If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 378

Dolina Chochołowska, Tatra Mountains, Poland

What a pleasant surprise to find this postcard in our mailbox.  A friend had taken a trip and went hiking in the Tatra Mountains located between Slovakia and Poland and sent the card.  The postcard has photographs of the area and the inns or shelters where hikers can stay by Ryszard Ziemak.  Our friend wrote that he stayed three nights in one of these shelters and used that as his base for some great hikes. 

These mountains are the highest range in the Carpathians and form a natural border between Poland and Slovakia.  The highest peak, Gerlach, is 8,710 feet or 2,655 meters high.  Both countries have established Tatra National Parks that are part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves. 

Historically this range of mountains has been found named as early as 999 by Czech Duke Boleslaus II when he recalled the Duchy of Bohemia extended to them.  Henry IV referred to them in a document dated 1086.  Another mention of the name is made of them in 1125 in the Kosmas chronicles.  The name has been spelled a variety of different ways from Tritri/Tritry, Trtry, and Tartry and finally today as Tatra, a general term for stony land or rocks and river stones.

The mountains are described as similar to the Alps although not as high. The Tatras are easily accessible and a favorite place for tourists, hikers, winter sports, and resorts.  There have been many disputes along the borders and hikers faced difficulties because it was illegal to cross borders without going through an official border checkpoint.  In 1999, 80 years after the dissolution of the Austrian Empire, the governments of Poland and Slovakia signed an agreement that provided designated unstaffed border crossings.  In 2007 the situation was further improved when both countries finally approved crossings at any point.  There are still rules for the national parks of both countries and hiking trails have seasonal closures to protect the wildlife.  

The card came with this beautiful lily stamp issued in July of 2016 with a design by Marzanna Dąabrowska.

Thank you, M, for the wonderful card and the opportunity to learn more about this area.

For additional information, see:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g285710-d8674686-r520664533-Dolina_Chocholowska-Tatra_National_Park_Lesser_Poland_Province_Southern_Poland.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_Mountains

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 377

Costa Blanca, Alicante/Alacant, Spain

Following up from the postcard shared last week here is another one from the same area, the Costa Blanca, Spain.  The photograph is by Joan M. Linares and Triangle Postals published the card. 

The Costa Blanca or White Coast spans over 120 miles or 200 kilometers along the Mediterranean in the Alicante province, southeastern coast of Spain.  The warm, sunny weather and white sandy beaches make it a popular tourist destination.

Villajoyosa, Spain

We visited two beaches on the Costa Blanca, one at Villajoyosa a little north of Alicante where we were able to meet with another cousin who lives in Norway but spends several months in Spain.  I did not expect to ever meet her in person since she lives on an island in northern Norway and it did not seem likely that I would go that far north.  However, here we are, three, second cousins on the beach in Spain!  The beach at Villajoyosa is also a long sandy beach like the one shown on the card.

Three cousins meet in Spain

We also visited Torrevieja, south of Alicante, where the shoreline is rocky and there did not seem to be as much of a sandy beach.  Instead there was a long boardwalk and a stone walkway that had steps and a ramp down into the water.  It was windy the day we visited and there were waves crashing onto the rocks, even so we saw some people surfing there.

Torrevieja, Spain

For more information, see:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Blanca

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 376

Alicante also written as Alacant, Spain

This Triangle Postals postcard was purchased at the airport in Alicante on the Costa Blanco of Spain and has a photograph by Rafa Pérez.   We arrived and departed from Alicante but stayed with my cousins who live in the small town of Catral located south of here between Alicante and Murcia.  The Castle of Santa Bárbara on the top of the hill can be seen for miles and was one place we had hoped to visit but we ran out of time and were not able to do so. 

People have occupied the area around the city for over 7,000 years, first by hunter-gatherers and then around 1,000 BC the Greek and Phoenician traders began visiting this eastern coast of Spain and establishing trading ports.  The traders brought more than goods to the Iberian tribes living here; they also introduced the alphabet, iron, and the pottery wheel. The White Mountain or White Point fortified settlement established by the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca and dating to the mid 230s BC is believed to be the site of the modern city of Alicante. 

