Heinrich Schliemann

Heinrich Schliemann (6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and a pioneer of field archaeology. He was an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an archaeological excavator of Hissarlik now presumed to be the site of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns. His work lent weight to the idea that Homer's Iliad’ and Virgil’s Aeneid reflect actual historical events. Schliemann's excavation of nine levels of archaeological remains with dynamite has been criticized as destructive of significant historical artifacts, including the level that is believed to be the historical Troy.

Along with Arthur Evans, Schliemann was a pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. The two men knew of each other, Evans having visited Schliemann's sites. Schliemann had planned to excavate at Knossos, but died before fulfilling that dream. Evans bought the site and stepped in to take charge of the project, which was then still in its infancy.

Thank you Dear Merja for this nice maxicard.

South Downs National Park

Uniquely combining a biodiverse landscape with bustling towns and villages, the South Downs National Park covers an area of over 1,600 km2 and is home to more than 110,400 people. Recognised as an area of outstanding beauty, the South Downs is also home to a multitude of vibrant working communities steeped in history and traditional English culture, from the ancient cathedral city of Winchester in the west to the bustling market town of Lewes in the east. We all have a shared responsibility to care for the National Park and the South Downs. Fantastic opportunities exist for you to enjoy the areas special qualities through the rights of way network and areas of open access land, but please remember there is no ‘right to roam’ in the rest of the National Park as most of this area is private land, managed by farmers and foresters. Enjoy walking in the countryside and treat it with respect: Find out more about how you can care for the National Park while enjoying all it has to offer. Whatever you are looking to do, for residents and visitors alike, the South Downs National Park offers a multitude of things to see and enjoy.

The South Downs National Park is England’s newest National Park, having become fully operational on 1 April 2011. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres (628 sq mi) in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers not only the chalk ridge of the South Downs, with its celebrated chalk downland landscape that culminates in the iconic chalky white cliffs of Beachy Head, but also a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The South Downs Way spans the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that lies wholly within a national park.

This lovely card sent to me by Sue shows the River Cuckmere, Halnaker Mill Near Uppark, The Seven Sisters and the Long Man of Wilmington.

Taverna's in Cyprus

Now here's a card I real like. Good food and even better drinks. And atmosphere must be a real WoW!
A taverna of course!

Where's this one. Its in Cyprus of course!. Cyprus has a large number of tavernas offering traditional dishes and apéritifs and many restaurants offering various cuisines. There are many entertainment centres in coastal summer resorts such as Agia Napa and in all the cities and districts. A lot of the tavernas and entertainment centres offer Greek music and dancing. There are also many clubs which provide entertainment with modern music until the early hours and have the latest DJs.

These two Greek looking gentlemen seem to be really enjoying themselves in one of the many tavernas in Cyprus. 

Thank youMerja forthis nice card from Limmasol.

Moomin's

As promissed by me here are the last three Moomin cards released on 6.5.2013 and given to me by my Dear friend Ella.

Moomin's

Finnish post issued a stampsheet commemorating the favorite Moomins, central characters in a series of books and a comic strip by Swedish-Finn illustrator and writer Tove Jansson. They are a family of fairy tale characters, who are white and roundish, with large snouts that make them resemble hippopotamuses. The carefree and adventurous family live in their house in Moominvalley, in the forests of Finland, though in the past their temporary residences have included a lighthouse and a theatre. They have had many adventures along with their various friends.

The Moomins are ever-popular favorites on Finnish stamps. This time Itella Posti Oy released a booklet of six stamps, called Moomin Favorites on 6.5.2013. 

Satu Lusa wants to portray the vitality of Tove Jansson's drawings and the Moomin characters' zest for life. All the drawings in the booklet come from Tove Jansson's comic strips published in The Evening News in the 1950s. The shape of the stamps follows that of the Moomin characters.

Thank you Dear Ella for these lovely maxi cards. The rest of the cards will be posted tomorrow.

 

Viersen Sculpture Collection

This nice card was sent to me by Esther. It is one of sculptures in Viersen in Germany. The Viersen Sculpture Collection belongs to the major sculpture parks in Germany and is located in the centre of Viersen (North Rhine-Westphalia).

The Viersen Sculpture Collection was built up during the last 25 years by the donation of the American businessman and former Viersen citizen William Pohl as well as by other donations and funds from the “Stiftung Kunst und Kultur” of North Rhine-Westfalia. So the park surrounding the City Art Gallery “Galerie im Park” developed into a fine sculpture collection contributed by well renowned artists.

When in 1992 the 12 meters high steel sculpture New Star consisting of five parts, which was already created in 1986/87 by the US-Artist Mark di Suvero, was first erected on loan on the Diergardt-Place, a storm of protest against it arose via letters to the editor of the local paper by Viersen citizens. This example of modern art was too alien to many of them. Meanwhile repeated information over the artists and their works, the international acceptance of the exhibition shown by numerous visitors from all over Germany, as well as other countries and extensive media coverage have led to a change of heart among the citizenry.

The sculpture shown on the card was the creation of Günter Haese, and very aptly named Optimus II. The sculpture is made of Brass and stainless steel and is Approx. 7 x 5 x 1.50 m. It was created in 2006-2007. And is located in the park next to the Städtische Galerie.

The town of Viersen is on the left Lower Rhine in the west of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and is a large district town of Viersen in the administrative district of Dusseldorf . The city is seat of the district Viersen. Contrary to popular belief, the town name derives not from "Four Lakes", but on the old name "Viers" today the so-called "Bach's villages" near the "Emperor mill".

Chinese Water Regions

Jevey from China sent me this card, which shows some boys having fun in the village river.