Tanzania - Tarangire National Park

Baobab Suset Tarangire.

Sent by Hamad, a TravBuddy friend from Arusha, Tanzania.

Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania after Ruaha, Serengeti, Mikumi, Katavi and Mkomazi. The national park is located in Manyara Region. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire river that crosses through the park, being the only source of water for wild animals during dry seasons. During the dry season thousands of animals migrate to the Tarangire National Park from Manyara National Park.

It lies a little distance to the south east of Lake Manyara and covers an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometers(1,100 square miles.) The landscape and vegetation is incredibly diverse with a mix that is not found anywhere else in the northern safari circuit. The hilly landscape is dotted with vast numbers of Baobab trees, dense bush and high grasses.

The park is famous for its huge number of elephants, baobab trees and tree climbing lions. Visitors to the park can expect to see any number of resident zebra and wildebeest in addition to the less common animals. Other common animals includewaterbuck, giraffe, and olive baboons.

Home to more than 550 species, the park is a haven for bird enthusiasts who can expect so see dozens of species even in the dry season. The swamps are the focus of the largest selection of breeding birds anywhere in the world. Yellow-collared Lovebirds are a common bird sighting in the trees along the Tarangire River.

The park is also famous for the termite mounds that dot the landscape. Those that have been abandoned are often seen to be home to dwarf mongoose. (Source)

Tanzania - Ngorongoro Conservation Area (4)

Zebras drinking, Ngorongoro Crater.

Sent by Hamad, a TravBuddy friend from Arusha, Tanzania.

Tanzania - Ngorongoro Conservation Area (3)

Buffalos chasing lions in Ngorongoro Crater.

Sent by Hamad, a TravBuddy friend from Arusha, Tanzania.

Tanzania - Ngorongoro Conservation Area (2)

Zebra in Lerai Forest.

Sent by Hamad, a TravBuddy friend from Arusha, Tanzania.

Germany - Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps

Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Sent by Michaela, a postcrosser from Germany.

This serial property of 111 small individual sites encompasses the remains of prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements in and around the Alps built from around 5000 to 500 B.C. on the edges of lakes, rivers or wetlands. Excavations, only conducted in some of the sites, have yielded evidence that provides insight into life in prehistoric times during the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Alpine Europe and the way communities interacted with their environment. Fifty-six of the sites are located in Switzerland. The settlements are a unique group of exceptionally well-preserved and culturally rich archaeological sites, which constitute one of the most important sources for the study of early agrarian societies in the region. (Source)

Pixar Movies - Toy Story 3 (2010)

Toy Story 3, 2010.

Sent by Jessica, a postcrosser from Netherlands.

Tanzania - Ngorongoro Conservation Area (1)

A Maasai Dancing, Ngorongoro.

Sent by Hamad, TravBuddy friend from Arusha,Tanzania.

The open plains of the eastern Serengeti rise to the crater highlands of the volcanic massifs of Loolmalasin (3,587 m) and Oldeani (3,168 m) dating from the late Mesozoic and early Tertiary.

Ngorongoro Crater is one of the largest inactive unbroken calderas in the world which is unflooded. It has a mean diameter of 16-19 km, a crater floor of 26,400 ha, and a rim soaring to 400-610 m above the crater floor. The formation of the crater and other highlands are associated with the massive rifting which occurred to the west of the Gregory Rift Valley. The conservation area also includes Empakaai Crater and Olduvai Gorge, famous for geology and associated palaeontological studies.

A variable climate and diverse landforms and altitudes have resulted in several distinct habitats. Scrub heath and the remains of dense montane forests cover the steep slopes. The crater floor is mainly open grassy plains with alternating fresh and brackish water lakes, swamps and two patches of acacia woodland; Lerai Forest, comprising dominant tree species Acacia xanthonhloea and Rauvolfia caffra .

