1483 UNITED KINGDOM (Bermuda) - Heydon Trust Chapel

In western Sandys parish is a private park, a beautiful property administered by the Heydon Trust. This 43 acres of lush gardens is one of the largest parks in Bermuda and also has 10 old buildings in it. There is also a chapel called Heydon Chapel, the smallest church in Bermuda, built in the early 1600s. This property was donated by Mr. & Mrs. Bernard Matthews, members of the Church of England. The gardener is the only person who draws pay from the trustees, everyone else working or contributing to the maintenance of this park doing it by voluntary services. The name of the Park came from Jeremy Heydon, an investor in the Bermuda Company that used to run the governance of Bermuda in the early 17th century.

1244, 1478 BRUNEI - Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

1244 - Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

Posted on 24.09.2014 and 07.03.2015
Built on an artificial lagoon on the banks of the river Brunei, Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque dominates not only so-called village in the water, Kampong Ayer, but even the skyline of  Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of the sultanat. The mosque initially seems more attraction than place of worship. However, this could not be farthest from the truth, and the grandiose mosque was in fact designed solely for prayer to Allah. Completed in 1958 and named after Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the 28th Sultan of Brunei who also initiated its construction, the mosque serves as a symbol of the Islamic faith in Brunei, the official religion of the state. Formally, the freedom of religion is guaranteed, but more recently the Sultan has announced strict penalties for those who leave Islam.

1478 - Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque

The mosque, the largest in the Far East, is an example of modern Islamic architecture, uniting Mughal architecture and Italian styles. The design was done by A.O.Coltman of the firm Booty and Edwards Chartered Architects, who were based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at that time. It has marble minarets and domes covered in pure gold, a courtyard and is surrounded by a large number of trees and floral gardens. A bridge reaches across the lagoon to Kampong Ayer in the middle of the river. Another marble bridge leads to a structure in the lagoon meant as a replica of a 16th Century Sultan Bolkiah Mahligai Barge. The barge itself was completed in 1967 to commemorate the 1,400th anniversary of Nuzul Al-Quran (coming down of the Quran) and was used to stage the Quran reading competitions.

1477 CHAD (Ennedi) - Lakes of Ounianga - Lake Téli (UNESCO WHS)

Lakes of Ounianga are a series of 18 interconnected lakes in the Sahara Desert, in North-Eastern Chad, occupying a basin in the mountains of West Tibesti and Ennedi East. It constitutes an exceptional natural landscape of great beauty with striking colours and shapes. The saline, hyper saline and freshwater lakes are supplied by groundwater and are found in two groups 40km apart. Ounianga Kebir (The Great Ounianga) comprises 4 lakes, the largest being Yoan. Its highly saline waters only sustain algae and some microorganisms. The second group, Ounianga Serir (The Little Ounianga), comprises 14 lakes separated by sand dunes. With their high quality freshwater, some of these lakes are home to aquatic fauna, particularly fish. At 436 ha, Lake Téli has the largest surface area but is less than 10m deep.

0205, 1476 RUSSIA (Altai Republic) - Golden Mountains of Altai (UNESCO WHS)

0205 - The Argamdzi River in Ukok Quiet Zone

Posted on 13.05.2012, and 05.03.2015
In nowadays, the specially protected territories and natural complexes with an area of almost 22% of the whole Republic's territory are distinguished in the Altai Republic, which has an area of 92,600km2 and is situated in the very center of Asia, at the junction of Siberian taiga, steppes of Kazakhstan and semi-deserts of Mongolia. The site Golden Mountains of Altai consists in three separate areas: Altaisky Zapovednik and a buffer zone around Lake Teletskoye; Katunsky Zapovednik and a buffer zone around Mount Belukha; and the Ukok Quiet Zone on the Ukok plateau.

1476 - Belukha Mountain

"The region represents the most complete sequence of altitudinal vegetation zones in central Siberia, from steppe, forest-steppe, mixed forest, subalpine vegetation to alpine vegetation. The site is also an important habitat for endangered animal species such as the snow leopard." The Ukok Quiet Zone is located in the south-east of the Altai Republic, near the borders with China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, on a high mountain plateau dominated by hills and steppe landscapes with marsh, streams and lakes, which have particular cultural and religious values for local people.

1473 AERICAN EMPIRE - The flag of the micronation

The Aerican Empire (also known as Aerica) is a  micronation which has no sovereign territory of its own and has never been recognized by any other sovereign state as existing. The name is a pun on the term "American Empire". Its members claim sovereignty over a vast disconnected territory, including a square kilometer of land in Australia, a house-sized area in Montreal, Canada (containing the "Embassy to Everything Else"), several other areas of the Earth, a colony on Mars, the northern hemisphere of Pluto, and an imaginary planet. The number of "citizens" has fluctuated with time, in May 2009 being about 400 people. In 2000 The New York Times described its website as "one of the more imaginative" micronation sites.

