Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena

I really like this postcard! A perfect marriage between the military and the religious. Cartagena looks very beautiful

Minaret and San Pedro Claver Church

This postcard was sent by Claus

The Church of San Pedro Claver is a Colombian Catholic cult temple dedicated to San Pedro Claver, whose remains are in the church's altar. It is located on the corner of Calle 31 with Carrera 4, right in front of the Plaza de la Aduana, in the historic part of the city of Cartagena de Indias. 

The temple is part of a set of religious buildings which is complemented by the Cloister of San Pedro Claver and the archaeological museum. It was built between 1580 and 1654, under the parameters of the colonial buildings. It was originally known as Church of San Juan de Dios, from 1622 it was called church of San Ignacio de Loyola and now called San Pedro Claver. - in: wikipedia

National Archeological Park of Tierradentro

It's very curious to see how different can tombs be from place to place, from era to era, from one civilization to another civilization

National Park of Tierradentro 

This postcard was sent by Claus

Tierradentro is a National archeological park in the jurisdiction of the municipality of Inza, Departmentof Cauca, Colombia. The park is located 100 km away from the capital of the Department, Popayán.

The area is very well known for its pre-Columbian hypogea, which were found in several excavations, and are divided in many archeological places. some of them are: Alto del Aguacate (Avocado Hill), Alto de San Andrés, Alto de Segovia, Alto del Duende and El Tablón.

The pre-Columbian culture that created this funeral complex inhabited this area during the first millennium A.C. Tierradentro Archaeological park features hypogea dating from 6th to 9th centuries AD. The details in the sculptures and pictoric patterns are similar to the San Agustín culture. - in: wikipedia

Colonial City of Santo Domingo

I already had two or three postcards from Dominican Republic, brought by family and friends, all showing paradise beaches and finally I have two postcards of the only UNESCO site of the country, thanks to Marco!

Museo de las Casas Reales

 The Museo de las Casas Reales (English: Museum of the Royal Houses) is one of the important cultural monuments built during the colonial era in Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic. It is located in the Colonial district of Santo Domingo.

The building dates back to the sixteenth century, and was built to house the administrative offices of the Spanish colonies in the Americas.

The palace was built by orders of the Spanish Crown, represented by King Ferdinand II of Aragon, on October 5 of 1511 to house the main government offices of the colony in two interconnected buildings.

The original architectural structure has undergone a number of changes through the country's history. - in: wikipedia

National Pantheon

The National Pantheon was built from 1714-1746 by the Spaniard Geronimo Quezada y Garçon and was originally a Jesuit church. The structure was constructed in the neoclassic-renaissance style. Today the structure stands as a national symbol of the Dominican Republic and serves as the final resting place of the Republic's most honored citizens. - in: wikipedia

Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls

According to UNESCO these are among the most spectacular waterfalls in the world

Devil's Cataract

This postcard arrived from Canada and it was sent by Jason

The Mosi-oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls is the world’s greatest sheet of falling water and significant worldwide for its exceptional geological and geomorphological features and active land formation processes with outstanding beauty attributed to the falls i.e. the spray, mist and rainbows. This transboundary property extends over 6860 ha and comprises 3779 ha of the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park (Zambia), 2340 ha of Victoria Falls National Park (Zimbabwe), 741 ha of the riverine strip of Zambezi National Park (Zimbabwe). A riverine strip of the Zambezi National Park extending 9 km west along the right bank of the Zambezi and islands in the river are all within the Park as far as Palm and Kandahar Islands, with the Victoria Falls being one of the major attractions. The waterfall stands at an altitude of about 915 m above mean sea level (a.m.s.l.) and spans to about 1708 m wide with an average depth of 100 m and the deepest point being 108 m. Sprays from this giant waterfall can be seen from a distance of 30 km from the Lusaka road, Zambia and 50 km from Bulawayo road, Zimbabwe. Basalts have been cut by a river system producing a series of eightspectacular gorges that serve as breeding sites for four species of endangered birds. The basalts of the Victoria Falls World Heritage property are layered unlike those of the Giants Causeway World Heritage site which are vertical and columnar. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/509

I'm still missing a postcard from Zambia

Kunya-Urgench

This archaeological site, that was located in the Silk Road, comprises mosques, the gates of a caravanserai, fortresses, mausoleums and a minaret.

Minaret of Kutlug Timur and Mausoleum of Sultan Tekesh

This postcard was sent by Claus

Kutlug-Timur Minaret: This minaret is perhaps one of the most striking structures which remains standing at the site. It dates back to the 11th and 12th centuries, and it measures 60 meters in height, making it the highest monument in the park. Additionally, its diameter measures 12 meters at the base, and 2 at the top.

On the basis of its decorative brickwork, including Kufic inscriptions, the minaret is thought to be an earlier construction, only restored by Kutlug-Timur around 1330.