A population of about 25,000 large animals lives in the crater, mainly ungulates, along with the highest density of mammalian predators in Africa. They include the critically endangered black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis , which have declined from about 108 in 1964-66 to between 11-14 in 1995, and hippopotamus, which are very uncommon in the area. There are also many other ungulates: wildebeest (7,000 estimated in 1994), Burchell's zebra (4,000), eland, Grant's and Thomson's gazelles (3,000). The crater has the densest known population of lion, which are classed as vulnerable, numbering only 62 in 2001. On the crater rim are leopard and the endangered African elephant, numbering 42 in 1987 but only 29 in 1992, mountain reedbuck and buffalo (4,000 in 1994). However, since the 1980s the crater's wildebeest population has fallen by a quarter to about 19,000 and the numbers of eland and Thomson's gazelle have also declined whereas buffalos increased greatly, probably due to the prevention of fire which favours high fibrous grasses over shorter, less fibrous types.

In summer enormous numbers of Serengeti migrants pass through the plains of the reserve, including 1.7 million wildebeest, 260,000 zebra and 470,000 gazelle. Waterbuck mainly occur mainly near Lerai Forest; serval widely in the crater and on the plains to the west. Common in the reserve are lion, hartebeest, spotted hyena and jackal. Cheetah, classed as vulnerable although common in the reserve, are scarce in the crater itself. The endangered wild dog Lycaon pictus has recently disappeared from the crater and may have declined elsewhere in the Conservation Area as well. The golden cat has recently been seen in the Ngorongoro forest.

Ngorongoro has palaeontological and archaeological sites over a wide range of dates. The four major sites are Olduvai Gorge, Laetoli site, Lake Ndutu site and the Nasera Rock Shelter. The variety and richness of the fossil remains, including those of early hominids, has made this one of the major areas in the world for research on the human evolution. Olduvai Gorge has produced valuable remains of early hominids includingAustralopithecus and Homo habilis as well as fossil bones of many extinct animals. Nearby, at Laetoli, are fossil hominid footprints from the Pliocene age.

Actually there is considerable controversy about the exact number of people in the NCA partly because pastoral people, being mobile, are difficult to enumerate, but some Maasai live there. (Source)

Laos - Vientiane - Stupa Tha Luang

Vientiane - Stupa Tha Luang or Pha That Luang.

Sent by Jan of Lonely Planet who visited Laos.

Pha That Luang is a gold-covered large Buddhist stupa in the centre ofVientiane, Laos. Since its initial establishment suggested to be in the 3rd century, the stupa has undergone several reconstructions until the 1930s due to foreign invasions to the area. It is generally regarded as the most important national monument in Laos and a national symbol.

Pha That Luang according to the Lao people was originally built as a Hindu temple in the 3rd century. Buddhist missionaries from the Mauryan Empire are believed to have been sent by the Emperor Ashoka, including Bury Chan or Praya Chanthabury Pasithisak and five Arahata monks who brought a holy relic (believed to be the breast bone) of LordBuddha to the stupa. It was rebuilt in the 13th century as a Khmer temple which fell into ruin

In the mid-16th century, King Setthathirat relocated his capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane and ordered construction of Pha That Luang in 1566.  It was rebuilt about 4 km from the centre of Vientiane at the end of That Luang Road and named Pha That Luang. The bases had a length of 69 metres each and was 45 metres high, and was surrounded by 30 small Stupas.

In 1641, a Dutch envoy of the Dutch East India Company, Gerrit van Wuysoff, visited Vientiane and was received by King Sourigna Vongsa at the temple, where he was, reportedly, received in a magnificent ceremony. He wrote that he was particularly impressed by the "enormous pyramid and the top was covered with gold leaf weighing about a thousand pounds". However, the stupa was repeatedly plundered by the Burmese, Siamese and Chinese. 

Pha That Luang was destroyed by the Thai invasion in 1828, which left it heavily damaged and left abandoned. It was not until 1900, when the French restored to its original design based on the detailed drawings from 1867 by the French architect and explorer Louis Delaporte. However the first attempt to restore it was unsuccessful and it had to be redesigned and then reconstructed in the 1930s. During Franco-Thai war Pha That Luang was heavily damaged from Thais air raid. After the End of World War II Pha That Luang has been newly reconstructed. (Source)

France - Limousin - Celebration Costumes

Regional celebration costumes.

