Monday, November 29, 2010

Almeirim - Portugal

This portuguese card from Almeirim is a lottery card but i didn't know i was one of the winners of that lottery. Susana "susanaportugal" hosted the lottery to celebrate her birthday in October.

On this card there's the gate and the palace of the Alorna Farm. The history of this farm dates back to the 18th century.
Nowdays the farm is known for its wine production.

Typical Frisian House

This afternoon i went outside to take some pictures because it was snowing and snowing a lot. Snow is the main reason why i like this season. I don't really like Christmas but i love, love snow.
The 2nd german card of the day is this christmasy RAS card from Claus. He went to spend a few days on the Amrum Island, one of the North Frisian Islands on the German North Sea coast. Even if i don't like Christmas, this typical house with a snowy tree outside, makes me wish for a white Christmas.
The Frisian houses are made of red brick and have a thatched roof and white or blue window frames and doors.

DE-755932

Today is my day off, i slept all morning and when i got up i immediately went to check the mailbox. Nice way to start the week, 6 cards, including this official from Leipzig in Germany.


DE-755932, sent by "amicodipenna".
"The St. Nicholas Church has long been one of the most famous in Leipzig, and rose to national fame with the Monday Demostrations in 1989 when it became the centre of peaceful revolt against Communist rule.
The church was built around 1165 when Leipzig, also known as St. Nicholas's City, was founded. It is named after St. Nicholas, the patron saint of merchants and wholesalers, and is situated in the very heart of the city on the intersection of two then important trade roads. It is built partially in the Romanesque style but was extended and enlarged in the early 16th century with a more Gothic style. The interior was remodelled by German architect Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe in the neoclassical style.
The church has been a Protestant seat since 1539 after the Protestant Reformation, but the Catholic Church is allowed to use it too." - in: wikipedia

Sunday, November 28, 2010

FI-954620

This is a finnish official card but the card is from Iceland and it shows the Strokkur geyser.
Jenni, the sender has been to Iceland last august and visited this geyser. I bet it must be something great to see!

FI-954620, sent by Jenni.
"Strokkur is a geyser in the geothermic region beside the Hvítá River in Iceland in the southwest part of the country, east of Reykjavik. It is one of Iceland's most famous geysirs, erupting regularly every 4-8 minutes generally.
Water at a depth of 23 metres is around 120°C, but cannot boil because of the weight of the water pushing down on it from above. When this water is forced up to around 16 metres, some of the water may be above boiling point, and this sets off the chain reaction we see. The pressure decrease allows more water to boil and flash boil into steam, which drives the unboiled water further up the conduit. As this happens closer and closer to the surface, with increasing velocity, the water and steam is forced out, and it is this mixture of water & steam that forms the eruption." - in: wikipedia

Déa's cards

Last tuesday was my birthday and that exact day i've received an envelope from Brazil sent by by dear friend Déa. She sent me 7 beautiful cards and 2 days later i've received another card from her. I chose 3 of the envelope's card and the other card to post here today.

This 1st card is from Belém, the capital city of the northest state capitals, located in the delta of Amazonas river. These are beautiful colorful colonial houses situated by the old port. Some of them have been restored to serve as museums and others as restaurants.

And now a beautiful view of Campos do Jordão, a city in the interior of São Paulo state.

This is another card from São Paulo.
"The Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo (Portuguese for "pinacotheca of the state of São Paulo") is one of the most important art museums in Brazil. It is housed in a 1900 building in Jardim da Luz, Downtown of São Paulo. It's the oldest art museum in São Paulo, founded on December 24, 1905, and established as a state museum since 1911.
The Pinacoteca has a wide-range collection of Brazilian art, mainly noted for its vast assemblage of 19th century paintings and sculptures, one of the largest in the country, as well as for a number of iconic Brazilian Modernist artworks. The collection also includes a department of works on paper, European paintings and sculptures from 19th century artists, decorative arts, etc." - in: wikipedia

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Budapest - Hungary

Budapest is one of the european capitals that i would like to visit.
Joaquim "kosta28" son is studying in Budapest and he went there to visit him. This beautiful card is a surprise from him.


