Historic Centre of São Luís

I already said before that I don't like that much of postcards of paintings but if it's loyal to the original I'm happy to have it. Still, when I can a get a postcard with a real image

São Luís Cathedral and Leões Palace

This postcard was sent by Luzia

São Luís (Saint Louis) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The city is located on Ilha de São Luís (Saint Louis' Island) in the Baía de São Marcos (Saint Mark's Bay), an extension of the Atlantic Ocean which forms the estuary of Pindaré, Mearim, Itapecuru and other rivers.

Originally the town was a large village of the Tupinambá tribe. The first Europeans to see it were the French, in 1612, who intended to make it the center of a colony named Equinoctial France. They built a fort named Saint-Louis de Maragnan after King Louis XIII and his Saintly ancestor Louis IX. 

São Luís - Rua Portugal

This postcard was sent by Paulo

The settlement was conquered for Portugal by Jerônimo de Albuquerque in 1615, when it was renamed São Luís. There had been little time for the French to build a city, a fact which has led to some controversy as to the actual date of the founding of the city, whether by the French or the Portuguese. In 1641, the city was invaded by the Dutch, who left in 1645. In 1677, the city was made the seat of the new Roman Catholic Diocese of São Luís do Maranhão.

São Luís is known for its tiles which most buildings in the historical centre are covered in. Because of it the city is also known as "The Tiles City". - in: wikipedia

Archaeological Zone of Paquimé, Casas Grandes

This was one of my first postcards  from Mexico

Paquimé

This postcard was sent by Carlos

The archaeological zone of Paquimé is located in the Municipality of Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico. It is located at the foot of the Sierra Madre Occidental range near the headwaters of the Casas Grandes River. It is estimated to contain the remains of some 2,000 rooms in clusters of living rooms, workshops and stores, with patios. The predominant building material is unfired clay (adobe); stone is used for specific purposes, such as the lining of pits, a technique from central Mexico. The archaeological zone is distinguished by its impressive buildings in earthen architecture, mostly residential building structures that originally must have been several stories high and the remains of ceremonial monuments which have earthen architecture with masonry coatings. There are remains from of hundreds of rooms, with doors in a "T" shape and the prehispanic site still maintains its original planning on three axes: axis of housing units, the axis of squares, and the axis of ceremonial buildings. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/560

Earliest 16th-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl

This site is a group of 15 monasteries built by the Augustinians, the Franciscans and the Dominicans in order to evangelize the areas south and east of the Popocatépetl volcano

Tercera Orden Chapel

This postcard was sent by Marco

The cathedral complex is located in the historical center of the city of Cuernavaca, but unlike other Mexican cities, this most-important church is not on the main plaza but instead just south of it on the corner of Hidalgo and Morelos Streets. The complex consists of a walled compound with the main church, the cloister and several chapels/small churches.

The most important of the other chapels in the complex is the capilla abierta (open chapel) which is dedicated to Saint Joseph.

The next most important chapel in the complex is the Tercera Orden Chapel (Capilla de la Tercera Orden), built the northwest corner of the complex in 1722 by Enrique de Jeres, a Franciscan monk. It would later have a seminary installed in one of its annexes by the first bishop of Cuernavaca, which would become one of the most important educational institutions in the city in the 19th century. This chapel was constructed in a style called popular Baroque along with Churringuersque. The facade has sculptures of angels and saints, some with indigenous headdresses. The bell tower has two levels but it is not tall. - in: wikipedia

The monasteries (in red what I have):

• Temple and Former Convent of Saint Mathhew the Apostle, Municipality of Atlatlauhcan, State of Morelos
• Temple and Former Convent of the Assomption, Cuernavaca Cathedral, Municipality of Cuernavaca, State of Morelos
• Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic de Guzman, Hueyapan, Municipality of Tetela del Volcan, State of Morelos
• Temple and Former Convent of Saint Dominic de Guzman, Municipality of Ocuituco, State of Morelos,
• Temple and Former Convent of Saint James the Apostle, Municipality of Ocuituco, State of Morelos,
• Ancient Convent of the Nativity, Municipality of Tepoztlan, State of Morelos
• Temple and Former Convent of Saint John the Baptist, Municipality of Tetela del Volcan, State of Morelos
• Temple and Former Convent of Saint John the Baptist, Municipality of Tlayacapan, State of Morelos
• Temple and Former Convent of Saint William, Municipality of Totolapan, State of Morelos,
• Temple and Former Convent of Saint John the Baptist, Municipality of Yecapixtla, State of Morelos
• Temple and Former Convent of the Immaculate Conception, Municipality of Zacualpan de Amilpas, State of Morelos
• Temple and Former Convent of Saint Andrew, Municipality of Calpan, State of Puebla
• Temple and Former Convent of Saint Michael the Archangel, Municipality of Huejotzingo, State of Puebla
• Temple and Former Convent of the Assumption of Our Lady, Municipality of Tochimilco, State of Puebla
• Franciscan Ensemble of the Monastery and Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Tlaxcala

