Abhishek's PostCrossing Journey

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Churche of St. Theresa, Gates of the Basilian Monastery, Vilnius, Lithuania

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

Vilnius is the largest city and the capital of Lithuania. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County. Currently Vilnius is the European Capital of Culture of 2009 together with Linz, Austria.
Although Vilnius is known as a Baroque city, there are examples of Gothic (e.g. St Anne's Church), Renaissance, and other styles. Their combination is also a gateway to the historic centre of the capital. Owing to its uniqueness, the Old Town of Vilnius was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.

Kursiu Nerija from ""bird" view, Curonian Spit, Lithuania

Lithuania-1, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

The Curonian Spit is a 98 km long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Ohrid, Macedonia

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

Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year, and is referred to as the Macedonian Jerusalem. The city is rich in picturesque houses and monuments, and tourism is predominant. It is located southwest of Skopje, west of Resen and Bitola, and east of Elbasan and Tirana in Albania.

Royal Park,- Fountain of the Dolphins, Italy

Italy-39, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

The Royal Palace of Caserta, in Italian Reggia di Caserta, is a former royal residence in Caserta, constructed for the Bourbon kings of Naples. It was the largest palace and probably the largest building erected in Europe in the eighteenth century.
The garden, a typical example of the baroque extension of formal vistas, stretch for 120 ha, partly on hilly terrain. It is inspired by the park of Versailles, but it is commonly regarded as superior in beauty. The park starts from the back façade of the palace, flanking a long alley with artificial fountains and cascades.

S. Vitale Basilica, Ravenna, Italy

Italy-38, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Ravenna is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The city is inland, but is connected to the Adriatic Sea by a canal. Ravenna once served as the seat of the Western Roman Empire and later the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna. It is presently the capital of the Province of Ravenna. At 652.89 km² (252.08 sq mi), Ravenna is the second-largest comune in land area in Italy, although it is only a little more than half the size of the largest, Rome.

Pompeii , Italy

Italy-37, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, its sister city, Pompeii was destroyed, and completely buried, during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in AD 79.
The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under 60 feet of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, it is both one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with 2,571,725 visitors in 2007,and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Parco del Delta del Po, Italy

Italy-35, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Parco del Delta del Po is a protected wetlands region in the Po delta consisting of four parcels of land on the right bank of the Po and to the south. In 1999 the park was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and was added to "Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta."

Siamese Trullo, Alberobello, Italy

Italy-36, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Alberobello is a small town and comune in the province of Bari, in Puglia, Italy. The Trulli of Alberobello are part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1996.

The Baroque church of San Pietro Caveoso, Matera,Italy

Italy-34, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

Matera is a town and a province in the region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Matera.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Roman amphitheatre of Carthage, Tunisia

Spain-9, originally uploaded by Abhishek's Received Postcards.

As per UNESCO WHS website:

Carthage was founded in the 9th century B.C. on the Gulf of Tunis. From the 6th century onwards, it developed into a great trading empire covering much of the Mediterranean and was home to a brilliant civilization. In the course of the long Punic wars, Carthage occupied territories belonging to Rome, which finally destroyed its rival in 146 B.C. A second – Roman – Carthage was then established on the ruins of the first.