The postcard received today comes from Brussels! Yet, it does
not show any Belgian landmark. Veerle, our Bruxelloise friend, has chosen a card featuring
the last place she has travelled to, which happens to be a wonder of the Ancient
World!
As Veerle tells us, she has recently visited the ruins
of Myra, an ancient Greek city situated in what is known today as Antaly, on
the southeastern coast of Turkey.
Visit EXPLORING PLACES to read about the history of
this enigmatic place.
The postcard received today shows one of the marvels
of the Ancient World: The ruins of Myra, an ancient Greek town in Lycia, located
on the river Myros (Demre Çay), in the fertile alluvial plain between Alaca
Dağ, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea.
…being one of the largest cities of Lycia, a
geopolitical region in Anatolia whose existence dated back to the Late Bronze Age
(1250–546 BC) and was incorporated into
the Roman Empire in the 1st century.
Myra's Greco-Roman theatre is the largest theatre in
Lycia and one of the main attractions of Myra. Its double-vaulted corridors are
still preserved and an inscription in a stall space reads "place of the
vendor Gelasius"- the location of an ancient concessions stand. It has 38 rows of seats and its facade was
richly decorated with theatrical masks and mythological scenes.
The famous rock-tombs of Myra are in two main groups,
one above the theater and the other in a place called the river necropolis on
the east side. Although most of the
tombs are plain today, Charles Fellows tells that upon his discovery of the
city in 1840 he found the tombs colourfully painted red, yellow and blue.
The earliest church of St. Nicholas was built in the
6th century AD, supposedly over St. Nicholas' tomb. Later it was rebuilt, the present church is
from the 9th century. It was further rebuilt in 1042 under the patronage of
Constantine X and a monastery was added at that time or shortly after. Excavations and restorations were done during
the 1960's and continue today from the early 1990's.
You can virtually explore the ruins of Myra by
watching this video:
We have received a card from Osaka, a metropolis
located roughly in the centre of Japan. Thanks a million Miyoko for having chosen this
postcard featuring an impressively beautiful kimono!
As you may know, the kimono (from ki "wear"
and mono "thing") is a
Japanese traditional garment always used in important festival or formal
moments, a mark of politeness and sophistication. As you can gather from the
postcard, Kimono are T-shaped, straight-lined robes and they are wrapped around
the body, always with the left side over the right and secured by a sash called
an obi, which is tied at the back. Kimono are generally worn with traditional
footwear (especially zōri or geta) and split-toe socks (tabi).
Today, kimono are most often worn by women and on
special occasions. A few older women and even fewer men still wear the kimono
on a daily basis. Men wear the kimono most often at weddings, tea ceremonies,
and other very special or very formal occasions. Professional sumo wrestlers
are often seen in the kimono because they are required to wear traditional
Japanese dress whenever appearing in public.
Click here to learn more about kimono. And visit
EXPLORING PLACES to know more about Miyoko’s hometown, Osaka.
Situated at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, Japan,
Osaka is the second largest city in Japan with a population of more than
2,500,000 and serves as a major economic hub for the country.
… its cuisine; in fact, Osaka has also been known as
the "nation's kitchen" (天下の台所 tenka no daidokoro). Author Michael Booth and food
critic François Simon of Le Figaro have suggested that Osaka is the food
capital of the world. Osakans' love for the culinary is made apparent in the
old saying "Kyotoites are financially ruined by overspending on clothing,
Osakans are ruined by spending on food." Regional cuisine includes
okonomiyaki (お好み焼き, pan-fried
batter cake), takoyaki (たこ焼き,
octopus in fried batter), udon (うどん, a
noodle dish), as well as the traditional oshizushi (押し寿司, pressed sushi), particularly battera (バッテラ, pressed mackerel sushi).
It is sometimes regarded as the first Buddhist and
oldest officially administered temple in Japan, although the temple buildings
have been rebuilt over the centuries.
Osaka castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks
and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth
century. The castle grounds, which cover approximately 60,000 square metres
contain thirteen structures that have been designated as important cultural
assets by the Japanese government.
An aquarium located in Osaka Bay, containing 35,000
aquatic animals in 14 tanks, the largest of which holds 5,400 tons of water and
houses a variety of sea animals including whale sharks. This tank is the
world's second-largest aquarium tank, behind the Georgia Aquarium, whose
largest tank holds approximately 29,000 tons of water.
