Malaysia - Kedah Darul Aman

Traditional architecture in Malaysia varies from state to state. Pictured is a village headman's exquisitely crafted home from the northern state of Kedah.

I mailed this postcard on 28 June from my parents' hometown in Serdang, Kedah Darul Aman.

Kedah (also known by its honorific, Darul Aman, or "Abode of Peace") is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice. Langkawi is an archipelago of islands, most of which are uninhabited. Kedah was called Kadaram (Tamil:காடாரம்) by Tamil people and Syburi (Thai: ไทรบุรี; RTGS: Sai Buri) by the Siamese when it was under their influence.

Kedah borders the state of Perlis and shares an international boundary with the Songkhla and Yala provinces of Thailand to the north. It also borders the state of Perak to the south and Penang to the southwest.

The state's capital is Alor Setar and the royal seat is in Anak Bukit. Other major towns include Sungai Petani, and Kulim on the mainland, and Kuah on Langkawi. (read further)

Brownies

Sent by Diana, a postcrosser from Ukraine.

Bicycle (44)

Sent by Hanneke, a postcrosser from the Netherlands.

Germany - Berlin (4)

BERLIN

Sent by Leila, a postcrosser from Berlin, Germany.

Guatemala - Tikal National Park (2)

GUATEMALA
Tikal, Templo II

Sent by Astrid from Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

Australia - Victoria - Melbourne Aquarium

left : Common Seadragon Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
right : Leafy Seadragon Phycodurus eques

Sent by Elizabeth, a postcrosser from Australia.

Melbourne Aquarium is a Southern Ocean and Antarctic aquarium in central Melbourne, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Yarra River beside and under the Flinders Street Viaduct and the King Street Bridge.

Built between February 1998 and December 1999, the building was designed by Peddle Thorp architects to resemble a ship moored to the river, and opened in January 2000. The depth of the building however was designed not to be imposing at street level, and extends 7 metres (23 ft) below the surface. At its centre is a world first 2,200,000-litre (580,000 US gal) 'oceanarium in the round' where the spectators become the spectacle to the marine life swimming around them.

Soon after opening, the building had a legionnaires disease outbreak that resulted in 2 deaths and another 60 people being affected. Those affected had visited the aquarium between 11 and 27 April 2000. A damages action was brought in May 2000, ending in February 2004.

The Melbourne Aquarium recently underwent a significant expansion, also designed by Peddle Thorp, and now extends from the Yarra River to Flinders Street. A new entrance was built on the corner of Flinders and King Streets. The expansion features exhibits with king penguins and gentoo penguins, as well as many other Antarctic fish, a first for Australia. The exhibits also feature real ice and snow to simulate Antarctic conditions, and take visitors on an expedition to Antarctica. The penguins were sourced from Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World in New Zealand. (Source)

Canada - British Columbia - Mapcard

BEAUTIFUL BRITISH COLUMBIA
Canada
BC, with its varied landscape, is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Mighty rivers and ocean shoreline, fishing lakes, and sandy beacghes, wildflowers and old-growth forests, comprise the 952,263 square kilometres of "Beautiful" British Columbia.

Sent by Tam, a postcrosser from Kitimat,Canada.

Bicycle (43)

Sent by Jurgita, a postcrosser from Vilnius, Lithuania.

U.S.A. - Alabama - Mapcard

ALABAMA
The Cotton State

Sent by Lee from Montgomer, Alabama, USA.

Russia - Republic of Tatarstan - National Museum

The National Museum of The Republic of Tatarstan.

Sent by Lena, a postcrosser from Russia.

The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan (NM RT) is the largest museum in Tatarstan. It was founded as a Kazan Town Scientific and Industrial Museum in 1894 and opened on April 5, 1895. The basis of the museum is a private collection of 40 thousandth items of Andrei Fedorovich Likhachev (1832-90), a well-known regional archaeologist, numismatist, collector also the exhibits of scientific and industrial exhibition in 1890. Well-known scientists of Kazan University stood at the roots of the establishment of the museum and of the museum's collections formation, such as: A.A. Stuckenberg, N.P. Zagoskin, P.I. Krotov, N.F. Vysotsky, N.F. Catania and others. The museum occupies the former building of Gostinniy dvor (guest house), a monument of architecture and history of Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan. (read further)

Spain - Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe

GUADALUPE
Facade of The Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe.

