Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture

I used to think that Ibiza was only beaches and discos, two things I don't like that much, but apparently there's a lot more than that. For example, a fortified town and a unique marine life

Ibiza Upper Town

This postcard was sent by José

Ibiza, also known as Ibiza Town, is a city and municipality located on the southeast coast of the island of Ibiza in the Balearic Islands autonomous community.

Although called Ibiza in English and Spanish, the official name is the Catalan Eivissa (as restored in 1986) and its inhabitants call it the Vila d'Eivissa or simply Vila ("Town"). It is divided into two main parts: the old town, called the Dalt Vila (literally "Upper Town"), located on a little mountain by the sea, and the modern part, called the Eixample ("extension").

Ibiza Upper Town

This postcard was sent by José

Sights include the cathedral of Santa Maria d'Eivissa (14th century), located at the top of the Dalt Vila, and the Punic necropolis of Puig des Molins. Nearby is also the monument of Christ, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a 23-metre-high (75 ft) statue inspired by Christ the Redeemer, which is 3.1 miles (5.0 km) north of the city. - in: wikipedia

Royal Domain of Drottningholm

This was not my first postcard from Sweden but it was my first UNESCO site from there.

Drottningholm Palace

 This postcard was sent by Merja

The Drottningholm Palace (Swedish: Drottningholms slott) is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. It is located in Drottningholm. Built on the island Lovön (in Ekerö Municipality of Stockholm County), it is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It served as a regular summer residence of the Swedish royal court for most of the 18th century. Apart from being the private residence of the Swedish royal family, the palace is a popular tourist attraction. - in: wikipedia

Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal (D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station)

This is the largest still operational steam-powered pumping station in the world, built to prevent floods.

Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal

This postcard was sent by Saskia

The Wouda Pumping Station at Lemmer in the province of Friesland opened in 1920. It is the largest steam-pumping station ever built and is still in operation. It represents the high point of the contribution made by Netherlands engineers and architects in protecting their people and land against the natural forces of water. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/867

Seventeenth-Century Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht

Amsterdam is one of the cities of my top 5 "must visit"

Keizersgracht Canal

This postcard was sent by Kim

Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has more than one hundred kilometers of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel. Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings. - in: wikipedia

Amsterdam Canal

This postcard was sent by Trudy

Historic Centre of Évora

In 2011 my wife and I spent our holidays in Algarve. On the way back to the north of Portugal, we stopped in Évora to visit this amazing city. For me it was the highest point of the trip

Details of Évora's Monuments

This museum-city, whose roots go back to Roman times, reached its golden age in the 15th century, when it became the residence of the Portuguese kings. Its unique quality stems from the whitewashed houses decorated with azulejos and wrought-iron balconies dating from the 16th to the 18th century. Its monuments had a profound influence on Portuguese architecture in Brazil. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/361/

Giraldo Square, Fountain and Santo Antão Church

In Evora, all streets lead to Giraldo Square, Praça do Giraldo in Portuguese. It has been like this since its construction, in 1571/1573.

After the Portuguese Crown took possession of Evora, the assets including sculptures and a triumphal arch were ordered to be destroyed in order to build the fountain which still today is the centre of attention of the people of Evora and the tourists in Giraldo Square.

Also located in Giraldo Square, we find Santo Antão Church, also built by King Henrique. This building was the reason why the surrounding monuments in Giraldo Square were destroyed, since they blocked the view towards the church. Its construction began in 1557. - in: http://www.visitevora.net/en/giraldo-square-praca/

Cathedral of Évora

The Cathedral of Évora is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Évora, Portugal. It is one of the oldest and most important local monuments, lying on the highest spot of the city.

Évora was definitively reconquered from Arab hands in 1166 by Geraldo Sem Pavor (Gerald the Fearless), and soon afterwards the new Christian rulers of the city began to build a cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This first building, built between 1184 and 1204, was very modest and was enlarged circa 1280-1340, this time in early Gothic style. The cathedral received several valuable additions through time, such as the Gothic cloisters (14th century), the Manueline chapel of the Esporão (early 16th century) and a new, magnificent main chapel in baroque style (first half of the 18th century). It is the largest of the mediaeval cathedrals in Portugal, and one of its best examples of Gothic architecture.