Sent by dams87, a postcrosser from Limoges, France.

Limousin (French pronunciation: [limuzɛ̃] (Occitan: Lemosin) is one of the 27 regions of France. It is composed of threedépartements: Corrèze, Creuse and the Haute-Vienne.

Situated largely in the Massif Central, as of January 1, 2010, the Limousin comprised 742,771 inhabitants on nearly 17,000 km², making it the second least populated region of France after Corsica.

Forming part of the South-West of France, Limousin is bordered by the regions Centre to the north, Poitou-Charentes and Aquitaineto the west, Midi-Pyrénées to the south and Auvergne to the east. Limousin also forms part of Occitania. (Source)

Indonesia - Indonesian Batik

The art of hand-waxed batik tulis is still practiced in the traditional manner.

Sent by Shinta from Semarang, Indonesia.

The techniques, symbolism and culture surrounding hand-dyed cotton and silk garments known as Indonesian Batik permeate the lives of Indonesians from beginning to end: infants are carried in batik slings decorated with symbols designed to bring the child luck, and the dead are shrouded in funerary batik. Clothes with everyday designs are worn regularly in business and academic settings, while special varieties are incorporated into celebrations of marriage and pregnancy and into puppet theatre and other art forms. The garments even play the central role in certain rituals, such as the ceremonial casting of royal batik into a volcano. Batik is dyed by proud craftspeople who draw designs on fabric using dots and lines of hot wax, which resists vegetable and other dyes and therefore allows the artisan to colour selectively by soaking the cloth in one colour, removing the wax with boiling water and repeating if multiple colours are desired. The wide diversity of patterns reflects a variety of influences, ranging from Arabic calligraphy, European bouquets and Chinese phoenixes to Japanese cherry blossoms and Indian or Persian peacocks. Often handed down within families for generations, the craft of batik is intertwined with the cultural identity of the Indonesian people and, through the symbolic meanings of its colours and designs, expresses their creativity and spirituality. (Source)

Japan - Nagasaki - Ja-odori Dance

Ja-odori Dance or Dragon Dancing / NAGASAKI

Sent by Jun, a postcrosser from Japan.

Germany - Town of Bamberg

Old Town Hall of Bamberg.

Sent by Marion, a postcrosser from Germany.

The layout and architecture of medieval and Renaissance Bamberg exerted a strong influence on urban form and evolution in the lands of central Europe from the 11th century onwards. Bamberg is an outstanding and representative example of an early medieval town in central Europe, both in its plan and in its many surviving ecclesiastical and secular buildings.

The Counts of Babenberg had a castle on the hill around which Bamberg developed as early as the late Carolingian period. This became royal property in 906, and then passed to the Dukes of Bavaria. When Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, became King of Germany in 1007 he made Bamberg the seat of a bishopric, intended to become a 'second Rome'.

It played a significant role as a link with the Slav peoples of Eastern Europe, especially in modern Poland and Pomerania. The town was laid out according to medieval planning rules as a cross, with the churches of St Michael, St Stephen, St Gangolf, and St Jacob at the four cardinal points. With the advent of Bishop Otto I it became the seat of a powerful Prince-Bishopric in the early 12th century. This marked the beginning of a period of great prosperity, as demonstrated by the lavish restoration of the cathedral in the early 13th century.

This prosperity continued into the later Middle Ages, being helped by the fact that it was the starting point for shipping on the Main, as well as a renowned cultural centre. The late 17th and early 18th centuries saw a remarkable cultural flowering, represented by artists such as Dientzenhofer and Balthasar Neumann. This cultural role became even more important in the late 18th century, when Bamberg was the centre of the Enlightenment for southern Germany under Prince-Bishop Franz-Ludwig von Erthal.

This intellectual supremacy continued after Bamberg was ceded to the Elector of Bavaria in 1803, through such eminent writers as Hegel and Hoffman. Bamberg was not affected to any great extent by 19th-century industrialization: its economic basis continued to be trade, particularly in hops. It will be remembered as the birthplace of the first democratic constitution for Germany after the First World War.

