Friday, January 30, 2009

Madara Rider, Bulgaria


Bulgaria-1-1, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The Madara Rider or Madara Horseman is an early medieval large rock relief carved on the Madara Plateau east of Shumen in northeastern Bulgaria, near the village of Madara.

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Nesebar, Bulgaria


Bulgaria-1-3, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

Nesebar is an ancient city and a major seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, located in Nesebar municipality, Burgas Province. Often referred to as the "Pearl of the Black Sea" and "Bulgaria's Dubrovnik", Nesebar is a rich city-museum defined by more than three millennia of ever-changing history.

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Rila Monastery, Bulgaria


Bulgaria-1-2, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria.

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La Giralda, Seville, Spain


Spain-2-2, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The Giralda in Seville is one of three remaining Almohad minarets in the world (the others are in Marrakesh and Rabat, Morocco).
The beautiful structure became the bell tower of Seville Cathedral after the Reconquista and it dominates the city's skyline.

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Historic Centre of Cordoba, Spain


Spain-2-1, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

Cordova is a city in Andalusia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba.Cordoba's period of greatest glory began in the 8th century after the Moorish conquest, when some 300 mosques and innumerable palaces and public buildings were built to rival the splendours of Constantinople, Damascus and Baghdad. In the 13th century, under Ferdinand III, the Saint, Cordoba's Great Mosque was turned into a cathedral and new defensive structures, particularly the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos and the Torre Fortaleza de la Calahorra, were erected.

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Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Thailand


Thailand-2-2, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The three bell-shaped chedis of Wat Phra Si Sanphet have practically become a symbol of Ayutthaya. The temple stands almost in the center of the main area of the old capital.
Wat Phra Si Sanphet was built by King Boromatrailokanat in 1448. It was reportedly one of the grandest temples in the ancient capital, and it is still one of the best preserved on the island.

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Wat Pho, Thailand


Thailand-2-3, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

Wat Pho, also known as Wat Phra Chetuphon or The Temple of the Reclining Buddha, is a Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand, located in the Rattanakosin district directly adjacent to the Grand Palace. Its official full name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn. The temple is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.

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The Sukhothai Historical Park,Thailand


Thailand-2-1, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The Sukhothai Historical Park covers the ruins of Sukhothai, capital of the Sukhothai kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries,[1] in what is now the north of Thailand. It is located near the modern city of Sukhothai, capital of the province with the same name.

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St Mark's Basilica, Italy


Italy-6, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

Saint Mark's Basilica (Italian: Basilica di San Marco a Venezia), the cathedral of Venice, is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. It lies on St Mark's Square (in the San Marco sestiere or district) adjacent and connected to the Doge's Palace. Originally it was the "chapel" of the Venetian rulers, and not the city's cathedral. Since 1807 it has been the seat of the Patriarch of Venice, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice.

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Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Italy


Italy-5, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls or St Paul-without-the-Walls is one of four churches considered to be the great ancient basilicas of Rome. The Roman Catholic Church counts among them St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Peter's. Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, named in 2005, is the current archpriest of this basilica.

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Petäjävesi Old Church, Finland


Finland-2, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The wooden church of Petäjävesi was built between 1763 and 1765. UNESCO considered it to be a representative Lutheran church of the Scandinavian tradition, mixing Renaissance with older Gothic elements.

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Forbidden City, China


China-5, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

Birds-eye view of palace complex.
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.

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Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, USA


USA-13, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

Old Faithful is a cone geyser located in Wyoming, in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Old Faithful was named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to receive a name.

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Banaue Rice Terraces, Philippines


Philippines-3, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The Banaue Rice Terraces are 2000-year old terraces that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the Batad indigenous people. The Rice Terraces are commonly referred to by Filipinos as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". It is commonly thought that the terraces were built with minimal equipment, largely by hand. The terraces are located approximately 1500 meters (5000 ft) above sea level and cover 10,360 square kilometers (about 4000 square miles) of mountainside. They are fed by an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. It is said that if the steps are put end to end it would encircle half the globe.

