Jurassic Coast, UK Postcards

The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of 153 kilometres (95 mi). Chartered in 2001, the Jurassic coast was the second wholly-natural World Heritage Site to be designated in the United Kingdom. Its entire length can be walked on the South West Coast Path.

Dorset Coast Postcard

The site contains a number of unique geological features and shows excellent examples of different landforms, including the natural arch at Durdle Door, the cove and limestone folding at Lulworth Cove and an island, the Isle of Portland.

Old Harry Rocks Postcard 1

Old Harry Rocks are chalk stacks located directly east of Studland and to the north of Swanage in Dorset. The rocks are part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site of which they form the eastern end. It is also believed that the rocks were once connected to The Needles on the Isle of Wight.

Old Harry Rocks Postcard 2

The cliff is chalk, with some bands of flint, which have been gradually reduced over the centuries, some of the earlier stacks having fallen (old Harry's original wife fell in 1896), while new ones have been formed by the breaching of narrow isthmuses.

Durdle Door Postcard 1

Durdle Door is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset, England. The arch has formed on a concordant coastline where bands of rock run parallel to the shoreline. Here the rock strata are nearly vertical, and the bands of rock are quite narrow.

Durdle Door Postcard 2

The 400-foot (120 m) isthmus which joins the limestone to the chalk is made of a 50-metre (160 ft) band of Portland limestone, which is less resistant than the Purbeck beds, a narrow and compressed band of Cretaceous clays—Wealden Clay, sands and chert beds—and then narrow bands of Greensand and sandstone.

Lulworth Cove Postcard

Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The cove has formed because there are bands of rock of alternating resistance running parallel to the shore (a concordant coastline). The entrance to the cove is a narrow gap in the limestone bands.

Man O'War Rock Postcard


Me and the Dorset Coast

SOURCES:
Jurassic Coast Wikipedia Entry
Old Harry Rocks Wikipedia Entry
Durdle Door Wikipedia Entry
Lulworth Cove Wikipedia Entry

Sukhothai, Thailand Postcards

The Sukhothai Historical Park covers the ruins of Sukhothai, capital of the Sukhothai kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, in what is now the north of Thailand. Sukhothai which literally means "Dawn of Happiness" with an area of 6,596 square kilometres, is about 427 kilometres north of Bangkok, and was founded in 1238. Sukhothai was the capital of Thailand for approximately 120 years. On December 12, 1991, it was declared a World Heritage site, together with the associated historic parks in Kamphaengphet and Si Satchanalai.

Wat Chang-Rob Postcard

Wat Chang-Rob is situated in the Aranyik area. The pedestal of the chedi in the Wat Chang Rob is supported by 24 elephants. In the foreground - apart from some rubble - the laterite columns of a former wiharn still stand.

Wat Mahathat Postcard

A sanctuary lying to the west behind the Royal Palace compound is Wat Mahathat. It is Sukhothai's largest temple with a customary main Chedi in lotus-bud shape and a ruined Wihan. Its main Buddha image (8 metres high) was installed inside a separate building. On the South stands a pedestal of a large Chedi built up in steps, the lowest platform is adorned with beautiful stucco figures of demons, elephants and lions with angles riding on their backs. Mural painting adorn this Chedi.

Wat Sapan Hin Postcard

The Wat Sapan Hin lies on a hill at the edge of the Yom plain and offers a fine view of the mountains and Si Satchanalai. A paved path leads to the monastery giving it the name "temple of the stone bridge". In this wat King Ramkhamhaeng celebrated the Thot-Kathin festival annually in October, the end of the Buddhist fasting period. There is an impressive 12.5-m (41-ft) high statue of a standing Buddha in Sukhothai style leaning against a brick wall in the open, the right hand raised in a protective gesture.

Wat Si-Chum Postcard

Wat Si-Chum contains a monumental stucco-over-brick Buddha image in the attitude of Subduing Mara called ''Phra Achana''. This Buddha measures 11.30 metres from knee to knee. The mondop is 32 metres square and 15 metres high, and the walls are 3 metres thick. On the ceiling of the passageway are more than fifty engraved slate slabs illustrating Jataka scenes. In the interior of the mondhop is the colossal statue (14.70 m (48 ft) high) of a seated Buddha, which was formerly gilded. It is probably the Phra Achana mentioned in an inscription by King Ramkhamhaeng in 1292. In front of the mondhop is a bot with an area of 21 3 12 m (69 3 40 ft), its 13 limonite columns covered in stucco work still standing. To the north of the mondhop are the ruins of a small wiharn and a brick building which contains a seated Buddha.

