Mask of Shaman

Sender: Rayman

Mask of Shaman

Copper

Inner Mongolia

Ewink nationality

Text on card: Shaman means sorceror or sorceress. This kind of mask was used for their religious ceremony. It is an instrument for ecstasy (contact to god) just like other holy instruments: crown, clothes, drum, wand.

Shamans are spirit mediums who have practiced divination, prayer, sacrifice, rainmaking, and healing in Chinese traditions dating back over 3,000 years. - Wikipedia

Al-Attarine Madrasa

Sender: Me, Myself & I!

The Al-Attarine Madrasa is a madrasa (educational institution) in Fez, Morocco. It is located in the spiritual centre of Fez, near the Mosque of al-Qarawiyyin. The madrasa's location at the entrance to the spice and perfume market gives al-Attarine, the madrasa of the perfumers, its name. It was commissioned by the Marinid Sultan Uthman II b. Ya'qub, Abu Sa'id (r. 1310-31) in 1323/723 AH and completed in 1325/725 AH.

I was here with two other friends during our vacation in Morocco about 3 weeks ago. It is one of the most beautifully decorated buildings I've ever seen!

St Nicholas

Sender: Anneke

St Nicholas is a popular subject portrayed on countless Eastern Orthodox icons, particularly Russian ones. 

(St. Nicholas became the model of the legendary character called Santa Claus, who brings Christmas presents to children around the world.)

Jetavana Dagaba

Sender: Dinesh

Jetavana Dagaba (stupa), Anuradhapura.
4th Century

Pope John Paul II

Sender: Medici

Pope John Paul II (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) from Poland

Baroque church, calvary sanctuary in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

Takeda Shrine

Sender: Satoko-k
'T' is for 'Takeda' shrine.

Takeda Shrine, Yamanashi, Japan.
Built to enshrine the spirit of Shingen Takeda, a samurai warrior of the 16th Century.

Dancer at Chennaskesava Temple

Sender: Col. Akhil

Dancer - Chennakesava Temple - Belur - India

This temple in Belur is dedicated to Chennakeshava, meaning "handsome Kesava". The facade of the temple is filled with intricate sculptures and friezes, inclusive of this awesome dancer. 

Penafrancia Festival

Sender: Ritz

Peñafrancia Festival, Naga City, Bicol, Phillipines

The Festival is held every 3rd Sunday of September in honour of the Virgin of Peñafrancia, the Miraculous patron saint of the Bicol Region. A nine-day novena is done in honour of the Virgin. On the ninth day, the image of the Virgin is paraded in a colourful fluvial procession on the Bicol river in downtown Naga. When it reaches the Basilica of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the devotees shout, "Viva la Virgen!"

St Aleksy

Sender: Olga

Text on card: St Aleksy, Metropolitan of Moscow

The amoury of the Moscow Kremlin. Early 18th Century. From the Church of St Metropolitan Aleksy in Rogozhskaya Sloboda.

The Assumption Cathedral

Sender: Prott


Text on card: The Assumption Cathedral, Kievo-Pecherskaya Lavra, Kiev, Ukraine, in spring night.

"Lavra" is Greek for a big and venerated monastery. "Pechersk" is derived from Old Russian word meaning a cave.

The Assumption Cathedral of the 1,000-year-old Monastery of Caves, is known for the unusual grandeur and beauty of its inner and outer decoration. It is one of the most sacred sites of Orthodox Christianity and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990.

It looks as if it is crowned by gold domes...

St Philip's Episcopal Church

Sender: Ragnarok7

St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 142, Church Street, Charleston, SC

Text on card: Established in 1680 making it the oldest congregation in South Carolina and the oldest Anglican congregation south of Virginia, St Philip's original structure was located at the corner of Meeting and Broad Streets. Relocated here in the early 1700s, the current church designed by architect Joseph Hyde was constructed between 1835 and 1838 after being completely burned. Bells installed in the steeple in 1976 replaced the original chime of eleven bells which were contributed to the Confederacy in 1851.

Ragnarok7 wrote that there are many churches, synagogues and mosques in her city that it is nicknamed "The Holy City"! That nickname was also mentioned in Wikipedia.

Part of the Christmas stamp was torn in the card's journey.

Sultanahmet Mosque

Sender: SihirliFlut

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Sultanahmet Mosque (better known as the "Blue Mosque") was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I when he was only 19 years old. Construction began in 1609 but was only completed after the sultan's death in 1617.

One of the most notable features of the Blue Mosque is its six minarets and the beautifully-arranged cascade of domes spilling down from the great central dome. The mosque is considered to be the last example of Ottoman classical architecture.

The Monastery of Jasna Gora, Częstochowa

Sender: romanek

Częstochowa is a city in south Poland. It is famous for the Monastery of Jasna Gora, where the Black Madonna Painting is kept. Because of the Black Madonna painting, Częstochowa is regarded as the most popular shrine in Poland, with many Catholics making a pilgrimage there every year.

Tin Hau Festival

Sender: Ch3rryB3rry

I admire Ch3rryB3rry's photo-taking-postcard-making skills. Currently she is residing in New Zealand but this is a photo she took in Hong Kong, in the year 2005.

Tin Hau Festival, of Taoist religion, in Hong Kong, is one of its grand events, but is not a public holiday. Tin Hau in Cantonese dialect, or Thean Hou or Ma-tsu, is the Goddess of the Sea. She is worshipped as the protector of sailors/fishermen, and as time went by, also for health, career, farming, relationship, and all sorts of concerns. Her birthday-festival falls on the twenty-third day of the third lunar month of the Chinese calendar. 

Alexander Ivanov

Sender: parapanda
Alexander Ivanov. 1806-1858. Oil on canvas. 172 x 247 cm.
"The Appearance of Christ to the People". 1837-1858.

This painting was worked upon by the artist for 20 years! He died of cholera aged 52 after its completion, not knowing that the painting would be celebrated as his greatest work. The scene is set on the banks of the River Jordan and is based on the bible. 

Reception

Sender: Ann83

Reception of the Apostolic Patriarch of Kyiv and all Rus-Ukraine Filaret.

Colourful Cathedral

28 February 2011
Sender: suari
Moscow. 
The St. Basil's Cathedral

Solovetsky Monastery

24 February 2011
Sender: Anna


From the net "The Solovetsky Monastery (Russian: Соловецкий монастырь) , also Solovki Monastery, is one of the most significant monastic institutions in Russia. The monastery is located on the large island of Solovetsky, a part of the Solovetsky Archipelago in the White Sea in northern Russia. The monastery became one of the richest and best known monasteries in Russia. In view of its remoteness, the monastery also became a place of exile for people both within the Church and the secular tsarist government. This prison-like function of the monastery continued until the later part of the nineteenth century. Under the Bolshevik government the monastery became one of the main prison labor camps and the model for labor camps of the Soviet Gulag Archipelago."

Anna informed that the stamp is also of the same monastery.

Spiritual

24 February 2011
Sender: i-c-e-cream
Religious things Tag

Exceptional stamps, almost covering back of postcard!

Monasterio de Yuso

24 February 2011
Sender: Shelly
Monasterio de Yuso, La Rioja
Shelly wrote that this is Monastery of Yuso and Suso, San Millan, awarded UNESCO World Heritage Centre in 1994 not only for its artistic value but mainly because the first words ever written in Spanish were written and found there. 


Read from the net that a monk had put annotations in Spanish and Basque next to a Latin text kept there.