1022, 1472 GUYANA - The map and the flag of the country

1472 - Guyana's map and national symbols

Posted on 04.03.2014 and 28.02.2015
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name "Guyana" comes from an Amerindian word meaning "land of waters". Anyway, historically speaking, The Guianas (Las Guayanas in spanish) refers to a region in South America, north of the Amazon River and east of the Orinoco River, which includes French Guiana (an overseas department of France), Guyana (former British Guiana), Suriname (former Dutch Guiana), the Guayana Region in Venezuela (former Spanish Guyana), and Brazilian State of Amapá (former Portuguese Guiana). Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, was originally colonized by the Netherlands, but became a British colony and remained so for over 200 years until it achieved independence in 1966, to become a republic in 1970.

1022 - Guyana's flag

It is the third-smallest independent state on the mainland of South America (after Uruguay and Suriname), and has a population of approximately 770,000 inhabitants, of which 90% reside on the narrow coastal strip. Racially and ethnically heterogeneous, with ethnic groups originating from India, Africa, Europe, and China, as well as indigenous or aboriginal peoples, its present population shares two common languages: English and Creole.

1471 SPAIN (Canary Islands) - Playa de las Américas in Tenerife

Playa de las Américas is a purpose-built holiday resort in the southern and southern-west part of the Municipality of Arona, in the west of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. It was built in the 1960s beside the town of Los Cristianos and stretching west to the Costa Adeje. The resort area features bars, nightclubs, restaurants, attractions, and beaches, most of which are man-made with imported sand from Africa due to the darkness of the native volcanic sand. It is a centre of nightlife in Tenerife, and can be considered the party capital of the island. In other words, if you are looking for peace and quiet, then perhaps Playa de las Américas may not be for you.

1469 ROMANIA (Brașov) - A Transylvanian Saxon bride of Meșendorf

The Transylvanian Saxons is the oldest and the numerous group of German ethnicity who live in Transylvania. In the 12th century they followed the call of King Geza II, which promoted the colonization of Germans in terra ultrasilvana (The Land Beyond the Forests) to protect the border of the Kingdom of Hungary. The colonization continued until the end of the 13th century, the Germans being also sought for their ability to develop the region's economy. Although the colonists came mostly from the western Holy Roman Empire and generally spoke Franconian dialects, they were known as Saxons. In 1224 the Golden Charter of King Andrew II ensured them a large autonomy, lost only after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which led to the final annexation of the region by Hungary.

1468 PHILIPPINES (Central Visayas) - Fort San Pedro in Cebu

Front entrance of Fuerte de San Pedro

Built in 1565 in the pier area of the Cebu City by Spanish and indigenous Cebuano labourers under the command of conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi, Fuerte de San Pedro served as the nucleus of the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. The fort is triangular in shape, with two sides facing the sea and the third side fronting the land. The two sides facing the sea were defended with artillery and the front with a strong palisade made of wood. The three bastions were named La Concepción; Ignacio de Loyola, and San Miguel. The walls are 6.1m high by 2.4m thick, and the towers are 9.1m high from the ground level. Fourteen cannons were mounted in their emplacements most of which are still there today.

1467 JAPAN (Shikoku) - Koi in Ritsurin Garden

In Japanese culture, garden-making is a high art, equal to the arts of calligraphy and ink painting. Gardens are considered three-dimensional textbooks of Daoism and Zen Buddhism, and that's why they are very different in style from occidental gardens. They were developed under the influences of the Chinese gardens, but gradually Japanese garden designers began to develop their own aesthetics, based on Japanese materials and Japanese culture. The ability to capture the essence of nature makes the Japanese gardens distinctive and appealing to observers. They can be categorized into three types: tsukiyama (hill gardens), karesansui (dry gardens) and chaniwa gardens (tea gardens).

1466 POLAND (Silesia) - Rozbarsko-Bytomski folk costume

Silesians are the inhabitants of Silesia, a region of Central Europe, along the Odra river, now located mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. They are of Slavic descent, but because Germany ruled Silesia for a long time, Silesians have been deeply influenced by German culture. They are generally considered to belong to a Polish ethnographic group, but there is also the opinion that they constitute a distinct nation. 847,000 people declared themselves to be of Silesian nationality in the 2011 Polish national census (including 376,000 who declared it to be their only nationality). The region is rich in mineral and natural resources and includes several important industrial areas (its largest city being Wrocław).

1465 LESOTHO - Thaba Putsoa Range Malealea

It can be said that this kind of mountainous landscape shown in the postcard is specific for Lesotho, the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000m in elevation (over 80% of the country lies above 1,800m). Thaba Putsoa (Blue Mountain) lies along the road to the Mohale Dam, in south-western Lesotho, and attains a height of 2,902m. Malealea is a remote valley, set in the foothills of the Thaba Putsoa range. Malealea Lodge dates back to 1905 when it was a trading post founded by Mervyn Bosworth-Smith, a charismatic colonial character educated at Oxford, who served in both the Anglo-Boer and First World wars, then fell in love with Basutoland and lived there for over 40 years. A small village subsequently developed round the trading store, which has changed hands several times since Mervyn’s death in 1950.