The World Heritage site covers the three centres of settlement that coalesced when the town was founded. These are the Bergstadt, with the cathedral and its precincts, the former Prince-Bishop's Residence, and the burgher area with the Parish Church of Our Lady and the former vintners' settlement; the Inselstadt, defined by the two-arms of the Regnitz River, which was founded in the 12th century with a market and pre-urban settlement; and the Theuerstadt, a late medieval area of market gardens with scattered houses and large open spaces, which has retained this character to the present day.

Bamberg is a good example of a central European town with a basically early medieval plan and many surviving buildings. Of particular interest is the way in which the present town illustrates the link between agriculture (vineyards, hop gardens, market gardens) and the urban distribution centre.

The town had early cultural links with eastern Europe. Its architecture had strong influences on north Germany and Hungary in the Gothic period, whereas its Baroque element is intimately linked with developments in Bohemia. The street layouts of the three historic core areas retain their medieval features. (Source)

Egypt - Alexandria - Nuzha Gardens

Alexandria - Nuzha Gardens.

Sent by Esmail from Alexandria, Egypt.

Russia - Republic Adygea - Maykop Mosque

View of Maykop or Maikop in Republic Adygea. On the right is Maikop Mosque, a gift to the city by the Sheikh from United Arab Emirates.

Sent by Mary from Maykop in Repubic Adygea, Russia.

The Republic of Adygea (/ɑːdɨˈɡeɪ.ə/; Russian: Респу́блика Адыге́я, tr. Respublika Adygeya; IPA: [ɐdɨˈɡʲejə];Adyghe: Адыгэ Республик, Adıge Respublik) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic) enclaved within Krasnodar Krai. Its area is 7,600 square kilometers (2,900 sq mi) with a population of 439,996 (2010 Census).Its capital is the city of Maykop.

Adygea lies in southeastern Europe in the northern foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, with plains in the north and mountains in the south. Forests cover almost 40% of its territory.

• Area: 7,600 km² (2,900 sq mi)
• Borders: Adygea is entirely surrounded by Krasnodar Krai
• Highest point: Chugush Mountain 3,238 m (10,623 ft). (Source)

Russia - Republic Chuvasia - Cheboksary

The Bay of Capital Cheboksary, Republic Chuvasia in Russia.

Sent by Yevgenia from Republic Chuvasia in Russia.

The Chuvash Republic (Russian: Чува́шская Респу́блика — Чува́шия; Chuvash: Чăваш Республики — Чăваш Ен), or Chuvashia (Чува́шия) for short, is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). It is the homeland of the Chuvash people. Its capital is the city of Cheboksary. Population: 1,251,619 (2010 Census).

The Chuvash Republic is located in the center of the European part of Russia, in the heart of the Volga-Vyatka economic region, midway between Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan. The republic is not large, but is one of the most densely populated regions in the Russian Federation, with a total population of 1.35 million. It is bordered by the Mari El Republic in the north, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast in the west, the Republic of Mordovia in the southwest, Ulyanovsk Oblast in the south, and the Republic of Tatarstan in the east and southeast. Some of the Volga River valley reservoirs are in the north of the republic, and the Sura River flows towards the Volga along much of the republic's western boundary. The republic's central location gives companies located here access to some of the most industrially developed regions of the country.

The largest city is Cheboksary, together with its neighbour Novocheboksarsk. However the majority of the republic is rural. Forests, mostly in the south along the Sura River, cover approximately 30% of the land.(Source)

Bicycle (33)

Sent by Rita, a postcrosser from Vilnius, Lithuania.

United Arab Emirates - Sharjah Cultural Square

Sharjah Cultural Square.

Sent by Salah from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

Indonesia - Trowulan - Former Capital City of Majapahit Kingdom

Trowulan Temple, Indonesia.

Sent by Shinta from Semarang, Indonesia.

