Thailand - Songkhla and its Associated Lagoon Settlements

Phang Yang, Pha Kho and Si Yang ancient towns

Sathing Phra ancient town

Fortified Settlement of Singora at Khao Daeng and Laem Son

Songkhla Old Town at Bo Yang

Over thousands of years, several settlements have emerged, evolved, and developed around Songkhla Lake, a coastal lagoon in southern Thailand. It is a natural brackish water lagoon with a complex cultural and ecological system, and the only one in the country. Although labelled a lake, it defies conventional definitions due to its geomorphological character. Situated on the Malay Peninsula in the South of Thailand, this coastal lagoon is known for its distinctive physical appearance that consists of three connecting water bodies stretching from North to South. The southern-most reaches of the lagoon is Thalesap Songkhla, where the lagoon meets the open sea. To the north, the protected wetland of Thale Noi is connected with the upper part of Songkhla Lagoon. The lagoon is flanked by Sankala Khiri and Bantud Mountain Ranges on the west, where there are rich mineral resources including tin and manganese. To the east, the Sathing Phra Peninsula extends 75 kilometres along the coast, a testament to the lagoon's captivating allure. According to geomorphological studies, the peninsula was originally a collection of islands or sand accretions; later fused by the gradual accumulation of sediments. The lagoon’s water is a blend of fresh mountain streams from the west, and the ebb and flow of salty tides from the sea, a delicate balance that has been harnessed over time for more efficient transportation and irrigation systems, still evident today. The fertile natural surroundings of Songkhla Lake fostered the growth of numerous settlements that have thrived in harmony with the lagoon's ecosystem. Over time, these settlements have evolved into unique towns and cities, a testament to the dynamic interplay between humans and the natural environment – the Songkhla lagoon itself. This proposed property, Songkhla and its associated lagoon settlements, consists of four components: 1) Phang Yang, Pha Kho and Si Yang ancient towns including their associated archaeological sites; 2) Sathing Phra ancient town; 3) Fortified settlements of Singora at Khao Daeng and Laem Son; and 4) Songkhla Old Town at Bo Yang.

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

I visited the Songkhla National Museum, Songkhla in Southern Thailand. It has a palatial building and garden. Bought a set of museum postcards showing some of museum pieces.

Portugal - Bulwarked Fortifications of the "Raia" (Border)

Border Garrison Town of Elvas and its fortifications Castle’s Keep

Stronghold of Almeida Liberty Square

Fortress of Marvão Pelourinho Square

Fortress of Valença Republic Square

Extending from the mouth of river Minho in the North, to the mouth of river Guadiana in the south, a part of the current Portuguese/Spanish border dates to the ancient County of Portugal. From the Treaty of Zamora (1143), which marks the birth of Portugal, to the episode of the “Reconquista” that culminated in the Treaty of Badajoz (1267), which attributed the Algarve to Portugal, and the Treaty of Alcanizes (1297), a separation line was established that was rarely reviewed throughout more than 700 years.


Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Fortaleza-Valenca of Portugal. Thannks to Oscar of Portugal.

Germany - Site of the Schöningen Spears – Humans and hunting 300,000 years ago

The site of Schöningen is located near the town of Schöningen, district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The site was discovered in 1992 during rescue excavations caused by lignite open cast mining. Systematic excavations have been led by the Lower Saxony State Office of Cultural Heritage (NLD) and since 2008, these are carried out in collaboration with the Eberhard Karls University Tübingen and the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (SHEP). Mining activities ended in 2016. The site has been dated by various methods to ca. 300,000 years before present and was occupied by Pleistocene hunter-gatherers (Homo heidelbergensis or Homo neanderthalensis). During the Pleistocene, the site was located at a lakeside when rapid sedimentation assured the exceptional preservation of organic materials including wooden artefacts, bones, insect remains, and pollen among others. The site of Schöningen has produced the best preserved and oldest hunting weapons in the world as well as an outstanding palaeoenvironmental record, both of which have been the subject of interdisciplinary research for about 30 years. Together with animal bones that are connected to hunting activities, the exceptionally well-preserved hunting weapons offer unique insights into past human hunting behaviour, human cognition, social behaviour and the lifeways of Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies. The site of Schöningen has fundamentally changed our perception of Pleistocene human species in regards to socio-cultural abilities, human cognition, and technological expertise.

Source: UNESCO WHS Tentative List

Museum housing the Schöningen spears - a set of ten wooden weapons from the Palaeolithic Age that were excavated between 1994 and 1999 from the 'Spear Horizon' in the open-cast lignite mine in Schöningen, Helmstedt district, Germany. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. Thanks to Dustin of Germany. A stamp with matching pictorial cancellation.

