Rice Terraces, Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines

Here's a card of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and my first card from the Philippines! Thought to have been there for 2000 years, these rice terraces in the Philippines are indeed an impressive sight to behold. They are located 1500m above sea level, and the waters in the terraces are provided for by the rain forests atop the mountains.

Sucevița Monastery, Bukovina, Romania

This postcard should have been uploaded some time ago. I guess I left it out under that whole pile of unsorted cards. Anyway, here's a richly coloured postcard of the Sucevița Monastery in Romania. I wanted this card so much because I was so attracted to the vibrant colours! This monastery was built in 1585. The interior and exterior walls of the monastery are covered with murals depicting scenes from the Old and New Testament. It was once a princely residence and served as a fort. Today, it houses a museum that displays historical artifacts and artistic objects. In 2010, this place was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There you go, one more UNESCO card to the growing collection :). You can find out more about this place here.

Waterkant, Paramaribo, Suriname

Another lovely card from a South American country, this time, Suriname. Its not often I get cards from one of these "rare" countries. So here's a view of the Waterfront, one of the main streets of Paramaribo. There are many historical buildings that line the banks of the river. And on another note, the Historic Inner City of Paramaribo is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so I think I will just consider this one of my UNESCO cards!

Chernivsti University, Ukraine

This postcard looks like a page out of a fairy tale, doesn't it? Officially known as the Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans (wow thats a pretty long name), the building currently houses the Chernivsti University which was founded in 1875.

Petra, Ma'an, Jordan

Here's a beautiful card from Jordan which shows Petra. Petra is historical and archaeological city that is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Known as "a rose-red city half as old as time", it is a very famous tourist attraction today. Petra is believed to have been established around 312 BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans. Excavations at the site have shown that the Nabataeans had the ability to control water supply that allowed the desert city to rise and prosper. It sounds really amazing and I really can't wait for a chance to visit this beautiful place!

Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan, Mexico

Here's an interesting card from Mexico showing the Pyramid of the Moon from the enormous Teotihuacan archaeological site in Mexico. I got it from a swap with Niza. You can see the card that I sent her here.

Teotihuacan was a city that is thought to have been established around 100BC and construction continued till about 250AD. At it's zenith in perhaps the first half of the first millenium AD, it was the largest city in Pre-Columbian America that housed perhaps 125,000 residents. A pretty impressive feat at that time eh?

Honduras!

Not long after I received my first card from Guatemala, I've received more cards from another Central American country. This time, it's from Honduras! I never imagined I could get a postcard from Honduras, much less a whole package of beautiful cards, stamps and a banknote! Here's what I found when I opened the package:

This card shows a view of the central park of San Pedro Sula. San Pedro Sula is a city in Honduras. It is the second largest city in the country after the capital Tegucigalpa. The central park lies in the middle of the First Avenue and the Third Avenue. The small white gazebo in the center of the park marks the spot where the city was founded. The interesting thing is that this gazebo is the only piece of architecture that is still standing from the day it was built in 1901.

Tikal, Guatemala

My first card from Central America: Guatemala! This is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilisation. At the height of its rule (200-900AD), Tikal  dominated much of the Mayan region politically, economically and militarily. In 1979, Tikal was decelared a UNESCO world heritage site. Can't wait for my chance to travel to this place! I believe that raccoon was photoshoped into this postcard haha!

Safranbolu, Turkey

I saw this card on postcrossing and it was love at first sight, so I contacted Sezen, who kindly agreed to do a swap with me :). I really like the snowy view of the streets of Safranbolu, Turkey. This is my first UNESCO world heritage site postcard and I'm really happy to be able to have it!