Tekesh Mausoleum: This structure is the presumed Tomb of Sultan Ala al-din Tekesh, the founder of the Khwarezm Empire and its ruler between 1172-1200. It has been identified as a mausoleum due to the tradition that each ancient Central Asian building is dedicated to a historical or mythical personage.

The building is made of bricks and consists of a square hall with walls which are 11,45 meters high, a massive round drum and a conical roof with an inner dome hidden under it. The dome is connected to the square walls it rests upon by an octagonal belt. The structure between the dome and the octagon is decorated with 16 shallow niches. - in: wikipedia

Climats, terroirs of Burgundy

Recently my wife and I spent a wonderful weekend in the Burgundy region. We visited Beaune and Dijon. Both cities are very beautiful, with a lot of monuments to see, but Beaune was my favourite. Not that big, not that popular but very charming! And of course, I tasted the wonderful wine! 

Burgundy Region

The climates are precisely delimited vineyard parcels on the slopes of the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune south of the city of Dijon. They differ from one another due to specific natural conditions (geology and exposure) as well as vine types and have been shaped by human cultivation. Over time they came to be recognized by the wine they produce. This cultural landscape consists of two parts. Firstly, the vineyards and associated production units including villages and the town of Beaune, which together represent the commercial dimension of the production system. The second part includes the historic centre of Dijon, which embodies the political regulatory impetus that gave birth to the climatssystem. The site is an outstanding example of grape cultivation and wine production developed since the High Middle Ages. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1425

Dijon

Dijon is a city in eastern France, capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

The city has retained varied architectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic and Renaissance. Many still-inhabited town houses in the city's central district date from the 18th century and earlier. Dijon architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons (Burgundian polychrome roofs) made of tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in geometric patterns. - in: wikipedia

Church of Notre-Dame of Dijon

The Church of Notre-Dame of Dijon is a Roman Catholic church in Dijon. Considered a masterpiece of 13th-century Gothic architecture, it is situated at the heart of the preserved old centre of the city. It is in Place Notre-Dame, near the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy and opposite the rue Musette.

Work on the church began around 1230. The church contains the statue of Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir, formerly called the Black Madonna. The church's decorations also include two symbols of Dijon: the jacquemart (bell-striking automaton) and the owl. - in: wikipedia

Hospices de Beaune

Beaune is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Paris and Geneva.

Beaune is one of the key wine centres in France and the annual wine auction of the Hospices de Beaune is the primary wine auction in France. The town is surrounded by some of the world's most famous wine villages, while the facilities and cellars of many producers, large and small, are situated in Beaune itself. With a rich historical and architectural heritage, Beaune is considered the "Capital of Burgundy wines". - in: wikipedia

Hospices de Beaune

The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune is a former charitable almshouse in Beaune, France. It was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, as a hospital for the poor. The original hospital building, the Hôtel-Dieu, one of the finest examples of French fifteenth-century architecture, is now a museum. Services for patients are now provided in modern hospital buildings.

An important charity wine auction is held in November each year (formerly in the great hall of the Hôtel-Dieu). - in: wikipedia

Château de Clos de Vougeot

Clos de Vougeot, also known as Clos Vougeot, is a wall-enclosed vineyard, a clos, in the Burgundy wine region, and an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for red wine from this vineyard. It was named for the River Vouge, which is in fact only a stream separating the village Vougeot from Chambolle-Musigny. At 50.6 hectares (125 acres), Clos de Vougeot is the largest single vineyard in Côte de Nuits entitled to the grand cru designation, while Corton in Côte de Beaune is the largest grand cru in Burgundy as a whole.

Château de Clos de Vougeot, situated inside the wall, was added in 1551 by rebuilding and enlarging a small chapel and some other buildings previously existing at the site. From 1945, this building has served as headquarters of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin. - in: wikipedia

Burgundy Barrels

Burgundy wine (French: Bourgogne or vin de Bourgogne) is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here—those commonly referred to as "Burgundies"—are dry red wines made from Pinot noir grapes and white wines made from Chardonnay grapes. - in: wikipedia

Doñana National Park

360 species of birds can be found in Doñana National Park, among them these beautiful flamingos. 

Flamingos in Doñana National Park

This postcard was sent by Reyes

Doñana National Park is a natural reserve in Andalusia, southern Spain, in the provinces of Huelva and Seville. It covers 543 km² (209.65 sq mi), of which 135 km² (52.12 sq mi) are a protected area. The park is an area of marshes, shallow streams, and sand dunes in Las Marismas, the delta where the Guadalquivir River flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Doñana National Park has a biodiversity that is unique in Europe, although there are some similarities to the Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue of the Camargue river delta in France, with which Doñana Park is twinned. The park features a great variety of ecosystems and shelters wildlife including thousands of European and African migratory birds, fallow deer, Spanish red deer, wild boars, European badgers, Egyptian mongooses, and endangered species such as the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx. - in: wikipedia