Komodo National Park - Indonesia

These volcanic islands are inhabited by a population of around 5,700 giant lizards, whose appearance and aggressive behaviour have led to them being called 'Komodo dragons'. They exist nowhere else in the world and are of great interest to scientists studying the theory of evolution. The rugged hillsides of dry savannah and pockets of thorny green vegetation contrast starkly with the brilliant white sandy beaches and the blue waters surging over coral.

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• Date of Inscription: 1991

Postcard 1: unwritten

Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi - India

Built in the early 13th century a few kilometres south of Delhi, the red sandstone tower of Qutb Minar is 72.5 m high, tapering from 2.75 m in diameter at its peak to 14.32 m at its base, and alternating angular and rounded flutings. The surrounding archaeological area contains funerary buildings, notably the magnificent Alai-Darwaza Gate, the masterpiece of Indo-Muslim art (built in 1311), and two mosques, including the Quwwatu'l-Islam, the oldest in northern India, built of materials reused from some 20 Brahman temples. 


Date of Inscription: 1993


 Postcard 1: private swap with ahmedvit

Taj Mahal - India

An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.


Date of Inscription: 1983 


 Postcard 1: marchRR - 12 - lovely palak

 

Postcard 2: private swap with ahmedvit 

 

Postcard 3: Chain Postcard

 

Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya - India

The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is one of the four holy sites related to the life of the Lord Buddha, and particularly to the attainment of Enlightenment. The first temple was built by Emperor Asoka in the 3rd century B.C., and the present temple dates from the 5th or 6th centuries. It is one of the earliest Buddhist temples built entirely in brick, still standing in India, from the late Gupta period.


Date of Inscription: 2002


Postcard 1: Private Swap with Siita

  

Group of Monuments at Hampi - India

The austere, grandiose site of Hampi was the last capital of the last great Hindu Kingdom of Vijayanagar. Its fabulously rich princes built Dravidian temples and palaces which won the admiration of travellers between the 14th and 16th centuries. Conquered by the Deccan Muslim confederacy in 1565, the city was pillaged over a period of six months before being abandoned.


Date of Inscription: 1986


Postcard 1,2,3: private swap with raghy

 

 

Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi - India

On a hill overlooking the plain and about 40 km from Bhopal, the site of Sanchi comprises a group of Buddhist monuments (monolithic pillars, palaces, temples and monasteries) all in different states of conservation most of which date back to the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. It is the oldest Buddhist sanctuary in existence and was a major Buddhist centre in India until the 12th century A.D.


Date of Inscription: 1989


Postcard 1: Received from Siita

  

Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley - France

I was in France again last Summer (2011), and had on my must see plan the lascaux grottes. Unfortunately they were closed exactly on the day i've planned to visit them :( it would be such an interesting site for me... maybe you know the the lascaux colors? i used them for many of my paintings i did in the past... well maybe in a few years... but first we have other countries to visit... (i was to many times in france already ;) )


The Vézère valley contains 147 prehistoric sites dating from the Palaeolithic and 25 decorated caves. It is particularly interesting from an ethnological and anthropological, as well as an aesthetic point of view because of its cave paintings, especially those of the Lascaux Cave, whose discovery in 1940 was of great importance for the history of prehistoric art. The hunting scenes show some 100 animal figures, which are remarkable for their detail, rich colours and lifelike quality.

• Date of Inscription: 1979

Postcard 1: BIG UNESCO RR #5 received from Nathj92

Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue - Hungary

I received a lot of Budapest Cards in 06-09. See other views in my flickr album: Flickr Hungary Unesco
This site has the remains of monuments such as the Roman city of Aquincum and the Gothic castle of Buda, which have had a considerable influence on the architecture of various periods. It is one of the world's outstanding urban landscapes and illustrates the great periods in the history of the Hungarian capital.

Date of Inscription: 1987

Extension: 2002

Postcard 1: Capital City offer tag from manokamoka

Iceland - Þingvellir (Thingvellir)

Þingvellir (Thingvellir) is the National Park where the Althing, an open-air assembly representing the whole of Iceland, was established in 930 and continued to meet until 1798. Over two weeks a year, the assembly set laws - seen as a covenant between free men - and settled disputes. The Althing has deep historical and symbolic associations for the people of Iceland. The property includes the Þingvellir National Park and the remains of the Althing itself: fragments of around 50 booths built from turf and stone. Remains from the 10th century are thought to be buried underground. The site also includes remains of agricultural use from the 18th and 19th centuries. The park shows evidence of the way the landscape was husbanded over 1,000 years.

• Date of Inscription: 2004

Postcard 1: Received for the JulyRR from Ellaa (Estonia) wo travelled to Iceland this Summer!

Postcard 2 and 3: are also available for swapping!

Iceland - Surtsey

New Month! October is my favorite one, maybe coz i have Birthday :) or maybe because i love love love the season here in middle europa! foggy mornings, red leaves on the trees and the air is fresh and clean! Let's see what the new month will bring for my mailbox and this blog! Yesterday i received a parcel from another Part of Switzerland. A Part which i've never visited! 50 cards about a hard to get UNESCO site! Yay! Hope i can open the swapping page as soon as possible, but first i have to manage my life and other things.

Surtsey, a volcanic island approximately 32 km from the south coast of Iceland, is a new island formed by volcanic eruptions that took place from 1963 to 1967. It is all the more outstanding for having been protected since its birth, providing the world with a pristine natural laboratory. Free from human interference, Surtsey has been producing unique long-term information on the colonisation process of new land by plant and animal life. Since they began studying the island in 1964, scientists have observed the arrival of seeds carried by ocean currents, the appearance of moulds, bacteria and fungi, followed in 1965 by the first vascular plant, of which there were 10 species by the end of the first decade. By 2004, they numbered 60 together with 75 bryophytes, 71 lichens and 24 fungi. Eighty-nine species of birds have been recorded on Surtsey, 57 of which breed elsewhere in Iceland. The 141 ha island is also home to 335 species of invertebrates.

• Date of Inscription: 2008

Postcard 1: This card is also available for swapping! Received from anjaaustel for the January RR in 2011