Sagarmatha National Park

I received 4 postcards of 4 different expeditions to the Everest. After a lot of research I'm confident to say that these two are from Nepal and the other two are from China. So I'm almost sure that these two show some place within Sagarmatha National Park 

1935 Mount Everest  Expedition

Including the highest point on the Earth’s Surface, Mount Sagarmatha (Everest; 8,848 m) and an elevation range of 6,000 m Sagarmatha National Park (SNP) covers an area of 124,400 hectares in the Solu-Khumbu district of Nepal. An exceptional area with dramatic mountains, glaciers, deep valleys and seven peaks other than Mount Sagarmatha over 7,000 m the park is home to several rare species such as the snow leopard and the red panda. A well-known destination for mountain tourism SNP was gazetted in 1976 and with over 2,500 Sherpa people living within the park has combined nature and culture since its inception.

1953 Mount Everest Expedition

Encompassing the infinitely majestic snow capped peaks of the Great Himalayan Range, the chain of mountains including the world’s highest Mt. Sagarmatha (Everest) and extensive Sherpa settlements that embody the openness of SNP to the rest of the world. The carefully preserved natural heritage and the dramatic beauty of the high, geologically young mountains and glaciers were recognized by UNESCO with the inscription of the park as a world heritage site in 1979. The property hosts over 20 villages with over 6000 Sherpas who have inhabited the region for the last four centuries. Continuing their traditional practice of cultural and religion including the restriction of animal hunting and slaughtering, and reverence of all living beings. These practices combined with indigenous natural resource management practices, have been major contributing factors to the successful conservation of the SNP. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/120/

Chitwan National Park

I already have 2 or 3 postcards from different countries with rhinos, but I don't mind, I love them all! Hope they never go extinct 

One-horned Rhino at Chitwan National Park

This postcard arrived from Australia sent by Helen

Chitwan National Park (formerly Royal Chitwan National Park) is the first national park in Nepal. It was established in 1973 and granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of 932 km2 (360 sq mi) and is located in the subtropical Inner Terai lowlands of south-central Nepal in the districts of Nawalparasi, Parsa, Chitwan and Makwanpur.

The wide range of vegetation types in the Chitwan National Park is haunt of more than 700 species of wildlife and a not yet fully surveyed number of butterfly, moth and insect species.

The Chitwan National Park is home to at least 68 species of mammals. The "king of the jungle" is the Bengal tiger. Chitwan has the largest population of Indian rhinoceros in Nepal, estimated at 605 individuals out of 645 in total in the country. - in: Wikipedia 

Garamba National Park

This park is home to four large mammals: the elephant, giraffe, hippopotamus and above all the white rhinoceros

Rhinoceros at Garamba National Park

This postcard arrived from Indonesia sent by Jennifer

Garamba National Park, located in Orientale Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, was established in 1938. One of Africa's oldest National parks, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. Garamba is (or at least was) the home to the world's last known wild population of Northern White Rhinoceros. Due to poaching of the rhinos within the park, it was added to the list of World Heritage in Danger in 1996. The park is also well known for its African elephant domestication programme started in the 1960s, which managed to train tourist-rideable animals. The park is currently managed by African Parks Network, a non-profit conservation organisation. - in: Wikipedia

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

This is the largest prehistoric earthen construction in the Americas north of Mexico

Cahokia Mounds State

Located in Collinsville, Illinois near the city of St. Louis, this largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico is the pre-eminent example of a cultural, religious, and economic centre of the Mississippian culture (800–1350), which extended throughout the Mississippi Valley and the south-eastern United States. This agricultural society may have had a population of 10,000–20,000 at its peak between 1050 and 1150, which was equivalent to the population of many European cities at that time. It once covered more than 1,600 hectares and included some 120 mounds. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/198

Monks Mound

Monks Mound is the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in the Americas and the largest pyramid north of Mesoamerica. The beginning of its construction dates from 900-955 CE. Located at the Cahokia Mounds UNESCO World Heritage Site near Collinsville, Illinois, the mound size was calculated in 1988 as about 100 feet (30 m) high, 955 feet (291 m) long including the access ramp at the southern end, and 775 feet (236 m) wide. This makes Monks Mound roughly the same size at its base as the Great Pyramid of Giza (13.1 acres / 5.3 hectares). Its base circumference is larger than the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan. As a platform mound, the earthwork supported a wooden structure on the summit. - in: wikipedia