RUSSIA ~Solovetsky Island - UNESCO~

A stunning and beautiful nightview...now a peaceful looking site...but a place with a dark history...between 1926 and 1939 the monastery was turned into a special Soviet prison and labor camp, which served as a prototype for the Gulag system... also know as "Silovki" Gulag...
The back of the card is almost as beautiful as its front... Thanks a lot CharlesLing!!



Wonderful matching stamps:
World Cultural Heritage in Russia
Solovetsky Islands

(Issued 17-07-2009) and 

The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Aram Khachaturyan (composer) stamp.
(24-04-2003)

The Solovetsky Monastery is one of the most significant monastic institutions in Russia. The monastery is located on the large island of Solovetsky and  became one of the richest and best known monasteries in Russia.It was founded in the second quarter of the 15th century by tree monks from the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery.

The Solovetsky archipelago comprises six islands in the western part of the White Sea, near the Arctic Circle. They have been inhabited since the 5th century B.C. and important traces of a human presence from as far back as the 5th millennium B.C. can be found there. The archipelago has been the site of fervent monastic activity since the 15th century, and there are several churches dating from the 16th to the 19th century.

The USSR recognized the beauty and importance of the islands and in 1974 were designated both a historical/architectural museum and a nature reserve. In 1992  it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.

ARMENIA ~Khor Virap monastery - Ararat mountains ~

Postcard nr2 coming from Armenia... breathtaking mountain and monastery view... Thanks a lot Patrik!!


With great stamps and postmark!
 Armenian alphabet
(Issued 30-07-2013)
Cilician Kingdom of Armenia
(Issued 28-12-2013)

The Khor Virap is an Armenian Apostolic Church monastery located in the Ararat valley near the border with Turkey. Originally build 642 AD by Nerses III the Builder. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt. In 1662, the larger chapel known as the "St. Astvatsatsin" (Holy Mother of God) was built around the ruins of the old chapel, the monastery, the refectory and the cells of the monks. Now, regular Church services are held in this church.
It is probably the most visited pilgrimage site in Armenia.

 Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey.  Mount Ararat in Judeo-Christian tradition is associated with the "Mountains of Ararat" where, according to the book of Genesis, Noah's ark came to rest.

Although the mountain is not in modern Armenia today, the best view of the Holy mountain is in fact from Armenia.

Photo Levon Bakhshyan

ROMANIA ~Barsana Monastery~

... a stunning view...almost unbelievable that no power tools or nails were used to put this impressive construction together...Thanks a lot Raluca!!


Nice flowers and antiques clocks stamps
 (Issued 21-06-2013)

Bârsana is one of the most important villages in the valley of the Iza River.

Barsana is one of the wooden churches in Maramures, a beautiful synthesis of Eastern and Western European architecture, with Gothic and Byzantine elements. The church was manually carved by some of the most talented craftsmen from Maramures.

The complex comprise at least 10 beautiful buildings, constructed in traditional stile with extremely gorgeous balconies, windows and staircases carved in wood .

MACEDONIA ~St. Naum Monastery-Ohrid-UNESCO~

...Great aerial view of the monastery on top of a cliff...the view over the lake must be stunning...
Macedonians believe you can hear the saint’s heartbeat by pressing an ear to his stone coffin inside the church... I wonder, did you hear it too Agi?:D Many thanks!!

Lovely stamp:
Macedonian protected flora:Viola kosanini (Issued 15-09-1999)

As with most Byzantine churches, St. Naum was chosen primarily for its location – on a high, rocky outcropping over the lake, above deep forests and the life-giving springs of the Crn Drim. The monastic complex and church of St. Naum were built originally at the turn of the tenth century by the monk of the same name.

The monastery has been renewed and enlarged several times over the centuries. While most of its iconostases and frescoes date from the 16th and 17th centuries, earlier etchings in the Byzantine Greek vernacular also remain. But numerous orthographical mistakes indicate that they were written by Slavic-speaking local monks. Other inscriptions in the church make up some of the oldest epigraphic evidence of Slavic literacy.

Ohrid is one of only 28 sites that are part of UNESCO's World Heritage that are both Cultural and Natural sites.

RUSSIA ~Moscow- Novodevichy Convent-UNESCO~

Wonderful panoramic view of the Novodevichy Convent from the pond... And another UNESCO site! (WIP UNESCO swap) Thanks Irina!


The Novodevichy Convent is a historical Russian Orthodox convent in Moscow.Founded at the beginning of 16th century, for 400 years the Novodevichy Convent was the witness and the participant of important historical events, connected with the names of Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov, Sofia and Peter I. The architectural ensemble of the convent was formed by the end of 17th century and till now remains one of the best in Russia

ROMANIA ~ Churches of Moldavia - UNESCO~

Got a great monastery card today! Another special shaped building that you never find here in Western Europe...Its my third UNESCO site from the seven of Romania!

Humor Monastery is set on a hill top in one of the most fascinating of the Suceava county landscapes. This natural setting is associated with an original architectural and decorative diversity. The Church of the Humor Monastery is a famous fundation of the Middle Ages. The Church of the Humor Monastery was entirely painted al fresco

BHUTAN ~Takshang Monastery~

Got again three lovely cards today, an interesting statue from the USA, a new beach from Brazil and after Sri Lanka a second new place this week! :) The card is sent from India a neighbouring country of Bhutan.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by People's Republic of China.

This monastery has been built in 1684, on the site where Guru Padmasambhava, the essence of Buddha Amitabha, landed on the back of a tiger and mediated for several months.Taksang is one of the most famous monasteries in Bhutan. It hangs on a cliff at over ten thousand feet above the bottom of Paro valley. The nameTaksang means “Tiger’s nest”, the monastery includes seven temples which can all be visited.