Sent by Marzar from Mérida, Spain.

The Monastery of Guadalupe, an ensemble of religious architecture spanning four centuries, symbolizes two significant events in world history that both occurred in the same year, 1492: the final expulsion of the Muslim power from the Iberian Peninsula and the discovery of America by Columbus. Its famous image of the Virgin also became the pre-eminent symbol of the Christianization of the New World.

The Monastery, the principal of the Order of St Jerome, played a very influential role in the history of Spain, being associated by the crown with important events, notably by the Catholic Kings (Los Reyes Católicos ) with the conquest of Granada and the discovery of America in 1492. The Monastery was, and remains a centre of pilgrimage. It was a cultural centre of the highest order: its hospitals and its medical school were renowned, as was its scriptorium and its library, containing a very rich collection of documents. Many famous artists were attracted to Guadalupe, including Juan de Sevilla, Francisco de Zurbarán, Vicente Carducho, and Luca Giordano. The harmony between the buildings and the works of art that it contains confers an outstanding value upon the ensemble. The site is one of great beauty, overlooking a valley surrounded by high mountains, notably the Villuercas, and containing abundant vegetation.

At at the end of the13th century a Cáceres shepherd discovered close to the River Guadalupe a statue of the Virgin Mary that had been buried by Christians from Seville around 714 when fleeing before the Moorish invaders. The shepherd built a chapel to house the statue. A few years later it became a church, enlarged in 1337 by command of Alfonso XI, who visited it on several occasions. This king invoked the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe for the battle of Salado in 1340 and, following his victory, declared the church a royal sanctuary, founding a secular priory there. For 447 years under the Hieronimite Order the monastery was the most important in Spain and one of the most famous in Christendom. In 1835 the order passed responsibility to the Archdiocese of Toledo, which handed it over to the Franciscan order in 1908.

The ensemble of the monastery of Guadalupe comprises the following main buildings:

• the main Gothic Church or Templo Major has a notable facade with its doors ornamented and finely wrought bronze plaques. The interior has three naves with fine ornamented vaulting, tombs and altars;
• the Sacristy, built between 1638 and 1647, and exuberantly decorated, is best known for the series of paintings by Zurbarán on its walls;
• the Chapel of Santa Catalina, constructed in the 15th century, links the Sacristy with the Reliquaries Chapel. It has an octagonal cupola lit by a lantern and contains outstanding 17th century tombs;
• the Reliquaries Chapel is an octagonal-plan edifice built at the end of the16th century. The lower part houses many elaborate reliquaries and other works of art in its arcaded alcoves;
• the Camarín de la Virgen is a small octagonal building of 1687-96, situated behind the presbytery of the basilica, in highly decorated Baroque style. In the upper storey, the 'Chamber of the Virgen' proper, the vaults a decorated in plaster and stucco and the walls covered with paintings, among them nine by Luca Giordano. It houses the famous statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe, on a magnificently ornamented throne;
• the Mudejar cloister, built between 1389 and 1405, is situated to the north of the main church and is constructed in brick, in the Mudejar tradition, and painted in white and red. The small chapel in the centre dates from 1405, and there is an impressive portal of 1520-24 in Plateresque style;
• the Gothic cloister dates from 1531-33 and has galleries on three sides; there are three tiers of arches. As it belongs to the hospice of the monastery it does not contain any important works of art;
• the New Church: one of the descendants of Columbus, with a special affection for the monastery, promoted the construction of this building in 1730-35, in modified Baroque style with three naves. (Source)

Italy - Rome - St. Angelo's Castle

ROME
St. Angelo's Castle

Sent by Agostino, a postcrosser from Civitavecchia, Italy.

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (English: Castle of the Holy Angel), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. The Castel was once the tallest building in Rome. (read further)

U.S.A. - Alaska - Kobuk Valley National Park

ALASKA
Base of a white spruce in midnight sun, Little Kobuk Sand Dunes, Kobuk Valley National Park.

