk, three quarters of the population makes its home scattered across Yakutia’s vast, varied, and extreme landscape.

 The Empire State Building located in New York City is one of the most famous and most recognizable buildings in the world.   When the Empire State Building opened on May 1, 1931 it was the tallest building in the world and only took one year and forty-five days to build.   This building is one of the most filmed buildings in the world. It has appeared in commercials, TV shows and blockbuster movies. The Empire State building is famous for its colored light displays that mark the holidays or seasons.  There are 6,500 windows. What a lot to clean! :)

The Aymara are the indigenous (native) people who live in the altiplano (high plains) of the Andes Mountains of Bolivia. Bolivia has the highest proportion of indigenous peoples of any country in South America. It is also the poorest country on the continent. Bolivia was colonized by Spain. The Aymara faced great hardships under Spanish colonial rule. In 1570, the Spanish decreed that the natives would be forced to work in the rich silver mines on the altiplano. The city of Potosí was once the site of the richest silver mine in the world. Millions of Aymara laborers perished in the wretched conditions in the mines.

 Easter Island’s most famous features are its enormous stone statues called moai, at least 288 of which once stood upon massive stone platforms called ahu. There are some 250 of these ahu platforms spaced approximately one half mile apart to create an almost unbroken line around the perimeter of the island.Another 600 moai statues, in various stages of completion, are scattered throughout the island. Nearly all the moai are carved from the hard stone of the Rano Raraku volcano.A small number of the moai were once capped with ‘crowns’ or ‘hats’ of red volcanic stone. The meaning and purpose of these capstones is not known

 An amazing postcard with stunning stamps and a lot of interesting information about traditional dance of Chile - La Cueca. It is so wonderful to get a card like this!

  Pareshnath Jain temple is a very famous temple of Calcutta that was built by an art connoisseur named Ray Badridas Bahadur in 1867. Located in the northeast side of the city, Calcutta Pareshnath Jain temple is a mind-blowing place of worship, the beauty of which is enhanced by mirrors and colored stones. It houses four different temples, out of which the main temple is established in the honor of the 10th Jain Avtaar, Sri Sital Nath Ji.

 Peruvudaiyar Kovil, which is also famous as Brihadeeswarar Temple ,is located at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu state of India .It is a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site as “Great Living Chola Temples”.This great temple is India’s one of most prized site for its architecture.

  Ladakh "land of high passes" is a region of India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir that currently extends from the Karakoram mountain range in the north to the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent (According to Hinduism Yaksha people born from 5th wife of Kashyapa Rishi). It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir and its culture and history are closely related to that of Tibet.

A floating market is a market where goods are sold from boats. Originating in times and places where water transport played an important role in daily life, most floating markets operating today mainly serve as tourist attractions.

 Portugal is on the western side of the Iberian Peninsula and is the westernmost country of mainland Europe. The country has one land border with Spain to the north and east and has a long coastline with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. In addition to continental Portugal, the country includes the archipelagos of Azores and Madeira, which are autonomous regions of the country.

Kutch, India’s Wild West, is a geographic phenomenon, full of rustic beauty. What appears an endless desert plain running dead straight for the horizon, is in fact virtually `a seasonal island` resembling a “Katchua or Kachbo” meaning tortoise, surrounded by seawater. It is a land of colour, culture and chronicle is one of districts of Gujarat where all the country`s smiles and metaphor appear to have come in concert. Ancient temples, attractive architectured palaces and rugged fort, men and women in vibrant costumes, Flamingoes and wild Asses, harsh sunlight, moderate rainfall and the cool evening breeze – are all there in abundance. Kutch ladscapse is flat and dry, but the villages dotted throughout the dramatic, inhospitable landscape feel like pre-partition Pakistan, and the tribal villagers produce some of India’s finest folk textiles, glittering with exquisite embroidery and mirror work. The district is also famous for ecologically important Banni grasslands with

The Algarve is Portugal's most popular holiday destination due to the clean beaches (approximately 200 km of them), the cool, unpolluted water, and the facts that it is relatively cheap, very safe and overall welcoming. English is spoken at most resorts. The Algarve is rich in culture and diversity. If you are looking for fast paced resorts or a calm tranquil setting either is attainable. The entire region is approx.5400sq km and is graced with over 100 different beaches. Although the permanent residence population is under 500,000 the area receives more than ten fold that in tourism each year. The busiest times of year tend to be July/August.

 The Maonan ethnic minority lives mostly in Huanjiang County of Guangxi Province, especially in the three regions of Shangnan, Zhongnan, and Xianan. They have a relatively smaller population of 107,166 than many other ethnic groups in China. They mainly live on agriculture. They utilize each inch of farming land to increase the yields and gradually they have rich experience of growing crops. Handicraft industries also play a considerable role in their economy. Maonan are proud of their beef cattle, which sells well in South China. The Maonan ethnic minority likes to build houses, tables, utensils with stone, as well as sculpture. The most famous may be the chiseled works on the tumulus groups. It is really amazing that dexterous stonecutters can create so many lively sculptures of flowers, birds, fish, insects, and people without drawing or drafting them first.