A chain of different ruling parties occurs beginning with the Romans who followed the Carthaginians and ruled for 700 years.  Then came the Visigoth rule for about 300 years, the Arab conquest followed with the Moors ruling southern and eastern Spain until the mid 13th century, to be taken by the Castilian king Alfonso X in 1247 then passing to King James II of Aragon.  It was granted status as a Royal Village and was represented in the medieval Valencian Parliament.  The colorful history of the area continues with clashes between the Kingdom of Castile and the Crown of Aragon, includes exporting rice, wine, olive oil, oranges and wool, the introduction of the Barbary pirates who repeatedly attacked the coastal cities and caused much harm to the trade.  Today the modern city has a population of over 300,000 and is one of the fastest-growing cities in Spain.  The mild winter climate, hot summers, little rain and the beautiful white sandy beaches have made tourism a big part of the city’s economy.  The sunrises and sunsets were as beautiful and pink (to orange and red) as the top postcard indicates. 

Street scene, Alicante, Spain

This second postcard is also a Triangle Postals publication with a photo by Miguel Raurich.  It shows a typical street scene with the buildings painted different colors and bright sunshine.  We noticed a lot of tile and marble work throughout this area of Spain and it was extremely unusual to find anything made entirely of wood.  It was common to find railings and fences made of ironwork.

For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alicante

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 375

Alcázar, or Royal Palace, Seville, Spain
[photo:  Angel Olivares]

This unused postcard is another sent by my son and his wife from their trip to Portugal and Spain earlier this year.  Printed in Spain and bearing the number 044 in the space for the stamp on the reverse, the photographer is identified as Angel Olivares.  The publishers/printers are L. Domingues, S.A. of Madrid, Editorial Fisa Escudo de Oro, S.A.

The scenes on the card are from the Alcázar of Seville, a royal palace built in the 1360s for the Christian king Peter of Castile who is sometimes called Pedro the Cruel of Castile.  In 1987 UNESCO registered it as a World Heritage Site and it is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe.  The place where the castle is situated has been occupied since the 8th century B.C.

A map of the palace shows a spreading group of different sections stitched together in a rambling fashion to form a large complex.  Originally the palace was built in the Moorish style for a Christian ruler.  The old portion of the palace has some of the best examples of Mudejar architecture despite the fires and earthquakes that made numerous restorations necessary.  The complex that forms the entire palace has definite sections dating to different eras:  Moorish (11th – 12th century); Gothic (13th century); Mudejar (14th century); and Renaissance (15th – 16th century). 

The left panel on the card shows a pool and plants as well as Moorish carvings and tile work.  It is not labeled on the card but it looks like it may be part of the Patio or courtyard famous for sunken gardens and a reflecting pool.  The gardens contain a variety of fruit trees as well as fragrant flowers.  The garden-orchard supplied food for the palace residents.  Water was used for irrigation as well as in pools, ponds, and fountains that were pleasing to the eye.  The gardens have undergone many changes during the years.

The center panel shows the Ambassador’s Hall with its gold dome, representing the heavens, the most spectacular room in the palace.  There are several lavish reception rooms in the palace like the one shown in the panel on the right.  King Peter used the main room during his stay at the Alcázar.  It is the most richly decorated room in the palace.  

Trivia:  In 1526 Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal were married in this room.  The 1729 Treaty of Seville that ended the Anglo-Spanish War of 1727 was signed here.  The palace has been used in the filming of the 5th season of the television version of Game of Thrones and the movie, Kingdom of Heaven.  It is open to the public.

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcázar_of_Seville
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/alcazar.html

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 374

 The Giralda, Seville, Spain

The postcard this week features a photograph of the bell tower, called the Giralda, of the Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain.  The photographer is not identified but the card does have the number 107 V on the reverse.  This card is another of those shared by my son and his wife from their trip to Portugal and Spain earlier this year.

The tower was originally built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville during the reign of the Almohad dynasty in Al-Andalus, Moorish Spain.  Catholics added a Renaissance-style top after Muslims left the area.  UNESCO designated the Giralda as a World Heritage Site in 1987.  The tower is 342 feet or 104.1 meters high and has been one of the prominent symbols of the city since the Middle Ages.

