Victor Horta's kitchen

Over the years, I suppose I've spent many hours in the kitchens of wherever we happened to be living at the time. It seems to have resulted in a fascination with kitchens in general but it's not often I'm sent any.

I like the look of this one, even though it's a bit empty.  When I turned the card over it stated that it was from the house of Victor Horta in Brussels (25 rue Americaine à Saint Gilles).  The name sounded familiar but I'm sorry to say, I had to look up who he was.

He was, as I'm sure everyone else knows, a famous architect of Art Nouveau houses in Belgium. Four of these houses, plus his own, are listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO as being prime examples of Art Nouveau.

Hwaseong Fortress at Suwon

I've been lucky enough to have received a number of cards from South Korea, and two of them have shown the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Hwaseong Fortress at Suwon.

It was built in the 18th century both for defence and to house the tomb of  King Jeongjo's father. I can probably do no better than to quote the back of the card for details:

A distinctive feature of Hwaseong Fortress is that it combines practical functions and beauty together. The castle is a taste of traditional Korean natural stone-masonry and still maintains its integrity.  The castle wall has 4 main gates, 2 flood gates, 3 gongsimdons (observation towers), 4 jeokdaes (gateguard platforms), and gangnus (an angle tower), 2 jangdaes (command posts), and nodaes (multiple arrow launcher platforms), 10 chis (bastions), 5 porus (sentry towers), and ammuns (a secret gate), and 5 porus (firearms bastion).

It remains remarkably intact in spite of damage during the Korean War.  Restoration and reconstruction work has continued since 1964.

Obviously it's a place I'd love to see but, realistically, I probably never will.

Reflections

St Front Cathedral in Périgueux, France can trace its origins back as far as a church built on that site in the 4th and 5th centuries. In 976 the Abbey of St Front was built on the site of the church and it became a cathedral in 1669.  It was rebuilt in the mid 19th century and only the bell tower and crypts are left of the 12th century building.

The significance of St Front lies with the fact that it was and still is an important stopping point for pilgrims following the Routes of Santiago de Compostela (Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle) through France. These routes are recognised as of World Heritage importance by UNESCO.

So, the A to Z Challenge has come to an end.  I managed to keep ahead of the schedule though I nearly lost it when I had to be away for some days.  The intention was to kick-start my blogging which had sadly lapsed.  I hope I can keep up some of the impetus.

I found trawling through the list for blogs was very time consuming. I did have difficulty commenting on a lot of them, especially having to sign in to Disqus, Wordpress, Google+, and there were quite a few who hadn't updated though I noticed a lot were weeded out.

But, all in all, it was an enjoyable experience, though I doubt I will be repeating it.

My posts, in order of appearance
A is for Amsersfoort
B is for Biarritz and also for Bertie
C is for Czech Republic
D is for Dunes
E is for Estonia
F is for the Forth Bridge
G is for Green Giant
H is for Hollywood, Houston and Honeymoon Island
I is for Irkutsk
J is for Japan
K is for Korea
L is for Reading
M is for Mulu National Park and Malaysia
N is for Nürnberg or Nuremberg
O is for Ottawa and Ontario
P is for Potelych
Q is for the Queen
R is for Riquewihr
S is for Swiss tradition and for Silvesterkläuse
T is for Tango
U is for Ulm
V is for Vintage
W is for World
X is for Xinjiang
Y is for Yin and for Yang
Z is for Zulu

X is for Xinjiang

Xinjiang is a province in the north west of China, close to Mongolia and Kazhakstan. It contains the Tianshan mountains which were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2013 because of their untouched beauty and contrasts, along with being the habitat for a number of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna.

The caption on the reverse of the card reads, "The Spring of Tianshan Mountains - Zhaosu Army Horse Breeding Farm". It is one of the most beautiful cards I have ever received, very large though at 23 x 11.5 cm (9 x 4.5 in) and difficult to store safely.

T is for Tango

This card is probably self-explanatory to some extent. It's one of very few I've received t=from Argentina but it's quite special because the tango, the dance, has been declared by UNESCO to be "a living treasure" and it was added to the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.

P is for Potelych

A picture of a different side of Ukraine, different from the terrible pictures we have been treated to in the news.  It shows a wooden church dating from 1502, the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

There are 16 of these wooden tserkvas (churches) in the area known as the Carpathian Region which stretches over Poland and Ukraine. They all have the very distinctive building style, made entirely of wood.

Seven of the churches are in Ukraine but the person who sent me the card says she has never actually seen any of them.  They tend to be in remote places and not too easy to visit.

O is for Ottawa and Ontario

The Rideau Canal was built in 1832 as a military communications route from Ottawa to Lake Ontario. Nowadays it is used for recreation but it remains an exceptional feat of engineering. It is the oldest canal system in North America which still functions.

This particular card shows an image of kayaks, on the canal in Ottawa, that was used as a postage stamp by Canada Post.  Others stamps were issued to show skating on the canal in winter, and Jones Falls. I don't have the Jones Falls stamp card but I do have others of that area.

The canal in its entirety was added to the UNESCO list of World heritage Sites in 2007.