Interior of the Cathedral of Évora

The main chapel was totally rebuilt between 1718 and 1746, a work sponsored by King John V. The architect in charge was João Frederico Ludovice, a German who was royal architect and who had previously designed the Monastery of Mafra. The style favoured by the King and his architect was Roman baroque, with polychrome marble decoration (green marble from Italy, white marble from Montes Claros, red and black marble from Sintra) and painted altars. Although its style does not really fit into the mediaeval interior of the cathedral, the main chapel is nevertheless an elegant baroque masterpiece.  - in: wikipedia

Roman Temple of Évora and Lóios Convent

Lóios Convent and Church: Built in the 15th century, contains a number of tombs; the church and the cloister are Gothic in style, with a Manueline chapterhouse with a magnificent portal. The church interior is covered in azulejos (ceramic tiles) from the 18th century. In 1965 it has been converted into a top-end pousada - in: wikipedia

Roman Temple of Évora

The Roman Temple of Évora (Portuguese: Templo romano de Évora), also referred to as the Templo de Diana (albeit wrongly, after Diana, the ancient Roman goddess of the moon, the hunt, and chastity) is an ancient temple in the Portuguese city of Évora.

The temple is believed to have been constructed around the first century A.D., in honour of Augustus, who was venerated as a god during and after his rule. The temple was built in the main public square (forum) of Évora, then called Liberalitas Iulia. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries, from the traditionally accepted chronology, the temple was part of a radical redefinition of the urban city, when religious veneration and administrative polity were oriented around the central space; the structure was modified around this time. The temple was destroyed during the 5th century by invading Germanic peoples. - in: wikipedia

Roman Temple of Évora

 This postcard was sent by José "Pombal"

The temple is located in the central square of Évora, in what would have been the highest elevation of the city's acropolis. It is surrounded by religious buildings associated with the Inquisition in Portugal, including: the Sé Cathedral, the Palace of the Inquisitor, Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval, the Court of the Inquisition and, the Church and Lóios' Convent, as well as the Public Library and Museum of Évora.

The original temple was probably similar to the Maison Carrée in Nîmes (France). 

There is an equilibrium and harmony between the granite and marble structure: its appearance, although considered one of the best preserved Roman ruins on the peninsula, was actually restored in the Romantic-style by Giuseppe Cinatti, following the then popular notions and theories of the time. in: wikipedia

Capela dos Ossos

The Capela dos Ossos (English: Chapel of Bones) is one of the best known monuments in Évora, Portugal. It is a small interior chapel located next to the entrance of the Church of St. Francis. The Chapel gets its name because the interior walls are covered and decorated with human skulls and bones.

The Capela dos Ossos was built in the 16th century by a Franciscan monk who, in the Counter-Reformation spirit of that era, wanted to prod his fellow brothers into contemplation and transmit the message of life being transitory, a very common spirituality theme summed up in the motto memento mori. This is clearly shown in the famous warning at the entrance Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos (“We bones that here are, for yours await"). - in: wikipedia

Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec

The Ossuary of Sedlec, part of this site, is among the most visited tourist attractions of the Czech Republic

Kutná Hora

This postcard was sent by Ondrej

Kutná Hora developed as a result of the exploitation of the silver mines. In the 14th century it became a royal city endowed with monuments that symbolized its prosperity. The Church of St Barbara, a jewel of the late Gothic period, and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec, which was restored in line with the Baroque taste of the early 18th century, were to influence the architecture of central Europe. These masterpieces today form part of a well-preserved medieval urban fabric with some particularly fine private dwellings. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/732/

Church of St Barbara

Saint Barbara's Church (Czech: Chrám svaté Barbory) is a Roman Catholic church in Kutná Hora (Bohemia) in the style of a Cathedral, and is sometimes referred to as the Cathedral of St Barbara (Czech: Katedrál sv. panny Barbory). It is one of the most famous Gothic churches in central Europe.

Construction began in 1388, but because work on the church was interrupted several times, it was not completed until 1905.

Internal points of note are the glass windows, altars, pulpits and choir stalls. Medieval frescoes depicting the secular life of the medieval mining town and religious themes have been partially preserved. - in: Wikipedia

Sedlec Ossuary

The Sedlec Ossuary (Czech: Kostnice v Sedlci) is a small Roman Catholic chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints (Czech: Hřbitovní kostel Všech Svatých), part of the former Sedlec Abbey in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. The ossuary is estimated to contain the skeletons of between 40,000 and 70,000 people, whose bones have, in many cases, been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel.

