Monemvasia, Gibraltar of the East | Greece

Monemvasia is a unique place. It is a small island connected to the mainland via a narrow bridge. It is a perfect getaway for a weekend!

Monemvasia (Greek: Μονεμβασία) is a town and a municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located on a small peninsula off the east coast of the Peloponnese. The peninsula is linked to the mainland by a short causeway 200m in length. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some 100 metres above sea level, up to 300 m wide and 1 km long, the site of a powerful medieval fortress. The town walls and many Byzantine churches remain from the medieval period. The seat of the municipality is the town Molaoi.

The town's name derives from two Greek words, mone and emvasia, meaning "single entrance". Its Italian form, Malvasia, gave its name to Malmsey wine. Monemvasia's nickname is the Gibraltar of the East or The Rock. [wikipedia]

Painful Mountain | Turkey

This postcard arrived today!! It was sent by Selin from Turkey via postcarossing [TR-55471]. On top it shows Mount Agri [aka Mount Ararat], in the middle Sanliufra, in the bottom Lake Nemrut and on the wright Osvank Church at Erzurum.

Mount Ararat  is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in Turkey. It has two peaks: Greater Ararat (the tallest peak in Turkey, and the entire Armenian plateau with an elevation of 5,137 m/16,854 ft) and Lesser Ararat (with an elevation of 3,896 m/12,782 ft). The Ararat massif is about 40 km (25 mi) in diameter. The Iran-Turkey boundary skirts east of Lesser Ararat, the lower peak of the Ararat massif. It was in this area that by the Tehran Convention of 1932 a border change was made in Turkey's favor, permitting her to occupy the eastern flank of the massif.

Mount Ararat in Judeo-Christian tradition is associated with the "Mountains of Ararat" where according to the book of Genesis, Noah's ark came to rest. It also plays a significant role in Armenian nationalism and irredentism.

Morraine Lake

This postcard was sent to my parents by some friends who had moved to Canada on 27 May 1982. By that time my mother was on her 6th month of pregnancy to me!! This card shows Moraine Lake at Banff National Park at Alberta, Canada.

In the back it says: "Morraine Lake is unquestionably the emerald gem of the Canadian Rockies in the Valley of the Ten Peaks. The area abounds in spectacular views and is a very worth while trip for the visitor - only ten miles via paved road from Lake Luise. "

Meteora, suspended in the air

ok...I think this postcard shows the true view of Meteora.. The previous card of Meteora is not that beautiful.  This one is absolutely breathtaking!! In the center you can see the Great Meteoron.

Spectacularly perched atop rocky pinnacles in Thessaly, the Meteora monasteries are among the most striking sights in Greece. The name Meteora (Μετεωρα) is Greek for "suspended in the air", which perfectly describes these six remarkable Greek Orthodox monasteries. The sandstone peaks were first inhabited by Byzantine hermits in the 11th century, who clambered up the rocks to be alone with God.

Metsovo

 Last weekend I went to Ioannina, a beautiful city in Northern Greece for a wedding. On our way back we stopped at Metsovo to have lunch. Metsovo is a typical Northern Greek village. All the houses are made of stone and they have red roofs. It was freezing cold, but it worthed it! We even tasted some local dishes, which were delicious :)

Teide

Teide, the National Parque of Tenerife is absolutely amazing. The whole scenery seems like you are on the moon! It takes a bit of time to reach the top of the volcano and when you get there the air is so thin that you can hardly breathe, but it worths the effort!
It is an Unesco World Heritage Site.

Mount Teide or, in Spanish, Pico del Teide (Teide Peak), is the highest elevation in Spain and the islands of the Atlantic (it is the third largest volcano in the world from its base, after Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea located in Hawaii). It is an active volcano which last erupted in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the Santiago (northwestern) rift and is located on Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Vikos Gorge, Epirus

I am posting this card because it was a request from a very dear friend! This card is rather old and has weird size [16cm x 13,5cm]. It shows the river Voidomatis and above [or should I say all around?] the Vikos Gorge in Epirus [Northwest Greece]. It is one of the most beautiful places in Greece and luckily it is not crowded with tourists, because of the high mountains and the bad roads.
I will go to Epirus on December, so I will return with more postcards!!