2009-09-20 ~ Abhishek's PostCrossing Journey

Monday, September 21, 2009

Strasbourg, France

France-7, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in northeastern France.Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Île ("Grand Island"), was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honor was placed on an entire city centre.Grande Île, the historic centre of Strasbourg, France, is an island in the Ill River.Aside from the Strasbourg Cathedral—the world's fourth-tallest church and an ornate example of 15-century gothic architecture—Grand Île is home to four other centuries-old churches: St. Thomas, St. Pierre-le-Vieux, St. Pierre-le-Jeune, and St. Étienne. You can see Strasbourg Cathedral in the picture.

La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

Switzerland-7, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

La Chaux-de-Fonds is the capital city of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers from the French border. After Geneva and Lausanne, it is the third largest city in the French-speaking part of the country.
The watch making cities of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle have jointly received recognition from UNESCO for their exceptional universal value.

The Clock Tower, Sighişoara, Romania

Romania-2, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

The Sighisoara Citadel is the old historic center of the town of Sighişoara, Romania, built in the 12th century by Saxon colonists under the Latin name Castrum Sex. It is an inhabited medieval citadel that, in 1999, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its 850-year-old testament to the history and culture of the Transylvanian Saxons.

Wooden Churches Of Maramureş, Romania

Romania-4, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

The Maramureş wooden churches in Northern Transylvania are a selection of eight examples of different architectural solutions from different periods and areas. They are Orthodox or Romanian Greek-Catholic churches. They are high timber constructions with characteristic tall, slim bell towers at the western end of the building. They are a particular vernacular expression of the cultural landscape of this mountainous area of northern Romania.
Maramureş is one of the better-known regions of Romania, with autonomous traditions since the Middle Ages - but still not much visited. Its well-preserved wooden villages and churches, its traditional lifestyle, and the local colourful dresses still in use make Maramureş as near to a living museum as can be found in Europe.

Danube Delta, Romania

Romania-5, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

The Danube Delta is the second largest delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine (Odessa Oblast). The approximate surface is 4152 km², of which 3446 km² are in Romania. If the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1015 km² of which 865 km² water surface; situated in the south, but attached to the Danube Delta from geological and ecological perspectives, as well as being the combined territory of the World Heritage Site) are to be added, the considered area of the Danube Delta grows to 5165 km².

Churches of Moldavia, Romania

Romania-3, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

The painted churches of northern Moldavia are seven Romanian Orthodox churches in Suceava County, Romania in northern Moldavia, built approximately between 1487 and 1532.

Church of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist
Church of the Assumption of the Virgin of the former Humor Monastery
The Church of the Annunciation of the Moldovita Monastery
Church of the Holy Rood of Patrauti
Church of St. Nicholas and the Catholicon of the Probota Monastery
Church of St. George
Church of St George of the former Voronet Monastery

In picture (clockwise from left ):

1) Probota Monastery
2) Bogdana Monastery
3) Moldovita Monastery

Tripoli, Libya

Libya-4, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Tripoli is the largest and capital city of Libya.
It is the largest city, the principal sea port, and the largest commercial and manufacturing centre in Libya. It is also the site of Al-Fateh University. Due to the city's long history, there are many sites of archaeological significance in Tripoli.

Sabratha, Libya

Libya-6, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Sabratha, Sabratah or Siburata in the Az Zawiyah District in the northwestern corner of modern Libya, was the westernmost of the "three cities" of Tripolis. From 2001 to 2007 it was the capital of the former Sabratha Wa Surman District. It lies on the Mediterranean coast about 65km (40 miles) west of Tripoli (ancient Oea). The extant archaeological site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.

Sabratha's port was established, perhaps about 500 BC, as a Phoenician trading-post that served as a coastal outlet for the products of the African hinterland. Sabratha became part of the short-lived Numidian Kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The Emperor Septimus Severus was born nearby in Leptis Magna, and Sabratha reached its monumental peak during the rule of the Severans. The city was badly damaged by earthquakes during the 4th century, particularly the quake of AD 365. It was rebuilt on a more modest scale by Byzantine governors. Within a hundred years of the Arab conquest of the maghreb, trade had shifted to other ports and Sabratha dwindled to a village.

Septimius Severus, Leptis Magna, Libya

Libya-2, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Lucius Septimius Severus (or rarely Severus I) (11 April, 145 – 4 February, 211) was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 14 April, 193 until his death in 211. Severus was the first emperor of the troubled Severan dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of the Roman principate before the Crisis of the Third Century. The Severan house included the emperors Septimius Severus, his sons Geta and Caracalla (r. 211–217), and their cousins once removed Elagabalus and Alexander Severus (r. 218–235), successively.
Septimius Severus was born at Leptis Magna in what is now the Libyan part of Rome's historic Africa Province, and thus was the first emperor in Roman history to hail from outside the European continent. As a young man, Severus advanced through the customary succession of offices under the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Commodus.

Leptis Magna, Libya

Libya-3, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Leptis Magna, also known as Lectis Magna (or Lepcis Magna as it is sometimes spelled), also called Lpqy or Neapolis, was a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Its ruins are located in Al Khums, Libya, 130 km east of Tripoli, on the coast where the Wadi Lebda meets the sea. The site is one of the most spectacular and unspoiled Roman ruins in the Mediterranean.

Arch of Marcus Aurelius, Tripoli, Libya

Libya-5, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Built in 163 AD in the Greek style this arch straddles the decumanus maximus and the cardo-maximus in the ancient Roman city of Oea which is now Tripoli. Besides Roman columns re-used in newer buildings in the medina, this is the only exisring Roman monument in the city.

Ghadames, Libya

Libya-7, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Ghadames or Ghadamis is an oasis town in the west of Libya. It lies roughly 549 km in the southwest of Tripoli, near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia.
The oasis has a population of 7000 Tuareg Berbers. The old part of the town, which is surrounded by a wall, has been declared World Heritage of the UNESCO. Each of the seven clans that used to live in this part of the town had its own district, of which each had a public place where festivals could be held.