Four enormous bell-shaped mounds occupy the corners of the chapel. An enormous chandelier of bones, which contains at least one of every bone in the human body, hangs from the center of the nave with garlands of skulls draping the vault. Other works include piers and monstrances flanking the altar, a coat of arms of the House of Schwarzenberg, and the signature of Rint, also executed in bone, on the wall near the entrance. - in: Wikipedia

Western Ghats

This is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula

Western Ghats

This postcard was sent by Nagi

Older than the Himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the Western Ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes. The site’s high montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. Moderating the tropical climate of the region, the site presents one of the best examples of the monsoon system on the planet. It also has an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism and is recognized as one of the world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity. The forests of the site include some of the best representatives of non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests anywhere and are home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1342

Lion-tailed Macaque in Nilgiri Mountains

This postcard was sent by Vinay

The Nilgiri (Blue Mountains), form part of the Western Ghats in western Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala states in Southern India. At least 24 of the Nilgiri mountains' peaks are above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), the highest peak being Doddabetta, at 2,637 metres (8,652 ft).

The lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), or the wanderoo, is an Old World monkey endemic to the Western Ghats of South India.

The hair of the lion-tailed macaque is black. Its outstanding characteristic is the silver-white mane which surrounds the head from the cheeks down to its chin, which gives this monkey its German name Bartaffe - "beard ape". The hairless face is black in colour. - in: wikipedia

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary

This park is home of a great variety of wildlife, including many rare and endangered species, such as these lovely little monkeys 

Manas National Park or Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is a national park, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve in Assam, India.

The sanctuary has recorded 55 species of mammals, 380 species of birds, 50 of reptiles, and 3 species of amphibians. 

The fauna of the sanctuary include Indian elephants, Indian rhinoceros, gaurs, Asian water buffaloes, barasingha, Indian tigers, Indian leopards, clouded leopards, Asian golden cats, dholes, capped langurs, golden langurs, Assamese macaques, slow loris, hoolock gibbons, smooth-coated otters, sloth bears, barking deers, hog deers, black panthers, sambar deers and chitals. - in: wikipedia

Hoolock Gibbon in Manas National Park

This postcard was sent by Vinay

The hoolock gibbons are three primate species of genus Hoolock in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae, native to eastern Bangladesh, Northeast India and Southwest China.

In northeast India, the hoolock is found south of Brahmaputra and east of the Dibang Rivers. - in: wikipedia

Golden Langur in Manas National Park

This postcard was sent by Col Akhil

Gee's golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), or simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey found in a small region of western Assam, India and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan. It is one of the most endangered primate species of India. Long considered sacred by many Himalayan people, the golden langur was first brought to the attention of the western world by the naturalist E. P. Gee in the 1950s. - in: wikipedia

Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area

This park is characterized by high alpine peaks, alpine meadows and riverine forests

Great Himalayan National Park

This postcard was sent by Prashanth

The Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area is located in the western part of the Himalayan Mountains in the northern Indian State of Himachal Pradesh. The 90,540 ha property includes the upper mountain glacial and snow melt water source origins of the westerly flowing Jiwa Nal, Sainj and Tirthan Rivers and the north-westerly flowing Parvati River which are all headwater tributaries to the River Beas and subsequently, the Indus River. The property includes an elevational range from high alpine peaks of over 6,000m a.s.l to riverine forest at altitudes below 2,000m a.s.l. The Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area encompasses the catchments of water supplies which are vital to millions of downstream users.

Great Himalayan National Park

This postcard was sent by Vinay

The property lies within the ecologically distinct Western Himalayas at the junction between two of the world’s major biogeographic realms, the Palearctic and Indomalayan Realms. Displaying biotic elements from both these realms, the Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area protects the monsoon affected forests and alpine meadows of the Himalayan front ranges which sustain a unique biota comprised of many distinct altitude-sensitive ecosystems. The property is home to many plants and animals endemic to the region. The Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area displays distinct broadleaf and conifer forest types forming mosaics of habitat across steep valley side landscapes. It is a compact, natural and biodiverse protected area system that includes 25 forest types and an associated rich assemblage of fauna species. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1406