The card shows some of the most recognizable symbols of the city, the Parliament Building, the Buda Castle, the Széchenyi Chain Bridge and the Liberty Statue.

Indonesia's cards

Shint was looking for some of her most wanted cards and in return she was offering 5 cards for 1 card. One of her most wanted cards was a bus card from Madeira. As i was about to travel to Madeira i told her i would try to find that card for her. I found and sent it and in return she sent me these indonesian cards.


This 1st card is from Bali with a black sand beach on the east of the island.

Pangandaran is a small town in West Java, located on the southern coast of Java. Pangandaran is a popular tourist destination, having a beach which is considered to be one of the finest in Java and which offers excellent surfing.

"Mount Merapi is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta city, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.
On the afternoon of 25 October 2010 Mount Merapi erupted lava from its southern and southeastern slopes.
After a period of multiple eruptions considered to exceed the intensity and duration of those in 1872 on 10 November 2010 the intensity and frequency of eruptions was noticed to subside. By this time 153 people had been reported to have been killed and 320,000 were displaced. Later the eruptive activities again increased requiring a continuation of the Level 4 alert and continued provision of exclusion zones around the volcano. By 18 November the death toll had increased to 275." - in:
wikipedia

RU-261028

This week started with 2 official cards. This one is from Russia, more exactly from Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea, geographically separated from the rest of Russia. This is my 2nd card from this region. The card shows the Königsberg Cathedral.
RU-261028, sent by Stef.
"Königsberg Cathedral is a Brick Gothic style building in Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg) on an island in the Pregel. The island was called Keiphof in German times. The construction of the cathedral on Kneiphof is considered to have begun in 1333.
In late August 1944, British bombers carried out two night raids on Königsberg. The first raid, on 26/27 August, largely missed the city, but the second raid, on 29/30, destroyed most of the old part of Königsberg (including Kneiphof), and the cathedral was hit.
After the war, the cathedral remained a burnt out shell and Kneiphof was made into a park with no other buildings.
Today, the cathedral has two chapels, one Lutheran, the other Russian Orthodox, as well as a museum. The Lutheran chapel is where the people under the spire died during the second air raid of August 1944. The cathedral is also used for concerts." - in: wikipedia

Friday, November 19, 2010

US-896274

And this is the last official of the week.


US-896274, sent by Ellie.
On the back of the card: The lovely state of Michigan is one of America's favorite travel destination state.
Pictured: Mackinac Bridge, State Capitol Building at Lansing, Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula, Grand Haven Lighthouse on Lake Michigan and Detroit's Renaissance Center.

FI-946252

After a polish, now a finnish official card from Turku. I've other cards from Turku but i think this is my 1st with the cathedral.


FI-946252, sent by Pirjo.
"Turku Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and the country's national shrine.
Considered to be the most important religious building in Finland, the cathedral has borne witness to many important events in the nation's history and has become one of the city's most recognizable symbols. The cathedral is situated in the heart of Turku next to the Old Great Square, by the River Aura. Its presence extends beyond the local precinct by having the sound of its bells chiming at noon broadcast on national radio. It is also central to Finland's annual Christmas celebrations.
The cathedral was originally built out of wood in the late 13th century, and was dedicated as the main cathedral of Finland in 1300, the seat of the bishhop of Turku. It was considerably expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries, mainly using stone as the construction material. The cathedral was badly damaged during the Great Fire of Turku in 1827, and was rebuilt to a great extent afterwards." - in: wikipedia

PL-144065

After the unesco now is time for the official cards. I've received 3 this week and this one is from Poland.


PL-144065, sent by Judyta.
Kołobrzeg is a city in Middle Pomerania in north-western Poland with some 50,000 inhabitants. Kołobrzeg is located on the Parseta River on the south coast of the Baltic Sea (in the middle of the section divided by the Oder and Vistula Rivers).
The card shows the town hall, a neogothic building planned by Karld Friedrich Schinkel as a substitute for the destroyed predecessor. It was built 1829-1832.

