Moscow

Lena sent me this pretty card with two views of Moscow, The one above is that of The White House, also known as the Russian White House. It is a government building in Moscow. It stands on Krasnopresnenskaya embankment. Construction started in 1965 and ended in 1981. Originally called The House of Soviets, it was designed by the architects Dmitry Chechulin and P. Shteller. Upon completion in 1981, the White House was used by the Supreme Soviet of Russia, which had until then held its sessions in the Grand Kremlin Palace. The Supreme Soviet of Russia remained in the building until the end of the Soviet Union, as well as during the first years of the Russian Federation. The White House was pictured on a 50 kopeck stamp in 1991, honoring the resistance to the failed coup attempt of 1991. After the end of the Soviet Union, the White House continued to serve as the seat of the Russian parliament. The White House stood damaged for some time after the 1993 crisis, and the black burns became famous, so much so that it became tradition for newlyweds to be photographed in front of its damaged facade. The reformed parliament, known thereafter by its Tsarist era title of Duma, was elected in 1994 and moved to another building on Moscow's Okhotny Ryad. The renovated White House now houses the Russian government. An inscription at the base of the tower reads, "House of the Government of the Russian Federation."

The picture below is of The Grand Triumphal Arch, which is decorated with the coats of arms from the 48 Russian provinces. To celebrate the victory over France in the war of 1812, it also includes bas-reliefs of the "Expulsion of the French". The arch was originally built in 1834, but has only been on this site since 1968. One can also see the Poklonny Hill in the background. It is a little ironic that this arch resembles the Paris Arc de Triomphe, which Napoleon built between 1806 and 1836 to celebrate his French victories.

Lighthouses in Germany

Germany has two coastlines, one facing northwest on the North Sea and the other facing northeast on the Baltic Sea. Interest in lighthouses is strong in Germany, and most of the towers are in good condition. A federal law provides blanket protection to historic lighthouses. There is concern, however, that many of the lights may be deactivated in the coming years as navigators depend less and less on them. Shown on the card are lighthouses on the North Coast.

In German, a lighthouse is a Leuchtturm ("light tower"), plural Leuchttürme. The front light is the Unterfeuer and the rear light is the Oberfeuer. Modern range lighthouses are crowned by a topmark: a large, distinctive structure that serves to mark the range clearly in the daytime. Maria sent me this card.

Merlion of Singapore

We went to the famous Fullerton Hotel and then on to the Fullerton Heritage Trail. More about the Heritage trail later. Crossing the road we sighted what we had really come for, The Merlion, a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. The Merlion is used as a mascot of Singapore. Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name — Singapura — meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".

The Merlion is the most important, the most famous and the most popular tourist site in Singapore. This one near the Marina Sands is the most famous. But, there are replicas in four other places in the city. The biggest and tallest one is at a park in Sentosa Island, south of the city.

The symbol was designed by Fraser Brunner, a member of the Souvenir Committee and curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, for the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in use from 26 March 1964 to 1997 and has been its trademarked symbol since 20 July 1966. Although the STB changed their logo in 1997, the STB Act continues to protect the Merlion symbol. Approval must be received from STB before it can be used. The Merlion appears frequently on STB-approved souvenirs.

The merlion — occurs in a number of different artistic traditions. Lions with fishtails can be found on Indian murals at Ajanta and Mathura, and on Etruscan coins of the Hellenistic period. Merlions, or ‘heraldic sea- lions’, are an established element of Western heraldry, and have been used on the coat of arms of the cities of Portsmouth and Great Yarmouth in the United Kingdom; the City of Manila; and the East India Company.

Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore

The Sri Mariamman Temple is Singapore's oldest Hindu temple. It is an agamic temple, built in the Dravidian style. Located at No. 244 South Bridge Road, in the downtown Chinatown district, the temple serves mainly South Indian Tamil Hindu Singaporeans in the city-state. Due to its architectural and historical significance, the temple has been gazetted a National Monument and is a major tourist attraction. Sri Mariamman Temple is managed by the Hindu Endowments Board, a statutory board under the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

The Sri Mariamman Temple was founded in 1827 by Naraina Pillai, eight years after the British East India Company established a trading settlement in Singapore.

Pillai was a government clerk from Penang who arrived in Singapore with Stamford Raffles on his second visit to the island in May 1819. He went on to set up the island's first construction company. He also entered the textile trade. Pillai rapidly established himself in business and was identified as a leader of the Indian community.