The Mosque was commissioned by caliph Abu Ya-qub Yusuf in 1171 to replace a smaller mosque because the congregation had grown larger than the smaller prayer hall could accommodate.  The Mosque was completed in 1176 except for the minaret where construction did not begin until 1184 even though prayers were held there beginning in 1182.  The death of both the architect and the caliph stalled the building of the minaret and it was not until 1198 that the tower was completed.  That tower had four precious metal spheres of gold or bronze at the peak of the tower.  Those were replaced with a cross and bell after building was made into a cathedral by Christians in 1248.  The cathedral suffered damage during the 1356 earthquake.  A new cathedral was begun in 1433 and completed 73 years later in 1506. 

The Giralda has a series of ramps that wind around the perimeter of several vaulted chambers.  The ramps were designed to be wide enough and high enough to be used by people, custodians, and beasts of burden.  The windows in the tower are decorated to match the ramps and maximize the interior lighting.  Some embellishments to the tower were removed during a modern restoration. 

The Giralda is an example of Gothic and Baroque architectural styles and is one of the largest churches in the world. 

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giralda

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 373

The Museum of Flight, Seattle

[photo:  Christian Bouchez]

After a two week hiatus that included several rides on airplanes it seemed like this postcard was an appropriate start to the Thursday posts. 

On one of the hottest days of the summer we went to the Museum of Flight so we could get a walk in and still be comfortable in an air-conditioned facility.  Part of the exhibit is undercover but outdoors as seen on the postcard and so it was less cool in that section.  This is an amazing museum that features examples of aircraft from DaVinci’s design recreated to space capsules and rocketry.  I purchased this postcard with a photo by Christian Bouchez from the museum gift shop.  

 DaVinci's aircraft drawing brought to life

A glider of the Wright Brother's era recreated

The Museum of Flight, located on Boeing Field, just south of Seattle in Tukwila, is a private non-profit air and space museum.  Established in 1965 it is the largest private air and space museum in the world and attracts over 500,000 visitors a year.  In addition to the exhibits the museum also hosts educational programs for K-12 students through its Challenger and Aviation Learning Centers.  There is also a summer camp for students.  

One small section of the indoor exhibit

Currently the museum’s Aviation Pavilion is a 140,00 square foot or 13,000 square meter structure.  Most of the museum complex is modern but the original “Red Barn” built in 1909 and used in the early 1900s as the original manufacturing plant for Boeing and a registered historic site also known as Building No. 105, is within the grounds and houses photographs, oral histories and exhibits illustrating how wooden aircraft with fabric overlays were manufactured during the early years. 

 One of the Lunar landing capsules

Space Shuttle Trainer

Mercury space capsule

Satellite

There have been several major expansions to the museum since it was founded including the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery.  The museum has the Space Shuttle trainer that the Space Shuttle astronauts used. 


For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Flight

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 372

St. Jerome Monastery, cloister, Lisbon, Portugal

The St. Jerome Monastery is located within the city of Lisbon, Portugal.  This unused long size postcard, sent by my son and his wife, has a photo by Nuno Antunes showing a view of the cloister.  The monastery and the nearby Tower of Belém have both been a UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1983.  The monastery features examples of Manueline architecture.  It is a major historical building in Lisbon.  The Tower of Belém on the bank of the Tagus River was built partly to protect the monastery.  The monastery has two floors with a vaulted design in a quadrangular layout containing religious and royal symbols.

The construction of St. Jerome’s began in 1501 and took 100 years to complete.  King Manuel I (1469-1521) originally funded the project with a 5% tax on selected commerce from Africa and the Orient.  The tax collected equaled about 150 lbs or 70 kilos of gold per year.  With such a sum of guaranteed funds architects were not limited to small-scale plans.  The King selected Hieronymite monks to serve in the monastery.  Their purpose was to pray for the King’s eternal soul and provide spiritual assistance to navigators and sailors who left from the nearby port as explorers of the world.  The monks did this service for more than 400 years until 1833 when their religious order was dissolved and the monastery abandoned.

As suggested by the use of a long card the cloister is vast at 180 x 180 ft or 55 X 55 m.  Each wing has six bays with tracery vaults.  The second level is recessed.  There are four inner bays resting on massive buttresses that form broad arcades.  The decorated cloister seen on the card has nautical elements and European, Moorish, and Eastern motifs. 

The monastery has been restored and renovated several times.  Today the Maritime Museum and the National Archaeology Museum are both found within.  Portions of the buildings that make up the monastery as well as both museums are open to the public.

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerónimos_Monastery
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon

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NOTE: 

Postcard Thursday is taking the next two weeks off.  See you in November!