Birka - Sweden

This week i'm done with unesco cards, next week should arrive more.
This one, Birka and Hovgården, was sent from Sweden by Merja "merjade". Most of my swedish unesco cards have been sent by Merja.


"The Birka archaeological site is located on Björkö Island in Lake Mälar and was occupied in the 9th and 10th centuries. Hovgården is situated on the neighbouring island of Adelsö. Together, they make up an archaeological complex which illustrates the elaborate trading networks of Viking-Age Europe and their influence on the subsequent history of Scandinavia.
Birka was also important as the site of the first Christian congregation in Sweden, founded in 831 by St Ansgar." - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/555
The Ansgar Chapel was built 1000 years after Ansgar's, a german missionary, arrival in Birka.

Chengde Mountain Resort - China

Chengde Mountain Resort is a Unesco World Heritage Site in China. Like most of the unesco cards i've been posting this week, this one is also a new site in my collection. It was sent by "nixil".

"The Mountain Resort in Chengde, situated in the city of Chengde in Hebei Province, China, is the world's largest existing imperial garden.

Built between 1703 and 1792, the Mountain Resort took 89 years to complete. It covers a total area of 5.6 km², almost half of Chengde's urban area. It is a vast complex of palaces and administrative and ceremonial buildings. Temples of various architectural styles and imperial gardens blend harmoniously into a landscape of lakes, pastureland and forests.

The Kangxi, Qianlong and Jiaqing Emperors often spent several months a year here to escape the summer heat in the capital city of Beijing. It consists of two parts: a court in front, where the emperor received high officials, nobles of various minority nationalities, and foreign envoys; and bed chambers in the rear, which were the imperial family's living quarters.

The Mountain Resort is most famous for the 72 scenic spots which were named by the Kangxi and Qianlong Emperors. Many of the scenic spots around the resort's lake area were copied from famous landscaped gardens in Southern China. The resort's plain area also possesses characteristics of the scenery of the Mongolian grasslands. Forested mountains and valleys are dotted with various buildings. This includes a 70 m tall stone Chinese pagoda, one of the tallest in China, built in the year 1751 during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor.

In December 1994 the Mountain Resort was listed by Unesco on its list of World Heritage Sites. On May 8, 2007, the Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde was approved by the China National Tourism Administration as one of the "5A-class tourist attractions" which represents the highest standards for China's tourist attractions." - in: wikipedia

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Padua's Botanical Garden

Yesterday i didn't receive any cards but today arrived 4, 3 of them new unesco sites. This one is from Italy and it was sent by Isabella "red.panda".

The Orto Botanico di Padova is the world's oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location. It is located in Padua, Italy and was founded in 1545. The garden, affiliated with the University of Padua, currently covers roughly 22,000 square meters, and is known for its special collections and historical design.


The Garden at Padova was founded upon deliberation of the Senate of the Venetian Republic. It was devoted to the growth of medicinal plants, the so-called "simple plants" which produced natural remedies, and also to help students distinguish legitimate medicinal plants from false ones.
A circular wall enclosure was built to protect the garden from the frequent night thefts which occurred in spite of severe penalties (fines, prison, exile). The Botanical Garden was steadily enriched with plants from all over the world, particularly from the countries that participated in trade with Venice. Consequently, Padua had a leading role in the introduction and study of many exotic plants, and a berbarium, a library and many laboratories were gradually added to its Botanical Garden.
At present, the Botanical Garden allows for intensive didactic activity as well as important research to be conducted on its grounds. It also cares for the preservation of many rare species. In 1997, it was listed by Unesco as a World Heritage Site on the following grounds: The Botanical Garden of Padua is the original of all botanical gardens throughout the world, and represents the birth of science, of scientific exchanges, and understanding of the relationship between nature and culture. It has made a profound contribution to the development of many modern scientific disciplines, notably botany, medicine, chemestry, ecology and pharmacy." - in: wikipedia

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The Great Barrier Reef

I finally have a Great Barrier Reef card. I wanted a card from there not only for beeing an Unesco site but also because the cards from there are always really beautiful. This one was sent by Heather "hmassese".
On the cards there's the Green Island, Upalu Cay, the Reef and Michaelmas Cay.