The Trowulan site is the only city site of the Hindu-Budha classical age in Indonesia that can still be found. The site covers an area of 11 km x 9 km, which includes the Districts of Trowulan and Sooko within the Regency of Mojokerto and the Districts of Mojoagung and Mojowarno under the Jombang Regency. The site of the former capital city of the Majapahit Kingdom was built on flat terrains at the foot of three mountains, namely the Penanggungan, Welirang, and Anjasmara Mountain. Geographically, the Trowulan area was suitable for human settlement since it was supported by plane topography with relatively shallow ground water. Hundreds of thousands of archaeological remnants of the old city in the Trowulan Site were found buried underground as well as on the surface in the form of: artifacts, eco-facts, and features. (read further)

Indonesia - Riau Province - "Persembahan" Dance Costumes

"Persembahan" Dance Costume of Riau Province, Indonesia.

Sent by Shinta from Semarang, Indonesia.

Austria - Mapcard

A mapcard of Austria.

Sent by Ingrid, a postcrosser from Linz, Austria.

Denmark - Roskilde Cathedral (1)

Roskilde Cathedral.

Sent by Genek, a postcrosser from Denmark.

Roskilde Cathedral is the earliest major ecclesiastical building in brick in northern Europe and had a profound influence on the spread of brick for this purpose over the whole region. Both in its form and in its setting it is an outstanding example of a north European cathedral complex, especially noteworthy for the successive architectural styles used in the ancillary chapels and porches added during the centuries during which it has served as the mausoleum of the Danish royal family.

The first religious structure on the site was a wooden church built around 980 by King HaraId Bluetooth. This was replaced successively by two travertine structures, built in 1030 and 1080 respectively. In the mid-12th century brick-making was introduced into Denmark by craftsmen from Lombardy, and Bishop Absalom decided around 1170 to rebuild his cathedral in this new material; his work was continued after his death in 1191 by his successor, Bishop Peder Suneson. The original structure was Romanesque; however, when only the eastern half had been built the plan was changed, under the influence of Gothic. The transept was located further back and the towers planned for the choir were removed to the west end. Work was virtually complete by around 1275, apart from the north tower, finished at the end of the 14th century.

Roskilde Cathedral is an aisled basilica in Gothic style with a semi-circular chancel gallery. The structure is essentially in brick, with occasional use of small boulders in the interior. Externally the walls stand on a plinth of granite ashlars two courses high; in the interior there is a hollow chamfered plinth of the same material. Traces have been found of the use of squared oak beams for reinforcement, further evidence of the early date of the structure, at a period when the builders were still uncertain about the properties of the new material, brick. The interior walls were originally bare, apart from the vaulting and the soffits of the arches, which were plastered. Most of the original rich wall paintings have disappeared.

Oluf Mortensen's Porch, named after the mid-15th-century bishop who commissioned it, is one of the finest examples of Danish brick Gothic architecture. Stylistically it is linked with the Gothic brick architecture of northern Germany. It is noteworthy for its fine roof gable and for the asymmetrical but finely balanced form of the lower part of the gable facade. The bricks used for the walling are remarkable for their richness of shading, which demonstrates excellent control of the brick-making process.

In the centuries that followed, chapels, porches, and other structures were built around the cathedral, first by bishops and nobles and later by the royal family, which partly hid the original structure. These included the chapter-house, gradually extended from the early 13th century to the end of the 15th century, the chapels of St Andrew (1387) and St Bridget (later 15th century). Royal additions included the Chapel of the Magi (Christian I: 1460), the Chapel of Christian IV (early 17th century, replacing two earlier chapels), and the Chapel of Frederik V (1772, in neoclassical style). Two royal chapels were built in the present century: the Chapel of Christian IX (1924) and the detached New Royal Ground (1985).

The two-storeyed Chapel of the Magi, completed around 1463, was originally built from glazed brick, but little remains of the glazing. The second storey, known as the Knights' Hall, contains some noteworthy carved stone. The main feature of the Chapel is, however, its rich late medieval mural decoration, which entirely covers the walls and vaults. Christian IV's Chapel, designed as a sepulchral chapel for the king, was the first post-medieval addition to the cathedral. It is constructed in the Dutch Renaissance Style. The steep ribbed vault is the largest in Denmark.