This building consists of twin 173 m skyscrapers
bridged by a rooftop "Floating Garden" observatory presenting a
360-degree panoramic view of Osaka. Popular for photographs, the structure also
houses an underground mall with restaurants styled after the early Showa period
of the 1920s.
Watch this video to get an idea of what to do in
Osaka!
We have received a very
special card from Lisbon, the capital and largest city in Portugal, 522 km
away!
Thank you Ángela for
this gorgeous postcard featuring the charming Bica neighbourhood, with its lovely
narrow streets full of, as you say “beautiful tiled façades, elegant cafés and
lovely shops where we can buy traditional Portuguese products”.
If you want to discover
why “Quem não viu Lisboa, não viu coisa boa" (Never to have seen Lisbon’s
fair city is to have missed something pretty), go to EXPLORING PLACES.
Lisbon is the capital
and the largest city of Portugal, with a population of more than 552,000 in an
area of 100.05 square km. It is continental Europe's westernmost capital city
and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian
Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus.
LISBON IS FAMOUS FOR…
… its steep hills and
narrow streets that, as Ángela tells us in her postcard are full of beautiful
tiled façades, elegant cafés and lovely shops where we can buy traditional
Portuguese products, including the so-called pasteis de nata, Portuguese pottery and a careful selection of food and drink delicacies.
Introduced
in the 19th century, the trams were originally imported from the USA, and
called the americanos. The earliest
trams can still be seen in the Museu da Carris (the Public Transport Museum).
Other than on the modern Line 15, the Lisbon tramway system still employs small
(four wheel) vehicles of a design dating from the early twentieth century.
These distinctive yellow trams are one of the tourist icons of modern Lisbon,
and their size is well suited to the steep hills and narrow streets of the
central city.
… Fado, a form of music
characterized by mournful tunes and lyrics, often about the sea or the life of
the poor, and infused with a sentiment of resignation, fatefulness and
melancholia.
Fado appeared during the early 19th century in Lisbon, and is
believed to have its origins in the port districts like Alfama, Mouraria and
Bairro Alto. Portuguese fadista, Amália Rodrigues, also known as the
"Rainha do Fado" ("Queen of Fado") was most influential in
popularizing fado worldwide.
Fado performances today may be accompanied by a
string quartet or a full orchestra.
PLACES TO VISIT
Baixa
Rúa Augusta. Lisbon
The heart of the city
is the Baixa or city centre; the Pombaline Baixa is an elegant district,
primarily constructed after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, taking its name from
its benefactor, 1st Marquess of Pombal, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, who
was the minister of Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) and a key figure during
the Portuguese Enlightenment.
Known in Portuguese as O elevador de Santa Justa, this lift is
a major attraction in the civil parish of Santa Justa, in the historical city.
Situated at the end of Rua de Santa Justa, it connects the lower streets of the
Baixa with the higher Largo do Carmo (Carmo Square).
Literally the upper
quarter in Portuguese, it is an area of central Lisbon that functions as a
residential, shopping and entertainment district; it is the centre of the
Portuguese capital's nightlife, attracting hipster youth and members of various
music subcultures.
The oldest district of Lisbon, it
spreads down the southern slope from theCastle of São
Jorgeto theRiver Tagus. Its name, derived from theArabicAl-hamma, means fountains or baths. During theIslamic invasion
of Iberia, the Alfama constituted the largest part of the
city, extending west to theBaixaneighbourhood. Increasingly, the Alfama
became inhabited by fishermen and the poor: its fame as a poor neighbourhood
continues to this day.
Belém is famous as the place from which
many of the great Portuguese explorers set off on their voyages of discovery.
In particular, it is the place from which Vasco da Gama departed for India in
1497 and Pedro Álvares Cabral departed for Brazil in 1499. It is also a former
royal residence and features the 17th–18th century Belém Palace, a former royal
residence now occupied by the President of Portugal, and the Ajuda Palace,
begun in 1802 but never completed.
Perhaps Belém's most famous feature is
its tower, Torre de Belém, whose image is much used by Lisbon's tourist board.
The tower was built as a fortified lighthouse late in the reign of Dom Manuel l
(1515–1520) to guard the entrance to the port. It stood on a little island in
right side of the Tagus, surrounded by water.