"The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi). The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in north-east Australia.
The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. This reef supports a wide diversity of life, and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981. CNN labeled it one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The Queensland National Trust named it a state icon of Queensland.
A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as fishing and tourism. Other environmental pressures on the reef and its ecosystem include runoff, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, and cyclic population outbreaks of the crowns-of-thorns starfish.
The Great Barrier Reef has long been known to and used by the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and is an important part of local groups' cultures and spirituality. The reef is a very popular destination for tourists, especially in the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns regions. Tourism is an important economic activity for the region, generating AU$ 1 billion per year." - in: wikipedia

Monday, November 15, 2010

Anne's Unesco cards

I'm currently offer some unesco cards on the postcrossing forum and i've already received some great unesco cards in return. Anne "aj-person" sent me these, 1 from Italy and the other from Scotland. The italian card is from a new site "Residences of the Royal House of Savoy". I already have another Edinburgh card but i wanted to have another one because Anne's card was really great.

The Residences of the Royal House of Savoy is a group of structures in Turin and its province, in Piedmont (northern Italy, added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1997. The Palazzo Madama in Turin is one of the classified proporties.

"At the beginning of the first century BC, the site of the palace was occupied by a gate in the Roman walls. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the gate was used as a fortified stronghold in the defences of the city. Later the building became a possession of the Savoia-Acaja, a secondary branch of the House of Savoy; in the early fourteenth century, they enlarged it into a castle. After the extinction of the Acajas, the edifice became a residence for guests of the house of Savoy.

In 1637 the regent for Duke Charles II Emmanuel, Christine Marie of France, chose it as her personal residence. She commissioned the covering of the court and a revamping of the inner apartments. Sixty years later another regent, Marie Jeanne of Savoy, lived in the palace, conferring upon it definitively the nickname of Madama (Italian for Madame).

Later the palace had various uses, and housed the headquarters of the provisional French government during the Napoleonic Wars. In the 19th century King Charles Albert selected it as seat of the Pinacoteca Regia, the royal art gallery, and, later, of the Subalpine Senate (the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia) and of the High Court. Since 1934 it has housed to the City Museum of Ancient Art." - in: wikipedia

I wanted this card just because its beautiful. Not so long ago i've received another Edinburgh Castle card. After 2 cards and after hearing 2 friends talking about Edinburgh, i really believe that the city is a place worth to visit.

This view of the castle can be seen from the Princes Street Gardens, a public park in the centre of Edinburgh, in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The Gardens were created in the 1820s following the long draining of the Nor Loch and the creation of the New Town. The Nor Loch was a large loch in the centre of the city. It was heavily polluted from centuries of sewage draining downhill from the Old Town.

Unescos from FR & BE

These are also unesco cards. I've never seen anyone offering them, just Marie, so i guess they're kind of hard-to-get. They're from France - Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans - and Belgium - Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex.

"The Saline Royale (Royal Saltworks) is a historical building at Arc-et-Senans in the department of Doubs, eastern France. The architect was Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736–1806), a prominent Parisian architect of the time. The work is an important example of an early Enlightenment project in which the architect based his design on a philosophy that favored arranging buildings according to a rational geometry and a hierarchical relation between the parts of the project.
The Institut Claude-Nicolas Ledoux has taken on the task of conservator and is managing the site as a monument. Unesco added the "Salines Royales" to its List of World Heritage Sites in 1982." - in: wikipedia
"The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium honouring the famous printers Christoffel Plantijn and jan Moretus. It is located in their former residence and printing establishment, Plantin Press, at the Friday Market.
The printing company was founded in the 16th century by Christoffel Plantijn. After his death it was owned by his son-in-law Jan Moretus.
In 1876 Edward Moretus sold the company to the city of Antwerp. One year later the public could visit the living areas and the printing presses. In 2002 the museum was nominated as Unesco World Heritage Site and in 2005 it was inscribed onto the World Heritage list.
The Plantin-Moretus Museum possesses an exceptional collection of ypographical material. Not only does it house the two oldest surviving printing presses in the world and complete sets of dies and matrices, it also has an extensive library, a richly decorated interior and the entire archives of the Plantin business, which were inscribed on Unesco's Memory of the World Programme Register in 2001 in recognition of their historical significance." - in: wikipédia

