Povorotni Lighthouse is located in the Russian mainland in the Eastern part of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. It is interesting to note that a similarly named lighthouse exists on the Far Eastern Rusian coast on the Primorski Krai. Maria sent me this pretty card.
The English Bay Inukshuk is a popular attraction. Located off the popular Vancouver Seawall, This simple yet stunning piece of art identifies with the Canadian land it has been built on. Sitting on the edge of a small peninsula with a circular walking path with the Burrard Inlet, Cascade Mountain range and ocean lines behind, it is a picturesque and popular site no matter the weather or time of day as the Inukshuk is lit up at night. Hundreds of tourists a day have their photo taken with this iconic Vancouver art piece and it was the symbol for the 2010 Winter Games.One of the most iconic Canadian images in the last decade has become the inuksuk, which can be seen coast to coast on road sides, as art forms and in Vancouver's case, as a two story granite sculpture on a small jetty by English Bay created by artisan Alvin Kanak from the North West Territories in 1987 as a gift for the World Expo.The history behind the Inukshuk is its use in the northern region of Canada where these built forms are used as a point of reference, or navigation, necessary since in the winter months pathways are indistinguishable and the landscape all appears the same. These stone 'signposts' mark hunting grounds and directions to settlements. Traditional Inukshuk however, are not built in the shape of a person, the figures that appear human like are usually refered to as inunnguaq.
The inukshuk is a familiar image as it was the chosen symbol for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is called 'Ilanaaq', the Inuktitut interpretation for the word: 'friend'.
Linda sent me this lovely card.
Speyer (formerly known as Spires in English) is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities. The first known names were Noviomagus and Civitas Nemetum, after the Teutonic tribe, Nemetes, settled in the area. Around the year 500 the name Spira first appeared in written documents. Spire, Spira, and Espira are still names used for Speyer in the French, Italian, and Spanish languages. Speyer is dominated by the Speyer Cathedral, a number of churches and the Altportal (old gate). In the cathedral, beneath the high altar, are the tombs of eight Holy Roman emperors and German kings.
The Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen, in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae (German: Dom zu Unserer lieben Frau in Speyer) in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Bamberg. The cathedral, which is dedicated to St. Mary, patron saint of Speyer ("Patrona Spirensis") and St. Stephen is generally known as Kaiserdom zu Speyer (Imperial Cathedral of Speyer). Pope Pius XI raised Speyer Cathedral to the rank of a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church in 1925.
Begun in 1030 under Conrad II, the imposing triple-aisled vaulted basilica of red sandstone is the "culmination of a design which was extremely influential in the subsequent development of Romanesque architecture during the 11th and 12th centuries". As the burial site for Salian, Staufer and Habsburg emperors and kings the cathedral is regarded as a symbol of imperial power. With the Abbey of Cluny in ruins, it remains the largest Romanesque church. It is considered to be "a turning point in European architecture", one of the most important architectural monuments of its time and one of the finest Romanesque monuments. Speyer Cathedral, a basilica with four towers and two domes, was founded by Conrad II in 1030 and remodelled at the end of the 11th century. It is one of the most important Romanesque monuments from the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The cathedral was the burial place of the German emperors for almost 300 years.
In 1981, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally important sites as "a major monument of Romanesque art in the German Empire". Sabine of Ludwigshafen sent this nice painting of the Cathedral to me.
A clog is a type of footwear made in part or completely from wood. Clogs are used worldwide and although the form may vary by culture, within a culture the form often remained unchanged for centuries. Traditional clogs were often worn in heavy labor. Today they remain in use as protective clothing in agriculture and in some factories and mines. Although clogs are sometimes negatively associated with cheap and folkloric footwear of farmers and the working class, some types of clogs are considered as fashion wear today, such as Swedish clogs or Japanese geta. Clogs are also used in several different styles of dance. When worn for dancing an important feature is the sound of the clog against the floor. This is one of the fundamental roots of tap, but with the tap shoes the taps are free to click against each other and produce different sound to clogs.
Wooden shoes have been popular in the Netherlands for about 700 years. Wooden shoe wearers claim the shoes are warm in winter, cool in summer and provide support for good posture. The wood also absorbs perspiration so that the foot can breathe. Wooden shoes, as icons of Dutch culture, appear in customs such as the practice of young Dutch men presenting their fiancees with a pair of carved wooden shoes. In Holland, wooden shoes are worn by farmers, fishermen, factory workers, artisans and others to protect their feet. Nails, fishing hooks and sharp implements that might pierce a regular boot will not go through a wooden shoe. On boats and docks and in muddy fields, wooden shoes also keep feet dry. This pretty pair of clogs were sent to me by Judith from the North of Holland.
BelAZ is a Belarusian manufacturer of haulage and earthmoving equipment such as the one shown on the card. It is located at Zhodzina. The factory opened its doors in 1948 and has produced over 120,000 vehicles for use in the erstwhile Soviet Union. BELAZ is a site for one of the largest Commonwealth of Independent States investment projects. The factory finalized two of the three scheduled phases of the technical re-equipment and upgrades. The Quality Management System applied in research and development, fabrication, erection and after-sale service of the equipment complies with international ISO 9000 standards.
The range of business applications of these companies is as broad as the list of their partners and geography of supplies and deliveries. They supply quarry equipment, communal machinery and passenger transport, provide technical service and transportation of raw materials. The companies this group comprise of the dealers of such leaders of heavy engineering industry as BELAZ, MAZ, BELKOMMUNMASH, KOMMMASH, LINCOLN etc. The client base of CBS GROUP includes such major cement manufacturers as Holcim, Heidelbergcement, Cemex and Lafarge. They assisted their partners in building the large power stations in the Pamirs, extracting alumina in Africa, building roads in Cuba and mining coal in Kuzbass. Olga from Gomal in Belarus sent me this card.
A statue of Thao Suranari stands in the centre of Nakhon Ratchasima city, and is a popular object of devotion, while a festival in her honour is held in the city at the end of March and the beginning of April each year. The statue was designed by Phra Thewaphinimmit (1888–1942) and sculpted by Silpa Bhirasri. Bhirasri's was an Italian, whose real name was Corrado Feroci. Feroci came to Thailand in 1923, upon invitation to teach art. His name was changed to Bhirasri after Italy surrendered to that Allies during WWII. This was done to avoid arrest by the Japanese forces which occupied Thailand the time. The Thao Suranari statue was erected next to the Chumphon gate on January 15, 1934.
Thao Suranari Monument is a memorial by locals, and was built in 1933. The local people come from other provinces as well to pay homage here and ask for blessings. Amiley sent me this nice card.