Portugal - Levadas of Madeira Island

"The Property “Levadas of Madeira Island are an hydraulic engineering work known internationally as ‘Levadas da Madeira’. The Property and its limits were defined according to the design and the permanent characteristics of this water transportation system of about 800 km of public and private waterways or aqueducts. The Levadas (from the Portuguese verb “levar” – to carry) are a system of channels or aqueducts of many kilometres in length, mostly bordering mountains but also going through them, with several stretches over rugged rocks, to bring water from different sources to its intermediate or final uses."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Sote Tentalist List

Nice postcard - thanks to Marta of Portugal.

Tajikistan - Silk Roads Sites in Tajikistan

 Silk Roads Sites in Tajikistan:

 1 Ancient Penjikent Penjikent town 

 2 Ancient town Bunjikat Shahristan district 20 

 3 Hissar Castle Hisor district 20 (postcard collected)

 4 Buddhist monastery Ajina-Tepa Vakhsh 

 5 Takhti-Sangin Kobodiyon district 5 

 6 Khoja-Mashad Shaartuz 

 7 Ancient Town Khulbuk Vose 

 8 Yamtuch Ishkashim district 

Source: UNESCO WHS Tentative List

Nice postcard of Old Fortress Gate of Hisar (Gissar mailed from Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Thanks to Gert of Sweden.

Iran - Firuzabad Ensemble

"The ensemble at Firuzabad comprises, within a 12 km diameter area, such archaeological sites as the City of Gur, the Palace of Ardashir (Atashkadeh), Qal'eh Dokhtar fortress, bas reliefs from the time of Ardashir (the founder of the Sassanian dynasty), the Pahlavi inscription of Mehr-Nerse and Tangab Bridge. This ensemble embodies the political, historic, cultural and artistic developments of the early Sassanian period. The City of Gur covers a perfect circle 2 km in diameter, and 8 km away from it, the palace of Ardashir stands beside a pond on the bank of the western branch of Tangab river (Firuzabad). The Qal'eh Dokhtar fortress stands atop the mountain adjoining Tangab river and the ensemble built 4 km away from the palace of Aldashir. At the foot of the Qal'eh Dokhtar fortress the remains of a Sassanian bridge, and on its opposite body the bas-relief depicting the crowning of Ardashir, the Pahlavi Sassanian inscription of Mehr-Nerse, from the time of Yazdgerd II, and at a small distance, between the palace and the fortress, the bas-relief depicting the victory of Ardashir over Ataban V, the last Parthian king, are situated."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Palace of Ardeshir, Firuz Abad, Iran. It is a tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage nomination. Mailed March 27, 2024. Received April 30, 2024. Thanks to Boris.

Indonesia - Tana Toraja Traditional Settlement

"Tana Toraja Traditional Settlement is a series of 10 traditional settlements or constituents of them, such as burial or ceremonial grounds. The properties are scattered within Tana Toraja Regency in the Province of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tana-Toraja occupies about 3.205 km2 of a relatively hilly terrain with plateaus rising from 300 to 2,800 meters above sea level.

The nominated Tana Toraja Traditional Settlement consists of 10 sites which are dispersed in the Tana Toraja Regency (see part I). Traditionally, a Toraja settlement consists of a compound of houses (tongkonan) and granaries (alangs), burials (liang), ceremonial grounds with menhirs (rante), rice-fields, bamboo forests, and grazing ground or pasture for buffalo and pigs. However, not all the nominated sites possess all the settlement components, on account of developmental changes in each site. A brief description of the nominated sites is provided in part I Identification of the Property. The following descriptions present some complementary information about each site.

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Postcard 1
My first postcard sent from Sulawesi (formerly called Celebes) - one of the largest islands in Indonesia after Kalimantan, Sumatra, Java and Irian Jaya.
A typical Toraja traditional rooftops. Nice stamps used. Postcard took more than 3 weeks to arrive. Thanks to Feejin who was visiting Sulawesi.

Postcard 2
Traditional Tana Toraja ancestral buildings with its typical architectural roof. Thanks to Jean-Pierre of France. Received in April 29, 2024.

Philippines - Colonial Urban Plan and Fortifications of the Walled City of Manila

"Shaped like an irregular pentagon, the Historic Center of Manila, known since the late 19th Century as Intramuros, is a 0.67 square kilometer area tied to and woven with the country’s historical narrative from the pre-colonial period to the present. For more than three centuries it was the capital of the Spanish colonial empire in the Far East. It captures, as a landscape, various layers of significance as a witness to the transformative social, historical, economic, religious, and political events of the City of Manila and of the Philippines itself as a result of the intersection between the cultures of Asia, Europe, and America – the primary locus of trade, connection, and competition between these continents in the Western Pacific. Its utmost value is found in being an enduring witness to the confluence of trade and history between continents and peoples."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Postcard 1
I visited this famous fort in Manila - Intramuros area. Thanks to Dermawan for mailing with stamp of Philippines Miss Universe 2018 of Catriano Gray.