Felix Romuliana - Serbia

Felix Romuliana is a roman temple complex in Gamzigrad, Serbia and one of the most important roman sites in Europe. This is my 2nd unesco card from Serbia, it was sent by Sanja "caki", and i'm waiting for a 3rd card.

"Early explorers believed the ancient ruins to have been a Roman military camp, because of their size and numerous towers. Systematic archaeological excavations conducted since 1953 revealed that the site was, in fact, an Imperial palace. It was conceived and built by one of the Tetrarchs, Emperor Galerius, the adopted son and son-in-law of the great Emperor Diocletian. Galerius started construction in 298 (after a victory over the Persians that brought him admiration and glory) to mark the place of his birth. The name Felix Romuliana was given in memory of his mother Romula, who was also a priestess of a pagan cult. The complex of temples and palaces served three main purposes - a place of worship of his mother’s divine personality, a monument to his deeds as emperor, and a luxurious villa for Galerius. Romuliana survived until it was plundered by the Huns in the mid 5th century. Later the site became a humble settlement of farmers and craftsmen, finally to be abandoned at the beginning of the 7th century with the arrival of the Slavs.

Archaeological excavations on the site have unearthed the remains of a Roman compound with 2 temples, 2 palaces and a building with corridor including exceptionally fine mosaics depicting Greek gods Dionysos and Medusa, figural capitals of Hercules, baths and impressive gates. Several valuable hoards of Roman gold coins have been unearthed at the site, which continues to yield important Roman treasures and artifacts." - in: wikipedia

Moscow cards

In the last few days i had some requests for private trades from Russia. I said yes to all of them and last week arrived an envelope sent by Olga "pretty_in_scarlet", with this 2 beautiful Moscow cards, both from Kremlin. The 1st card shows the Spasskaya Tower and the 2nd the cupolas of Kremlin's cathedrals.

"The Moscow Kremlin is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River (to the south), Saint's Basil's Cathedral and Red Square (to the east) and the Alexander Garden (to the west). It is the best known of kremlins (russian citadels) and includes four palaces, four cathedrals and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin Towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of Russia.

The existing Kremlin walls and towers were built by Italian masters over the years 1485 to 1495. The irregular triangle of the Kremlin wall encloses an area of 275,000 square meters (68 acres). Its overall length is 2235 meters (2444 yards), but the height ranges from 5 to 19 metres, depending on the terrain. The wall's thickness is between 3.5 and 6.5 meters. Originally there were eighteen Kremlin towers, but their number increased to twenty in the 17th century. All but three of the towers are square in plan. The highest tower is the Spasskaya.The Spasskaya Tower is the main tower with a through-passage on the eastern wall of the Moscow Kremlin, which overlooks the Red Square. It was built in 1491. The Spasskaya Tower was the first one to be crowned with the hipped roof in 1624–1625 by architects Bazhen Ogurtsov and Christopher Galloway. According to a number of historical accounts, the clock on the Spasskaya Tower appeared between 1491 and 1585. It is usually referred to as the Kremlin clock.

In 1935, the Soviets installed a red star instead of a two-headed eagle on top of the Spasskaya Tower. The height of the tower with the star is 71 m. In August 2010 above the gate the icon of Savior Smolensky was restored.