Frederik V's Chapel has a cruciform central chamber connected by a transverse building to the south aisle of the cathedral. Many of the medieval furnishings of the cathedral disappeared at the Reformation, and more were sold at a notorious auction in 1806. Of what remains the outstanding piece is the reredos, a masterpiece of Dutch religious art dating from around 1560. It is a triptych, probably from Antwerp, and bears scenes from the life of Christ. The canons' stalls of 1420 are of considerable importance because of the unique series of pictures on them.

USA - Massachusetts - Boston - Fenway Park (2)

BOSTON
Fenway Park.

Sent by Jim, a postcrosser from Massachusetts, USA.

Portugal - Monastery of Batalha

Monastery of Batalha.

Sent by Vitória, a postcrosser from Lisbon, Portugal.

Constructed in fulfilment of a vow by King João to commemorate the victory over the Castilians at Aljubarrota (15 August 1385), the Dominican monastery of Batalha is one of the great masterpieces of Gothic art. The majority of the monumental complex dates from the reign of João I, when the church (finished in 1416), the royal cloister, the chapter-house, and the funeral chapel of the founder were constructed.

Following a brief interruption, work was begun again under King Duarte on the prolongation of the choir, the construction of his funerary chapel and that of his descendants, a spacious edifice based an octagonal plan that the death of the king in 1438 left unfinished. The design has been attributed to the English architect Master Huguet. The chapel's floor plan consists of an octagonal space inserted inside a square, creating two separate volumes that combine most harmoniously. The ceiling consists of an eight-point star-shaped lantern. The most dramatic feature is to be found in the centre of the chapel: the enormous medieval tomb of Dom João I and his wife, Queen Philippa of Lancaster, the first tomb for husband and wife made in Portugal, on which are carved the coats of arms of the Houses of Avis and Lancaster. Bays in the chapel walls contain the tombs of their sons, among them Prince Henry the Navigator.

The main entrance of the church is through the porch on the west facade. On both sides of this portal are sculptures of the twelve apostles standing on consoles. In the centre is a high relief statue of Christ in Majesty surrounded by the Evangelists, framed by six covings decorated with sculptures of biblical kings and queens, prophets and angels holding musical instruments from the Middle Ages. This great profusion of sculptures is completed by the crowning of the Virgin Mary.

The church's interior refers back to the period of sober Gothic majesty that has remained undisturbed by later additions. The nave and aisles are separated by thick pillars crowned by capitals with plant motifs. The chancel windows, decorated with beautiful 16th century stained-glass windows representing the Visitation, the Adoration of the Magi, the Flight into Egypt and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, project a diffused light that gives the church a feeling of great spirituality.

The last great period of Batalha coincided with the reign of Manuel I, who built the monumental vestibule and the principal portal, and restored the royal cloister, built in the reign of Dom João I. The arches overlooking the garden were built later and are embellished with finely carved tracery displaying the emblems of Dom Manuel I, the Cross of the Order of Christ and the armillary sphere. In the galleries are doors leading to the various rooms of the former monastery, beginning with the large Chapter House, a marvellous example of the pointed arches of Gothic architecture, in which the enormous vaulted ceiling has no central supports.

As a monument charged with a symbolic value from its foundation, the convent of Batalha was, for more than two centuries, the great workshop of the Portuguese monarchy. It is not surprising that the roost characteristic features of a national art would have been determined there, during both the Gothic and the Renaissance periods. Batalha is the conservatory of several privileged expressions of Portuguese art: the sober and audacious architectural style of the end of the 14th century, with the stupendous nave of the abbatial, of which the two-storey elevation, whit broad arcades and high windows, renders more impressive its dimensions; the exuberant aesthetic of the capelas imperfeitas; the marvellous flamboyant arcades embroidered in a lace-work of stone: the Manueline Baroque even more perceptible in the openwork decor of the tracery of the arcades of the royal cloister than on the immense portal attributed to Mateus Fernandes the Elder; and finally, the hybrid style of João de Castilho, architect of the loggia constructed under João III.