Sent by Bernadette, a postcrosser from New Jersey, USA.

Kobuk Valley National Park is in northwestern Alaska 25 miles (40 km) north of the Arctic Circle. It was designated a United States National Park in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. It is noted for the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes and caribou migration routes. The park offers backcountry camping, hiking, backpacking, and dog sledding. There are no designated trails or roads in the park, which at 1,750,716 acres (2,735.49 sq mi; 7,084.90 km²), is approximately the size of the state of Delaware. The park is entirely above the Arctic Circle.
No roads lead to the park. It is reachable by foot, dogsled, snowmobile, and chartered air taxis from Nome and Kotzebue year-round. The park is one of the least visited in the National Park System. (read further)

U.S.A. - North Carolina - Wright Brothers National Memorial

Sent by Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park.

Wright Brothers National Memorial, located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, commemorates the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright came here from Dayton, Ohio, based on information from the U.S. Weather Bureau about the area's steady winds. They also valued the privacy provided by this location, which in the early twentieth century was remote from major population centers. (read further)

France - Upper Normandy - 76 Seine-Maritime - Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret

NORMANDY
Le Havre (Seine-Maritime).

Sent by Brigitte, a postcrosser from Le Havre,France

The post-Second World War reconstruction plan of Le Havre is a landmark in the integration of urban planning traditions and a pioneer implementation of modern developments in architecture, technology and town planning. It is based on the unity of methodology and system of prefabrication, the systematic use of a modular grid, and the innovative exploitation of the potential of concrete.

Being at the mouth of the river Seine, the site of Le Havre was always strategic for access inland, to Rouen and Paris. Because of the estuary and its marshes, the decision to establish a seaport for Rouen was only taken in the 1517. As a result of the European discovery of America the port gained in importance and, in 1541, François I commissioned Sienese architect Bellarmato to plan an extension. The quarter of Saint-François was designed on the basis of a Renaissance grid-plan. In the 17th century, Le Havre (harbour) continued developing its commercial links with America and Africa. Minister Colbert authorized the construction of an arsenal, transferring the naval dockyards to the area of Perrey.

The plan to rebuild Le Havre was conceived during the Second World War. In summer 1944 Auguste Perret (1874-1954) took the lead in the project of reconstructing the town. Perret had studied in the École des Beaux-Arts; he was trained in the spirit of classicism and had the inheritance of the 19th-century technical developments. He obtained solid experience in the development of the techniques of reinforced concrete. Some of his early architectural designs, such as the flats in the Rue Franklin in Paris (1903) and Notre-Dame du Raincy (1923) have been recognized as masterpieces of early modernism.

Taking into account the soil conditions and high water table, it was proposed to construct the entire city on a reinforced concrete platform about 3.50 m above ground level, a revolutionary initiative that would have facilitated the building of infrastructures. Owing to the limits of cement and iron in the post-war period, it was not authorized, although the general master plan was carried out. The project was based on a basic grid module of 6.24 m2 . The lots were laid out on a 100 m grid, although some were combined to make larger lots. Construction lasted until 1964, when the Church of Saint-Joseph was consecrated.

The project corresponds to the architect's ideal to create a homogenous ensemble, where all the details are designed to the same pattern, thus creating a kind of Gesamtkunstwerk in the urban scale. Perret reserved some of the most important public buildings as his personal design projects. A few buildings that had not been destroyed in the bombardment were retained as part of the new town scheme. Even though the Saint-François quarter was also destroyed, several historic buildings remained standing, and were protected in 1946. As a result, the plan of this area was mainly based on the old street pattern.

Basing the design of the buildings and open spaces on 6.24m square module of a square was to facilitate the production, but also to introduce 'musical harmony' into the city. The average density was reduced from the pre-war 2,000 to 800 inhabitants to a hectare. The spirit of the town was conceived as 'neoclassical', where the building blocks are closed and the streets remain streets. The essence of Perret's project is in structural design, which was based on an avant-garde use of reinforced concrete elements, a system called poteau dalle. The idea of the structure is to make it modular and completely transparent so that no structural elements remain hidden. This gives the dominating character and a certain uniformity to all architecture. However, the elements are used in skilful way so as to avoid boredom.