Postcard 2

Intramuros Manila. 

Philippines - Corregidor Island and Historic Fortifications of Manila Bay

"Corregidor Island is a 5.5 square kilometer island at the entrance of Manila Bay in the Philippine island of Luzon located 42 kilometers from the City of Manila. It was a heavily fortified island built tactically and strategically as part of the Harbor Defense of Manila Bay. Corregidor (Fort Mills) was the largest of the four harbor defense fortifications in Manila Bay, that also included El Fraile Island (Fort Drum), Caballo Island (Fort Hughes), and Carabao Island (Fort Frank), that were all fortified during the colonial administration of the United States in the Philippines."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

There is a historical war tour to the Corregidor Island. As Philippines was an American colony during World War II, there were major battles. General MacArthur gave his famous quote, "I shall return"....Thanks to Victor of Singapore for sending this wonderful postcard.

Philippines - The Historic Towns and Landscape of Taal Volcano and its Caldera Lake

"Taal Volcano Protected Landscape — Taal Volcano and Taal Caldera Lake (Cities of Lipa, Tagaytay, and Tanauan, Municipalities of Agoncillo, Alitagtag, Balete, Cuenca, Laurel, Lemery, Malvar, Mataas na Kahoy, San Jose, San Nicolas, Santa Teresita, Taal, and Talisay):  Historic Town of Taal: San Nicolas Ruins.

Taal is an active volcano within a massive caldera, with at least 38 recorded eruptions in the last 450 years. Its most recent major eruption in 2020 prompted evacuations in its surrounding communities while spreading ash across neighboring provinces and regions, including Metro Manila. This eruption had a significant impact on transportation, government, business, and education activities, affecting tens of millions of individuals.

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Beautiful postcard of the crater lake of Taal Volcano - a day trip from Manila, Philippines. Wonderful Year of Ox stamps! Thanks to Bob of Manila. Interesting to note that Philippines postmark ink is purple in color. Postmarked March 13, 2009 - arrived March 20, 2009.

Germany - Moravian Church Settlements (Germany)

 Moravian Church Settlements is a proposed transnational extension of Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church Settlement (Denmark) founded in southern Jutland 1773 as a colony of the Moravian Church, a Protestant denomination in the free church tradition centred in Herrnhut, Saxony. The serial extension comprises three component parts: Herrnhut (Germany), the ‘mother’ or ‘founding town’ of the Renewed Moravian Church, established in 1722 in Saxony and which emerged in step with the evolution of Moravian theology and societal ideals, defining the principles of all Moravian Church settlements; Historic Moravian Bethlehem (USA) founded in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1741, highlighting the most prolific settlement building decade and its early transatlantic dimension, and adding the cultural dimension of the Moravians’ outreach to Native Americans; and Gracehill (UK) founded in Northern Ireland in 1759, representing the importance of the Moravian Church in the UK and representative of a series of ‘ideal’ urban plans, and one which illustrates a remarkable axis of gender symmetry. 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

The town of Hernnhut is hilighted in Germany's nomination as a Monrovian settlement as a tentative list for the UNESCO World Heritage. Thanks to Marcel of Germany.

Bahrain - Saar Heritage Park

The following monuments are located with this area: Early Dilmun town South Burial Complex (the "Honeycomb" complex) * North Burial Complex * Late Dilmun temple * Single Burial mounds To maximize their appeal to the general public, these monuments should be promoted collectively as a single attraction. This should be done by creating a Saar Heritage Park to protect and develop all the monuments listed above. * Early Dilmun town The Dilmun Town covers an area of 2.25 hectares. The main characteristics of the town are: a wide street with subsidiary alleyways running off approximately at right angles; a temple on the highest point; housing blocks sometimes arranged around an open square; and two-and three roomed houses with regular suites of domestic installations. The buildings are remarkably well-preserved, with walls standing over 3m high in places and domestic ovens and hearths intact. The settlement is the only one on Bahrain to have been excavated extensively and visitors are afforded a unique glimpse of daily life in Bahrain 4,000 years ago. * South Burial Complex The so-called 'Honeycomb Cemetery-lies less than half-a-kilometre to the south of the Dilmun town.