Singapore Flyer

What an experience! What a view! It was really fantastic from the top of the World. Or, that is what it seemed to me when I was on The Singapore Flyer. A giant Ferris wheel if there ever was one. Located in Singapore, constructed in 2005–2008. Described by its operators as an observation wheel, it reaches 42 stories high, with a total height of 165 m (541 ft), making it the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, 5 m (16 ft) taller than the Star of Nanchang and 30 m (98 ft) taller than the London Eye. Situated on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre reclaimed land, it comprises a 150 m (492 ft) diameter wheel, built over a three-story terminal building which houses shops, bars and restaurants, and offers broad views of the city centre and beyond to about 45 km (28 mi), including the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan, as well as Johor, Malaysia. The picture on the card is slightly dated, as it does not show the now famous Marina Sands Hotel with the curved ship on top of the three hotel towers.

The final capsule was installed on 2 October 2007, the wheel started rotating on 11 February 2008 and it officially opened to the public on 1 March 2008. Tickets for rides on the first 3 nights were sold out for S$8,888 (US$6,271), an auspicious number in Chinese culture. The grand opening for the Flyer was held on 15 April 2008. Each of the 28 air-conditioned capsules is capable of holding 28 passengers, and a complete rotation of the wheel takes about 30 minutes. Initially rotating in a counter-clockwise direction when viewed from Marina Centre, its direction was changed on 4 August 2008 under the advice of Feng shui masters. The counter ticket girls were kind enough to give a key chain, depicting the important facets of Feng Shui.

The Batu Caves

I had the good fortune of visiting The Batu Caves very recently. These caves are situated thirteen kilometers (seven miles) north of the Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Batu Caves are caves in a limestone hill, which has a series of caves and cave temples, located in Gombak district. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu or Batu River, which flows past the hill. Batu Caves is also the name of the nearby village. The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia. The golden statue of Lord Murugan which you see in the picture is 42 metres tall and is the focus point of the Batu Caves complex. The Batu Caves are said to be around 400 million years old. Some of the cave entrances were used as shelters by the indigenous Temuan people (a tribe of Orang Asli).

The Batu Caves consist of three main caves and a number of smaller ones. The caves are made of limestone and are 400 meters long and 100 meter high. They were discovered in 1892. From our hotel in the Golden Triangle area of KL we reached the Batu Caves by bus in about 30 minutes. On arrival at the caves we were greeted by lots of monkeys. They were looking out for peanuts and bananas, which people buy in several shops and offer them to these simians, before climbing up to the caves. One has to climb 272 steps, which lead to the religious and magnificent Batu Caves. I preferred to admire the caves from below, from near the feet of Lord Murugan. 272 steep steps…It’s a good thing I remembered that discretion was the better part of valour, especially at my age ;-))

Once a year the Hindus here celebrate the Thaipusam festival in the Batu Caves. It's a celebration for the son of Shiva (Subramaniam) and the becoming "one" of Pusan and the Brihaspati stars. The Thaipusam festival. On Thaipusam, as many as 800,000 devotees and other visitors may throng the caves. As a form of penance or sacrifice, many of them carry kavadis (literally, "burden," such as a pitcher or jug). These are large, brightly decorated frameworks, usually combined with various metal hooks and skewers which are used to pierce the skin, cheeks and tongue. By doing this penance they naturally expect some favours from their Gods! The festival is held in the tenth month of the Hindu calendar (normally the at end of January).

If you go up the stairs, you can meet a lot of long tailed-macaque monkeys and if you have peanuts with you, they'll come to you. These monkeys love peanuts, but they love potato crisps too! They have a temper also. So be careful how you look at them!

Birds of Prey - Cyprus

On September 25th, 2003, Cyprus Post released the stamps features the Birds of Prey in Cyprus. The species depicted are Imperial Eagle, Eleonora’s Falcon, and Owl. The issued stamps have specific shape, triangular and have differ nominal values. Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 extant bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions (e.g. the Northern Hawk Owl). Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except Antarctica, most of Greenland and some remote islands.

Different species of owls make different sounds; this wide range of calls aids owls in finding mates or announcing their presence to potential competitors, and also aids ornithologists and birders in locating these birds and recognizing species.

The Owl shown on this maxi card is the Athene Noctua. This is a night bird. It can be seen in many areas like forests, farmlands, farms as well as in populated areas. It feeds mainly on rodents, reptiles, small birds and insects. It lays 3-6 eggs in crevices of cliffs, in holes in buildings or in heaps of stones, during the April to June period. The lower maxi card shows these eggs. Merja gave me these cards.