The Porte Océane is a monumental entrance to Avenue Foch and an entrance to the city from the sea, taking the idea of the ancient gate destroyed in the war. This building also became an experimental 'laboratory' for the development of the structural system and methods of construction for the project. The square Saint-Roch is located in the place of an earlier public park and cemetery, which has given some its orientations to the new design. The Hôtel de Ville (town hall) is the most monumental structure in the whole scheme and its central part is marked by an 18-storey tower 70 m high. (Source)

Bolivia - La Paz City (2)

La Paz - Bolivia
An aymara woman with her baby.

Sent by Carlos from La Paz, Bolivia.

Germany - Lower Saxony - Hannover

Greetings from the City of Hannover.

Sent by Uta, a postcrosser from Hamburg and Hannover, Germany.

Hanover or Hannover (German:  Hannover (help·info), [haˈnoːfɐ]), on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later described as the Elector of Hanover). At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Electorate was enlarged to become the capital of the Kingdom of Hanover.

In addition to being the capital of Lower Saxony, Hanover was the capital of the administrative area Regierungsbezirk Hannover (Hanover region) until Lower Saxony's administrative regions were disbanded at the beginning of 2005. Since 2001 it is part of the Hanover district (Region Hannover), which is a municipal body made up from the former district (Landkreis Hannover) and city of Hanover (note: although both Region and Landkreis are translated as district they are not the same).

With a population of 522,686 (31 December 2010) the city is a major centre of northern Germany, known for hosting annual commercial trade fairs such as the Hanover Fair and the CeBIT. Every year Hanover hosts the Schützenfest Hannover, the world's largest marksmen's festival, and the Oktoberfest Hannover, the second largest Oktoberfest in the world (beside Oktoberfest of Blumenau). In 2000, Hanover hosted the world fair Expo 2000. The Hanover fairground, due to numerous extensions, especially for the Expo 2000, is the largest in the world. Hanover is also of national importance because of its universities and medical school, its international airport, and its large zoo. The city is also a major crossing point of railway lines and highways (Autobahnen), connecting European main lines in east-west-direction (Berlin - Ruhr area) and north-south-direction (Hamburg - Munich et al.). (read further)

Coca Cola Ad Card (3)

Sent by Veronika, a postcrosser from Germany.

U.S.A. - California - Redwood National & State Parks (2)

Redwood National & State Parks
Big Tree
Prairie Creek Redwood State Park, California
Height 304-ft., diameter 21.6-ft., circumference 68-ft., estimated age 1,500-years. It is one of the largest and most easily accessible trees of the Coast Redwoods.

Sent by Francis from Oregon, USA.

Thailand - Bangkok - The Emerald

The Emerald - Bangkok - Thailand

Sent by Jirat, a postcrosser from Pranakorn Sri Ayutthaya, Thailand.

The Emerald Buddha (Thai: พระแก้วมรกต – Phra Kaeo Morakot, or official name พระพุทธมหามณีรัตนปฏิมากร – Phra Phuttha Maha Mani Rattana Patimakon) is the palladium (Thai: ขวัญเมือง khwan mueang; colloquially มิ่งเมีอง ming mueang) of the Kingdom of Thailand, a figurine of the sitting Buddha, made of green Nephrite (rather than emerald), clothed in gold, and about 45 cm tall. It is kept in theTemple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. (read further)

U.S.A. - Oregon - Mapcard

OREGON
STATE TREE - Douglas Fir
STATE FLOWER - Oregon Grape
STATE ANIMAL - American Beaver
STATE BIRD - Western Meadowlark
STATE BUTTERFLY - Oregon Swallowtail
STATE FISH - Chinook Salmon

Sent by Will from Portland, Oregon, USA.

Bicycle (42)

MOUNTAIN BIKING PARADISE, TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH
Tooele County's diverse landscape is interlaced with exciting single and double-track trails that are enjoyed by mountain bikers and other recreationalists.

Sent by Sherry, a postcrosser from Tennessee, USA.