Source: Unesco World Heritage Tentative List

A private house of the Dilmun period in Ancient Saar, Bahrain (2000 BC). Thanks to Marcel of Germany.

Greece - Minoan Palatial Centres (Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros, Kydonia)

"Knossos - Phaistos - Malia - Zakros -Kydonia"

"Crete, prominently and strategically located in the East Mediterranean Basin, formed the bridge between the peoples and cultures of three continents, Europe, Africa and Asia, and was the cradle of a splendid prehistoric civilisation in the land of Greece, the Minoan civilisation.

The civilisation was named “Minoan” by Arthur Evans, the excavator of Knossos, which, according to myths preserved by ancient writers, was the seat of King Minos. The Minoan civilisation is connected to a great chapter in Greek mythology: the abduction of Europa by Zeus in the form of a bull, the ingenious Daedalus and his son Icarus, the Minotaur and the Labyrinth, the seven youths and seven maidens sent from Athens as tribute to Minos, the Athenian hero Theseus - who, with the assistance of Ariadne, rid his city of this blood-tax - the bronze giant Talus and the Argonauts, are all inextricably linked with the civilisation of Crete and its palaces, and have been a source of inspiration not only for ancient Greek culture but also for world art, music and literature." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List


Postcard 1

The Palace of Knossos and the Prince with the Lilies. Thanks to Anne of Finland.

Postcard 2
View of Festos (Phaisto) archaelogical site, in Crete, Greece. Thanks to Dustin of Germany.

Postcard 3
The Queen's Hall with frescos of dolphins, Palace of Knossos, Crete with matching frescos of dolphins stamp. Thanks to Dustin of Germany.

Postcard 4
Gold Jewel from Malia 1800 BC in Archaelogical Museum of Herakleion, Greece. A great addition to my museum postcard collection worldwide. Thanks to Dustin of Germany.

Georgia - Gremi Church of Archangels and Royal Tower

City of Gremi, capital of vanished Kachetian Kingdom of Georgia, located on the Gilian-Shemakha branch of the Great Silk Road, was destroyed by the army of Shah Abbas in XVI c. and never been restored since then. The ruins of Gremi city are now important Late Medieval archaeological site with ruins of churches, trading arcades, baths and dwellings. Gremi attracts visitors with the well-preserved architectural complex: Church of Archangels Michael and Gabriel and the Royal Tower.

The Gremi Church was built and painted upon the order of King Leon in 1565. Peculiar relation of proportions to separate volumes of Gremi Church attaches new features to traditional structure of Georgian cross-cupola churches. The main cross of the building is very high and narrow. The arches are arrowed and have not capitals or tractions. The dome is supported on two free-standing piers and the extensions of the apse. The fabric is of so-called Georgian brick. The façades are samples of developed brick church decorative system characteristic to late feudal epoch in Georgia. The forms of décor are achieved through deepening of planes and turquoise fittings. The wall painting of construction period is preserved inside the Church. The Gremi Church has become a prototype for a whole group of other church buildings in Georgia.

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative  List

Gremi, 16th-century architectural monument, consists of the royal citadel and the Church of the Archangels located n Kakheti, Georgia. Thanks to Uli of Austria.

Turkey - The Bodrum Castle

"The Bodrum Castle (Castle of St. Peter) is located on a small rocky peninsula set between two sheltered bays in Bodrum, on the south- west coast of Anatolia. This peninsula inhabited and known in the ancient world as Zephyrion and was probably used as a rear base by the Byzantines in the early Middle Ages and then by the Turks. The Castle was built by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem (also called Knights of St.John, Knights Hospitallers, Knights of Rhodes) under the mastership of The Grand Master Philibert de Naillac, at the beginning of 15th century A.D., and ruled by them almost 120 years until the conquest of Rhodes by Suleiman I (Suleiman The Magnificent) in 1522. In Ottoman Period, the Bodrum Castle is used as a small garrison base and in 1895 it was transformed into a prison. During the 1st World War, the castle was bombed on the 26th of May 1915 by a French battleship. This caused great damage to the castle, the prisoners were moved inland and the castle was evacuated. Then the Italians invaded Bodrum and they posted their soldiers at the castle and used it as their headquarters. Following the success of the Turkish War of Independence under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal on the 5th of July 1921, the Italian military forces were dispersed. Between the years 1939-1945 during the 2nd World War, the Castle was yet again used as a military base but was evacuated at the end of the war. Today, the Bodrum Castle is home to the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, which is unique in Turkey, and one of the most significant Underwater Archaeology Museums in the world."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Bodrum Castle (Castle of St.Peter) in Bodrum, a seaport in southwestern Turkey. It is nominated in the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage. Thanks to Marcel of Germany.