The Kykkos Monastery

The Holy, Royal and Stavropegic Monastery of Kykkos, is located 20 km west of Pedoulas, and is one of the wealthiest and best-known monasteries in Cyprus.

The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of Kykkos was founded around the end of the 11th century by the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081 - 1118). The monastery lies at an altitude of 1318 meters on the northwest face of Troödos Mountains. There are no remains of the original monastery as it was burned down many times. The first President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III started his ecclesiastical career there as a monk in 1926. He remained fond of the place and returned there many times. His request to be buried there materialised after his death in 1977. His tomb lies 3 km west of Kykkos monastery and remains a popular tourist destination. Merja gave me this nice maxi card.

The Caspian turtle

The Caspian turtle or Striped-neck terrapin (Mauremys caspica) is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae, living of the eastern Mediterranean region. It ranges from southwestern former USSR and central Iran to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Israel and Lebanon, northward through Turkey to Bulgaria, and through Cyprus, Crete, and the Ionian Peninsula to former Yugoslavia. This is a tan to blackish, medium-sized (to 25 cm), semi-aquatic turtle. Its low, oval carapace has a slight medial keel (better developed in juveniles) and a smooth unserrated marginal border, which is slightly upturned and tapered above the tail. A pair of low lateral keels are present on the pleural scutes of hatchlings but these become lower with age and disappear completely in adults. Females are generally larger than males, have flat plastra and shorter tails with the vent under the rim of the carapace. The smaller males have concave plastra and longer, thicker tails with the vent beyond the rim of the carapace. This Maxi card was given by Merja.

Aphrodite the Goddess of Cyprus

Who does not know about Aphrodite? Here I won’t be telling you stories about the Goddess, but we’ll see what sculptor’s thought she looked like. I have these three cards to illustrate what I mean.

The statue at top right is that of Aphrodite displayed in the Archeological Museum in Nicosia.

The statues shown at top left are of Aphrodite of Milos. She was named after the island of Milos where the statue was found. It could have been made ariund 130-120 BC by an unknown sculptor. Presently in the Louvre Museum in Paris. According to Greek mythology the Goddess of love and beauty was born in Cyprus.

The card below has the photo of Aphrodite, Pan and Cupid. It was found on the Island of Delos. It was made around 100 BC. It is presently situated in the National Museum of Athens. According to Greek mythology ”She rose out of the sea foam, and for this they called her Aphrodite”.

Thank you Merja for showing me these priceless statues.

Marina Gaviota in Varadero

Marina Gaviota is located near the Varadero international airport, which is only 30 kilometres away, and approximately 150 kilometres from Havana airport. You know Havana and the cigars made famous by that name.

In the marina you will find all necessary services for tourists: sailing, showers, laundry, shop, diving centre, and of course the excellent restaurant KIKE-KCHO, which is located on the calm waters of the marina, which offers all variety of seafood. The navigation area extends to the east towards the Marina Cayo Santa Maria, in this journey, one finds many keys such as Cayo Blanc, Bay of Cadiz, Cayo Hycacal, etc, coral reefs also complete a beautiful picture which one can hardly forget. Lying on the beach in the shadows of the palm trees is indeed an unforgettable experience. Alexis of Cuba de Santiago sent this lovely card to me.

Changdeokgung Palace Complex

In the early 15th century, the King Taejong ordered the construction of a new palace at an auspicious site. A Bureau of Palace Construction was set up to create the complex, consisting of a number of official and residential buildings set in a garden that was cleverly adapted to the uneven topography of the 58-ha site. The result is an exceptional example of Far Eastern palace architecture and design, blending harmoniously with the surrounding landscape. The Changdeogung Palace Complex is an outstanding example of Far Eastern palace architecture and garden design, exceptional for the way in which the buildings are integrated into and harmonized with the natural setting, adapting to the topography and retaining indigenous tree cover.

In the early years of the Joseon dynasty in Korea, the capital moved many times between Gaeseong and Hanyang (present-day Seoul). In 1405 the King Taejong (1400-18), moved the capital back to Hanyang. Considering the existing Gyeongbokgung Palace to be inauspicious, he ordered a new palace to be built, which he named Changdeokgung (Palace of Illustrious Virtue). This palace occupies an irregular rectangle of 57.9 ha, north of Seoul at the foot of Mount Eungbongsan, the main geomantic guardian mountain.

Thank you Rob for this lovely card.

Princess Victoria of Sweden

I just received this lovely picture of Princess Victoria who became a Mother just the other day on Thursday (See my post just below this one). Merja sent me this lovely photograph.

It's a princess! Female heir born in Sweden

Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria gave birth to her first child Thursday, a baby girl who will one day become queen, prompting banner headlines and 21-gun salutes across the country. King Carl XVI Gustaf says his first grandchild — who is second in line to the Swedish throne — will be named Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary. The king said Friday that the princess will receive the title Duchess of Ostergotland, a province in the country's southeast. The news gave the royal family a respite from the negative headlines that have dogged King Carl XVI Gustaf, Victoria's father, after a 2010 book made scandalous claims about his private life. The child, was born at 4:26 a.m. (0326 GMT), said Victoria's husband, Prince Daniel. She was 20 inches (51 cms) long and weighed 7.23 pounds (3.28 kg). Both the crown princess and the baby are "doing very well," an emotional Daniel told reporters who had waited for the announcement all night at the Karolinska University Hospital in the Stockholm suburb of Solna.

I believe there is a festive atmosphere even in neighbouring Finland in honour of this momentous event. The picture on the card shown in this post sent to me by Pia, shows King Carl Gustaf with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Carl Philip admiring little Pricess Madeline in the pram. This photo was taken sometime in 1982.