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Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (Temple of Haven), China


China-7, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The highlight of the Temple of Heaven is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. The hall was originally built in 1420 based on a model of the Temple of Heaven and Earth in Nanjing. At that time, it was called the Hall of Great Sacrifice. In 1530, the Temple of Earth was built in the northern part of Beijing, so only heaven was worshipped here. The hall was restored in 1751 and given its present name. In 1889, lightning caused extensive fire damage to the hall, but fortunately it was reconstructed.

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The Tower of Buddhist Incense, China


China-6, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The Tower of Buddhist Incense is the symbol of the Summer Palace and an elaborate work of classical architecture. The three-storied tower, situated on a hill, is about 40 meters (131 feet) high and has a complicated structure. It has eight facades and quadruple-layered eaves, and the whole is supported by eight pillars of lignum vitae wood. It is the center of Summer Palace, with buildings distributed symmetrically around its base. The Precious Cloud Pavilion (Baoyunge) to the west of the tower, made out of 207 tons (456,357 pounds) of bronze, is exquisite and noteworthy.

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Museum Island, Germany


Germany-6, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

Museum Island in Berlin, Germany is the name of the northern half of the Spreeinsel, an island in the Spree river in the centre of the city.
The island received its name for several internationally renowned museums that now occupy all of the island's northern half.

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Villa Tugendhat, Czech Republic

The Villa Tugendhat is considered a masterpiece of the German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Built in 1930 in Brno, in today's Czech Republic, for Fritz Tugendhat and his wife Greta, the villa soon became an icon of modern architecture. A modern minimalist home a humble father of the modern minimalist fabs.

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The Great Wall of China


China-4, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

"The Great Wall of China" is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Xiongnu attacks during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.

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Mayon Volcano, Philippines


Philippines-2, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

Mayon Volcano is an active stratovolcano in the province of Albay, in the Bicol Region, on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines.

Renowned as the "Perfect Cone" because of its almost perfectly conical shape, Mayon is situated 15 kilometres northwest of Legazpi City.

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Old Town of Lijiang, China


China-9, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The Old Town of Lijiang is a famous UNESCO Heritage Site located in Lijiang City, Yunnan, China.
The Lijiang old town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges. The old town of Lijiang differs from other ancient Chinese cities in architecture, history and the culture of its traditional residents

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Map card of the State Michigan,USA


USA-14, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

Also known as the Great Lake State because its surrounded by four great lakes.
* State bird: American Robin
* State animal: Wolverine
* State game animal: White-tailed deer
* State fish: Brook trout
* State reptile: Painted Turtle
* State fossil: Mastodon
* State flower: Apple blossom
* State wildflower: Dwarf Lake Iris
* State tree: White pine
* State stone: Petoskey stone
* State gem: Isle Royale greenstone
* State soil: Kalkaska Sand

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Torii of Itsukushima, Japan


Japan-1, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

The Torii, or Gateway, at Miyajima Island is a classic and beloved icon of Japan, as well as a condensed essence of traditional Japanese architectural expression. This grand wooden gateway, both sturdy and graceful, sits in the tidal flats before the historic Buddist temple complex of Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima island, in the same region as the city of Hiroshima in Japan.

Built on axis with the sea-facing shrine, the gate serves to welcome spirits of the departed as they come in across the water of Japan's Inland Sea. At low tide, visitors walk around the great columns of the structure, measuring its great size against the human body. At high tide, the rugged vermillion gateway seems to float in the waves around it, a gateway for boats, or for spirits indeed.

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Batalha Monastery, Portugal


Portugal-4, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

Batalha Monastery (Mosteiro Santa Maria da Vitória), is a Dominican monastery in the Portuguese town of Batalha, in the District of Leiria, Portugal. It is one of the best and original examples of Late Gothic architecture in Portugal, intermingled with the Manueline style. It amazes the onlooker with its profusion of gables, spires, pinnacles and buttresses. It has become a symbol of national pride.

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Aerial View of Toronto,Canada


Canada-1, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Postcard World.

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