Quezon Memorial Circle

 Card no 315 – Raine

This is my first card from The Philippines and brings the number of countries from which I have received cards to 34.  It was signed by people at the 4^th Philippine Postcrossing meet-up on 6^th October 2012 which was a lovely idea because although it came from Raine it is as though it also came from a lot of other postcrossers as well.

The Quezon Memorial Circle is a national park and shrine located in Quezon City, former capital of the Philippines (1948–1976). The park is an ellipse bounded by the Elliptical Road. Its main feature is a mausoleum containing the remains of Manuel L. Quezon, the second official President of the Philippines and the first of an internationally-recognized independent Philippines, and his wife, First Lady Aurora Quezon.

Construction of the Quezon Memorial was begun in 1952 but proceeded slowly, in part due to the cost of importing Carrara marble, brought in blocks and then carved and shaped on-site. There were also problems associated with the theft of the marble blocks and the management of memorial funds. The monument was finally completed in 1978, the centennial of Quezon's birth. His remains were reinterred in the memorial on August 19, 1979. It was during that time that by virtue of a presidential decree, President Ferdinand E. Marcos mandated the site as a National Shrine. The National Historical Institute manages, and has authority, over the monument itself, while the Quezon City government administers the park.

The planned auxiliary structures (presidential library, museum, and theater) were never built. Two smaller museums, one containing the presidential memorabilia of Quezon, and the other containing items on the history of Quezon City, were installed within the monument itself. In the 1980s, missing, lost, or incomplete bas reliefs for the outside of the memorial were installed.

I adore the stamps on this card –

The Picasso triggerfish is one of my favourite species and I have photographed it at aquaria.