Tag Archives: 2009

Temples in Japan

By ilyani | Published 5 June, 2009

I am not sure if it’s kind of surprising, that many of my postcards from Japan do not actually picture its modern city views but rather the old parts of it where the ancient temples have been around since centuries ago. And these temples are located in some kind of beautiful garden with colorful trees and flowers, with small neat paths… they seem to be preserved well to give an atmosphere as if you really come back to the era of historic Japanese Emperors. And it really reminds me the Sohma family in the Fruits Basket anime.. especially the fact that they live in a traditional huge house inside a garden.. and that guy wearing kimono..

shigure

Shigure: “Hi! Are you talking about me??”

OK OK.. nevermind. Let’s go back to postcards!!!

From Anzuume. This is the Rokkakudo Temple in Kyoto. Rokkaku mean hexagon, and if you look from above, the roof is hexagonal. This temple is said to be founded in thr 6th century, while the main hall was rebuilt in the 19th century.

From Cockie. Another temple in Kyoto.. this is the Kenniji temple. It was founded in 1202. And these bush are tea plants! I have seen tea farm in Cameron Highlands here, but I didn’t know that they can actually blossom with flowers!

From Little_Flower. The Nikko Toshogu shrine was built in 1617, during the Edo period. And this is its Kara-mon Gate. It was made with various kinds of foreign timbers with exquisite carvings. This shrine is part of the “Shrines and Temples of Nikkō”, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Japan.

Posted in Japan | Also tagged , , , 1 Comment

Київ – Kiev

By ilyani | Published 2 June, 2009

Whoa, suddenly I received many Ukraine postcards lately.. especially from the capital Kiev. I said suddenly because, I got the first Kiev postcard back in 2006, knowing that it’s one of the rare countries in Postcrossing it wouldn’t be surprising not to receive many cards from there.. but after a long break, I received at least 3 Ukraine cards this year!

From Katjafin. This fairytale castle-like monastery is the Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Kiev Monastery of the Caves), built in 1015.. and together with the Saint-Sophia Cathedral, it’s listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The word “lavra” is used to describe high-ranking monasteries for (male) monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church. This monastery is also one of The Seven Wonders of Ukraine.. wow, I wonder if there exists such a list as Seven Wonders of Malaysia :P I will investigate on it soon…

From Meleu. Another view from another side of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.. I can’t really put the two images together.. each gives a different color and atmosphere but at least you can guess this is one of the towers with the golden domes :)

From Anna. This is also part of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra… the Great Lavra Belltower!! This belltower measures 96.5 m tall and was the highest during its construction in 1731–1745.

From Orange_dreamer. More views of Kiev. Small pics from left: 1) Princess Olga monument. 2) Kiev cable railway 3) the Bohdan Khmelnytsky monument. And picture below shows the Mychael’s square.

Posted in Ukraine | Also tagged , , , , , 1 Comment

Pennsylvania

By ilyani | Published 31 May, 2009

Pennsylvania is a state in the northeastern of USA and it was nicknamed as the Keystone state, because it was located in the center among the original “Thirteen Colonies” which were the states of British America in 1783. OK nevermind the boring history fact.. Hershey’s chocolate is originated from here! Hershey was originally named Derry Church, Pennsylvania. It was renamed Hershey in 1906 because of its growing popularity of the yummy chocolate! Hmm but I don’t have a postcard from Hershey.. yet. Oh and if you must know, Philadelphia used to be the capital of the United States between 1790 and 1800.

From Rissyrissy. I don’t have information on the card about where in Pennsylvania is this country view with cornfield is located.. but look at the balloons!! This is surely a lovely postcard that Rissy sent me for my 24th birthday! :D

From Zmrzlina. This is the Fort Roberdeau, which was constructed in 1778, under General Daniel Ruoberdeau’s supervision and sits on 47 acres near Altoona. It’s also known as the “Lead Mine Fort” as it protected mining operations for the Continental Army during the Revolutionary war. Well nowadays people like forts as there are usually places to picnic :)

From Krhocevar. After the country views, now comes the big city. Pittsburgh is the second largest city in Pennsylvania. And this is the Golden Triangle where the Allegheny and Monogahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River, hence the largest inland port in the US! There are over 700 bridges crossing these rivers and valleys. I always love waterfront cities like this.. especially on this postcard with the reflection of those buildings in the water! And look at the fountain! Pretty, isn’t it?

Posted in USA | Also tagged , , , , 2 Comments