M is for Mulu National Park and Malaysia

Mulu National Park is yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site, this time in Sarawak, Malaysia. It's best known for its enormous caves, and also for these amazing pinnacles and cliffs.

The Mulu Caves Project started in 1977 when the Royal Geographical Society sent 100 scientists there for over a year.  Since then, there have been more than 20 others which you can read about on the Mulu Caves website - there are some amazing pictures there!

F is for the Forth Bridge

Not to be confused with the Forth Road Bridge which came later, the Forth Bridge is a railway crossing which opened in 1890 to cross the Forth Estuary in Scotland.  At the time it had the longest single span cantilever bridge in the world and still is in second place after the Quebec Bridge. Because it was so innovative at the time, it has been put forward to be considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The saying "like painting the Forth Bridge" to describe a never-ending task never really reflected the actual facts.  However, now it is no longer true at all because the bridge has been completely renovated and has a new technical finish that should last 20 years.

The Forth Road Bridge joined it in crossing the Estuary in 1964, and later this year there will be a third bridge when the Queensferry Crossing opens.

The url on the card is now out of date though it does give a redirect to the new site for the Forth Bridges.  The card itself was sent to me from the Netherlands.

Lake Baikal

Two postcards from Lake Baikal (near Irkutsk in Russia) which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It is an ancient rift valley, thought to be the oldest in the world.  It is the deepest in the world and because of that, it also contains the largest amount of freshwater in the world.  To give a comparison, it contains more water than all the Great Lakes combined.

It is because of its unique ecosystem that it has been declared a World Heritage Site.  It contains an exceptional diversity of flora and fauna, with many endangered (IUCN Red List) species.

Rideau Canal at Jones Falls

Two views of the Rideau Canal at Jones Falls. The canal links the city of Ottawa to Lake Ontario at Kingston. Jones Falls are about three-quarters of the way to Kingston.

The canal is one of the 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Canada, with another seven on the Tentative List.

Cracow

A map of the old city of Cracow or Kraków which, dating from the Stone Age, is one of the oldest cities in Poland.  The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sant Climent

The churches of the Vall de Boí in Spain are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites because of their Romanesque architecture.  There are nine of them altogether and the church of Sant Climent de Taüll above is one of them, probably the best preserved.  It dates from the early 12th century.

The valley is a narrow one, high up in the Pyrenees and has a ski resort and national park as well as the Romanesque churches.

Kinderdijk

One of the very well known and easily recognisable UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Netherlands.  I was lucky enough to travel along the canal a long time ago.  At that time I didn't realise its significance but I do remember remarking on the number of windmills along its length.

The horse drawn carriages of Emperor Qin Shihuang

I had heard of the Terracotta Army, I suppose most people have, but I hadn't realised until I received this card that there was much more to it than the name implies - terracotta soldiers.  There is indeed the army of 6000 or so soldiers but that is just in Pit 1 of the excavated sites.  There are three other pits, the second containing cavalry and chariots, and the third is a command post.  The fourth is empty.

It is said that going to China and not seeing the Terracotta Army is like going to Egypt and missing the pyramids.

The card shows one of the two carriages excavated from the site.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.

A map of Cracow

The extent of the old city centre of Cracow or Krakow, shows very clearly on this map card.  It really is ancient - it dates back as far as the 7th century.  the entire town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been since 1978.

The numbers refer to places of interest which are listed on the reverse of the card.

Eure et Loire

This map shows the Département of Eure et Loir, just to the south west of Paris and Versailles, and it is where I stopped off for a 36 hour visit to the beautiful ancient city of Chartres and its wonderful UNESCO listed cathedral.

A map for Monday - after a long break

Solovetsky Islands

This card of Solovetsky Monastery arrived recently with part of a mini-sheet of stamps showing points of interest on the Solovetsky Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The islands are in the White Sea to the north west of Russia.

The full sheet which is made to look as though the stamps were printed on a parchment map, can be seen here.  I can remember making maps of that sort when I was at school, maybe a history lesson or to illustrate Treasure Island.

There was another stamp too, this one showing Petropavlovskiy Sobor, the Peter and Paul Cathedral  in St Petersburg:

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, now hosted by Violet Sky at "See it on a Postcard!"

Moldovița Monastery

I have been having a major reorganisation of my cards recently, trying to anyway, and I came across this beautiful picture of the Church of the Annunciation of Moldovita Monastery in Romania.  It is one of the eight painted churches grouped together and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.  These were all built during the 15th and 16th centuries and all have amazing frescoes on the outside walls.

The others are:
Church of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist
Church of the Assumption of the Virgin of the former Humor Monastery
Church of the Holy Rood of Pătrăuti
Church of St. Nicholas and the Catholicon of the Probota Monastery
Saint John the New Monastery of Suceava
Church of St George of the former Voronet Monastery
Church of the Resurrection Sucevita Monastery

La Sagrada Familia

I don't appear to have posted a card showing the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona before, which is surprising.  It must be one of the best known churches in Spain.

I think this is one of the most striking views I've seen, showing the fantastic spires which still aren't completely finished. There will be 18 of them when finished (2026).  However it is the Crypt and Nativity Facade of the church that are particularly mentioned as part of the seven works of Antoni Gaudi  mentioned on the UNESCO World Heritage List.