Historic Centre of Sighişoara

Sighişoara is a small, fortified medieval town where the clock tower is seen as a symbol of the citadel and considered one of the most expressive clock towers in the whole Transylvania

Sighisoara Clock Tower

This postcard was sent by Anca

The Clock Tower of Sighișoara (Romanian: Turnul cu Ceas) is the main entry point to the citadel, opposite guarded by Taylor's Tower. With its 64 meters of height, the tower is visible from almost every corner of the city from Mures County, its purpose was to defend the main gate of the citadel and also served as the town hall until 1556. - in: wikipedia

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi

Even unfinished, this mausoleum still looks quite impressive

Mausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi

This postcard was sent from Russia by Anna

The Mausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi is an unfinished mausoleum in the city of Turkestan, in southern Kazakhstan. The structure was commissioned in 1389 by Timur, who ruled the area as part of the expansive Timurid Empire, to replace a smaller 12th-century mausoleum of the famous Turkic poet and Sufi mystic, Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (1093–1166). However, construction was halted with the death of Timur in 1405.

Despite its incomplete state, the mausoleum has survived as one of the best-preserved of all Timurid constructions. Its creation marked the beginning of the Timurid architectural style. - in: wikipedia

Petra

Petra is also known as the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved and is one of the new seven wonders of the world 

The Treasury

This postcard was sent from the United States by Claudia

Al-Khazneh ("The Treasury"), is one of the most elaborate temples in the ancient Arab Nabatean Kingdom city of Petra. As with most of the other buildings in this ancient town, including the Monastery (Arabic: Ad Deir), this structure was carved out of a sandstone rock face.

Al-Khazneh was originally built as a mausoleum and crypt at the beginning of the 1st century AD during the reign of Aretas IV Philopatris. Its Arabic name Treasury derives from one legend that bandits or pirates hid their loot in a stone urn high on the second level.

Many of the building's architectural details have eroded away during the two thousand years since it was carved and sculpted from the cliff. The sculptures are thought to be those of various mythological figures associated with the afterlife. On top are figures of four eagles that would carry away the souls. The figures on the upper level are dancing Amazons with double-axes. The entrance is flanked by statues of the twins Castor and Pollux who lived partly on Olympus and partly in the underworld. - in: wikipedia

Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site

This site is known as the "Pompeii of the Americas", in comparison to the famed Ancient Roman ruins

Joya de Cerén

This postcard was sent by Marco

Joya de Cerén (Jewel of Cerén in the Spanish language) is an archaeological site in La Libertad Department, El Salvador, featuring a pre-Columbian Maya farming village preserved remarkably intact under layers of volcanic ash. 

The site was unwittingly discovered in 1976 by a bulldozer driver leveling ground for a government agricultural project. It was explored in depth by Payson Sheets, a professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder, in 1978 and 1980, after which work at the site was interrupted by civil strife and warfare. Excavation resumed in 1988, and has been continuous since then. About 70 buildings have been uncovered, including storehouses, kitchens, living quarters, workshops, a religious structure, and a communal sauna. - in: wikipedia

Historic Quarter of the City of Colonia del Sacramento

This is one of the oldest towns of Uruguay, and it was already Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian

Colonia del Sacramento

This postcard was sent by Boguslaw

Founded by the Portuguese in 1680, Colonia del Sacramento is located at the tip of a short peninsula with a strategic position on the north shore of the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires. In the region, the Historic Quarter of Colonia is the only example of an urban plan that does not conform to the rigid "checkerboard" grid imposed by Spain under the "Laws of the Indies." Instead, this city has a free plan adapted to the topographical features of the site, although strongly influenced by its military function.

All of its modest buildings, in regard both to their dimensions and their appearance, are a particularly interesting testimony to the singular fusion of the Portuguese and Spanish traditions that is evident in the construction methods used. The civil and religious buildings with long stone walls, wooden trellis and tiled roofs reveal an excellent knowledge of traditional construction systems and contribute to the architectural unity specific to the Historic Quarter. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/747

Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour, Curaçao

This is a Dutch site, but is located in the Caribbean 

Willemstad Harbour

This postcard was sent by Moniek

The Historic Area of Willemstad is an example of a colonial trading and administrative settlement. It was established by the Dutch on the island of Curaçao, situated in the southern Caribbean, near the tip of South America.

The architecture of Willemstad has been influenced not only by Dutch colonial concepts but also by the tropical climate and architectural styles from towns throughout the Caribbean region, with which the settlement engaged in trade. The colourful buildings of Willemstad are a local tradition dating from 1817, when the previous style of white lime finish on a building exterior was prohibited, apparently to protect eyesight from the glare. Predominant colours are red, blue, yellow ochre and various shades of green. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/819/

Socotra Archipelago

Socotra has a rich fauna and a rich flora, including some strange trees like the ones in the postcard

Socotra Island

This postcard was sent by Emerich

Socotra Archipelago, in the northwest Indian Ocean near the Gulf of Aden, is 250 km long and comprises four islands and two rocky islets which appear as a prolongation of the Horn of Africa. The site is of universal importance because of its biodiversity with rich and distinct flora and fauna: 37% of Socotra’s 825 plant species, 90% of its reptile species and 95% of its land snail species do not occur anywhere else in the world. The site also supports globally significant populations of land and sea birds (192 bird species, 44 of which breed on the islands while 85 are regular migrants), including a number of threatened species. The marine life of Socotra is also very diverse, with 253 species of reef-building corals, 730 species of coastal fish and 300 species of crab, lobster and shrimp. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1263