Cathedral Square is the heart of the Kremlin. It is surrounded by six buildings, including three cathedrals. The Cathedral of the Dormition was completed in 1479 to be the main church of Moscow and where all the Tsars were crowned. Several important metropolitans and patriarchs are buried there, including Peter and Makarii
. The gilded, three-domed Cathedral of the Annunciation was completed next in 1489, only to be reconstructed to a nine-domed design a century later. On the south-east of the square is the much larger Cathedrals of the Archangel Michael (1508), where almost all the Muscovite monarchs from Ivan Kalita to Alexis I of Russia are interred.
There are two domestic churches of the Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow, the Church of the Twelve Apostles (1653–56) and the exquisite one-domed Church of the Deposition of the Virgin's Robe, built by Pskov artisans over the years 1484–88 and featuring superb icons and frescoes from 1627 and 1644." - in: wikipedia

Friday, November 12, 2010

Anchorage - Alaska

Like the Poznan card, this card is also one of my favorites and really great too. Thanks Chanelle for tagging me!!
The card shows Anchorage with the snow-capped Chugach Mountains in the background.


"Anchorage is the northernmost major city in the USA, and largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska.
Anchorage is located in South Central Alaska." - in: wikipédia

Poznan's Cathedral

When Rafal said he was tagging me with this card, i was like wow because the card is really beautiful. Maybe because of the colors, maybe because the cathedral is really impressive.
This is a rear view of the St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral which is found on the island of Ostrow Tumski in Poznan.


"fficially called the Archicathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, but commonly referred to as just The Cathedral, the cathedral is the oldest not only in Poznan, but in all of Poland. Some of the important historical Polish rulers buried here include Mieszko I and II, Boleslaus the Brave, Casimir the Restorer, and Przemysl I and II. The pre-Romanesque cathedral was built in the second half of the 10th century, and was rebuilt and added onto many times throughout its more than thousand year history." - in: http://www.poznan-life.com/culture/culture_details/84-The_Cathedral

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Terracotta Army - China

I finally found a great card showing the Terracotta Army, thanks to Ran "ranwe". This army is on the Unesco World Heritage Site list since 1987 under the name "Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor" and is a new unesco in my collection.

"The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of China.

The figures, dating from 210 BC, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China near the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.

The figures vary in height 1.83–1.95 metres (6.0–6.4 ft), according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits." - in: wikipedia

Unesco cards from Morocco

Just a few days ago i didn't have any unesco cards from Morroco but last weekend i was in Madrid and bought this Marrakech card on a street fair. Next monday arrived the Fes card sent by Celina.

On the street fairs all we need is patiente and good luck. Besides this Morocco card, i've also found some hard-to-get unesco cards from Spain.
The Medina of Marrakech is on the Unesco list since 1985. On this card there's the Kasbah Mosque, dating from 1190. Next to the mosque there's the Saadian Tombs, dating back from the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). "The tombs were only recently discovered (in 1917) and were restored by the Beaux-arts service. The tombs have, because of the beauty of their decoration, been a major attraction for visitors of Marrakech.
The mausoleum comprises the corpses of about sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty. Among the graves are those of Ahmad al-Mansur and his family. The building is composed of three rooms. The most famous is the room with the twelve columns. This room contains the grave of the son of the sultan's son Ahmad al-Mansur. The stele is in finely worked cedarwood and stucco work. The monuments are made of Italian Carrara marble.
Outside the building is a garden and the graves of soldiers and servants." - in: wikipedia

The Medina of Fes, Fes el Bali, is the oldest and walled part of Fez, Morocco. Fes el Bali is the larger of the two medinas of Fes. Fes el Bali was classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1981.
"One of the most interesting sites in Fes is the Leather Souq and the oldest leather tannery in the world. The tannery dates back at least nine centuries.
The tannery is composed of numerous stone vessels filled with a vast range of dyes and various odorous liquids. The tannery processes the hides (skins) of sheep and goats, turning them into high quality leather products such as bags, coats, shoes, slippers and other similar products. This is all achieved manually, without the need for modern machinery. Men work in unbearably hot conditions (in the summer - 40 degrees and above).
The workers stand in the stone vessels arranged like honeycombs, filled with different dyes, dying the arms and legs of the men. The hides are first soaked in diluted acidic pigeon excrement and then transferred to other vessels containing vegetable dyes such as henna, saffron and mint. When the dying process has been completed the hides are dried on the roofs of the Medina." - in: http://www.technologystudent.com/culture1/fez1.htm