1464 FRANCE (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) - House of Châteauneuf

The Château de Châteauneuf-en-Auxois is a 15th-century fortress located at 43km from Dijon, a vast stone building, 75m in length and 35m broad, situated on a rocky outcrop 475m above the surrounding plains which dominates the valley of Canal de Bourgogne. The castle was built in 1132 by Jean de Chaudenay for his son Jehan, who took possession of it in 1175 and became Jean I de Châteauneuf. After nine generations in the castle, the reign of the Châteauneufs ended in tragedy when in 1456 the last heiress, Catherine de Châteauneuf, was burnt alive for poisoning her second husband, Jacques d'Haussonville. In 1457, Philippe le Bon, duke of Burgundy, offered the fortress to his advisor Philippe Pot, who modified the castle to make it more comfortable as a residence.

1463 ROMANIA (Braşov) - The city of Braşov presented in the 1960s style

Euphemistically speaking, my knowledge regarding visual arts are very sketchy, but however I have, like any man, a certain visual memory, especially in terms of things I like. As a result, it wasn't hard to me to recognize in the illustration of this postcard the style used in the 1960s in many areas, from cartoons to advertising and book illustration. I don't know if it has a name, if it is a school or something like that, but I know that I always liked, maybe because of my technical formation. The principles which underpin them are very eclectic, because here we find the lack of perspective of the naive painting, the accuracy of the technical drawing, and the wish of representativeness and of functionality of the communication design.

1462 NETHERLANDS (Curaçao) - Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour, Netherlands Antilles (UNESCO WHS)

Formerly the capital of the Netherlands Antilles, Willemstad is the capital city of Curaçao, a country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and part of the Dutch Caribbean. It is a typical port town, but one without a hinterland, which focused on the neighbouring Spanish, English, and French colonies on the mainland of South America. The historic centre of the city consists of four quarters: the Punda and Otrobanda, separated by the Sint Anna Bay (an inlet that leads into the large harbour called the Schottegat), as well as the Scharloo and Pietermaai Smal quarters.

1461 UNITED STATES (Hawaii) - Sweetheart Rock in Lānaʻi

Lānaʻi, also known as Pineapple Island because of its past as an pineapple plantation, is the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. Since 2012, it is 98% owned by Larry Ellison (Founder and Chairman of Oracle), the remaining 2% being owned by the state of Hawaii. On the southern coast of the island is picturesque Hulopoe Bay and its main boat harbor, Manele Bay. Rising from the sea just between these two bays is the iconic Pu'u Pehe, or Sweetheart Rock. Besides being a picturesque natural landmark, Puu Pehe is also steeped in Hawaiian legend.

1460 UKRAINE - Old Hutsul woman

Hutsuls are an ethno-cultural group, or rather an ethnic subgroup, who for centuries have inhabited the Carpathian mountains, mainly in Ukraine (Trans-Carpathia and Pokuttya) and in the northern extremity of Romania (in the areas of Bukovina and Maramureş). Hutsuls regard themselves as being part of the broader Rusyn ethnic minority and/or as Ukrainian highlanders. Rusyns are, in their turn, the descendants of a minority of Ruthenians who didn't adopt the use of the ethnonym Ukrainian in the early 20th century.

1459 CAPE VERDE (Boa Vista) - Chave Beach

Part of the Barlavento islands (literally, the Windward), the northern island group of Cape Verde archipelago, Boa Vista (Portuguese meaning "good view") is known for marine turtles and traditional music, as well as its ultramarathon and its sand dunes and beaches. With an area of 620 km², it is the third largest island, after Santo Antão and Santiago, and is located at 455km west of the coast of Africa. Much of the island is flat, the highest point being Monte Estância (387m). Boa Vista has wonderful beaches with white sand dunes, slim coconut palms and turquoise blue waters.

1458 ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA (Antigua) - Long Bay Beach

The shorelines of Antigua, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda, are greatly indented, with beaches, lagoons, and natural harbours, rimmed by reefs and shoals. It is said to have 365 beaches, one for every day of the year. Probably that is an exaggeration, but anyway its economy is reliant upon tourism, and it promotes the island as a luxury Caribbean escape. One of its most popular beach is Long Bay Beach, located about 5 minutes from the village of Willikies at Long Bay on the east coast of the island. Its fine white sand, the crystal blue waters and the Barrier Reef situated just a few meters from the shore, make it a great place for snorkelling.

1457 JAPAN (Chūbu) - Japanese macaques in the hot springs of Jigokudani Monkey Park

The largely temperate Japan has its own endemic species of monkey, which comes as a surprise to those who associates these mammals with tropical and sub-tropical areas. In fact, these monkeys are unusual in being among the northernmost of all non-human primates. The Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species found on three of the four main Japanese islands (Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu), in a variety of habitats. The total population has been estimated to be 114,431 monkeys, and the northernmost point where they live is the Shimokita Peninsula, on Honshu island. In modern times, they have lost their fear of humans and have increased their presence in both rural and urban areas, with one macaque recorded living in central Tokyo for several months.