SOURCES:Sukhothai Historical Park Wikipedia Entry
Wat Chang-Rob, Sukhothai
Thailand Guidebook: Sukhothai
Wat Sapan Hin, Sukhothai

Ayutthaya, Thailand Postcards

The Ayutthaya historical park covers the ruins of the old city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, which was founded by King Ramathibodi I in 1350 and was the capital of the country until its destruction by the Burmese army in 1767. The park was declared a UNESCO World heritage site in 1981.

Founded c. 1350, Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai. It was destroyed by the Burmese in the 18th century. Its remains, characterized by the prang (reliquary towers) and gigantic monasteries, give an idea of its past splendour.

Wat Mahathat Postcard 1(Bought by my sister during her visit to Bangkok)

According to tradition, Wat Mahathat was built in 1384 by King Rachatirat to house a relic of the Buddha, but it is more likely it was built during the reign of King Boromaraja I (1370-88). Wat Mahathat is typical of the Ayutthaya ruins: large crumbling stupas surrounded by low laterite walls and rows of headless Buddhas. One Buddha-head is in a tree trunk (postcard below).

Wat Mahathat Postcard 2
(Bought by my sister during her visit to Bangkok)

The temple's prang, at 46 m (150 ft) high, is one of the old city's most impressive edifices. With its picturesquely ruined stupas, Wat Mahathat is a great place to be at sunset. Scattered around the temple are some important remains of variously shaped prangs and chedis, in particular an octagonal chedi with a truncated spire in the Ceylonese style. Nearby, the head of a still much-revered statue of the Buddha lies on the ground.

Wat Ratchaburana Postcard
(Bought by my sister during her visit to Bangkok)

Opposite Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya stands Wat Ratchaburana, built in 1424 and splendidly restored. The towers (both rounded Khmer-style prangs and Sukhothai-style pointed chedis) have even retained some of their original stucco. There are also murals, rows of seated Buddhas, standing disciples, and Jataka (tales from the Buddha's former lives) scenes in the four niches, as well as a frieze of heavenly beings and some Chinese scenes.

SOURCES:Ayutthaya historical park Wikipedia Entry
UNESCO World Heritage: Historic City of Ayutthaya
Wat Mahathat, Ayutthaya
Wat Ratchaburana, Ayutthaya

Wooden Churches of Maramureş, Romania Postcards

The Maramureş wooden churches in Northern Transylvania are a selection of eight examples of different architectural solutions from different periods and areas. They are Orthodox churches. They are narrow but high timber constructions with characteristic tall, slim bell towers at the western end of the building. Some of them have been listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1999, for their religious architecture and timber construction traditions.

Wooden Churches of Maramures Postcard

In Maramureş today there are 42 extant wooden churches left, about one third of their total two centuries ago. Besides the extant wooden churches, a major source of knowledge is still saved by a decreasing number of practicing senior carpenters with relevant knowledge and skills in traditional carpentry.

The churches in the postcard are:Bârsana - The Church of the Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple in BârsanaŞurdeşti/Siseşti Commune - The Church of the Holy Archangels in ŞurdeştiIeud - The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Ieud DealBotiza

SOURCES:
Wooden Churches of Maramureş Wikipedia Entry
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Romania

Historic Monuments of Thatta, Pakistan Postcard

Thatta's monuments include the Jama Mosque (also Shahjehani Mosque and Badshahi Mosque), built by Shah Jahan in 1647-49. The Shah Jahan Mosque is located in Thatta, Sindh province, Pakistan. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage and has been to preserved since its entry.

Shah Jahan Mosque Postcard

The mosque is built with red bricks with blue coloured glaze tiles probably imported from another Sindh's town of Hala.The mosque has overall 100 domes and it is world's largest mosque having such number of domes. It has been built keeping acoustics in mind. A person speaking inside one end of the dome can be heard at the other end.

SOURCE:Shah Jahan Mosque Wikipedia Entry