A resumption… maps, books and a love letter!

Some recent snail mail…

827 - What better place to resume posting than with a handwritten Love Letter from about 1900 from my Austrian friend Renate?

912 - This is a Ukrainian post-box, courtesy of Julia (postcrossing UA-747921).

 It had this beautoful stamps on it.

927 – A card sent by Dai Li from China shows Joseph Roulin, a French postman, by Van Gogh.   

The Roulin Family is group of portrait paintings Vincent van Gogh executed in Arles in 1888 and 1889 on Joseph, his wife Augustine and their three children: Armand, Camille and Marcelle. This series is unique in many ways. Although Van Gogh loved to paint portraits, it was difficult for financial and other reasons for him to find models. So, finding an entire family that agreed to sit for paintings, in fact for several sittings each was a bounty.  Joseph Roulin became a particularly good, loyal and supporting friend to Van Gogh during his stay in Arles.

Here are some more US state maps I have received recently –

566 - Arizona from my friend Carol in Washington.

581 – New Mexico, also from Carol - this is one of my favourite State maps.

 718 – New Mexico from Sarilyn who lives in Texas but has a holiday home in New Mexico. (Postcrossing US-2304232)

661 - Oregon from my friend Arianne who also loves in Washington - another good example of the State map that shows what goes in the different parts of the State.

830 – Oregon from JarieLyn, a friend from Las Vegas

889 – My lovely Belarusian friend Mish had a holiday in Turkey -

887 - And Mish can have a walk here in this park in Minsk during her breaks at work - 

And I have acquired two new friends who have sent me lots of cards – Damien in France and Dai Li in China.  I shall feature some of their contributions soon.

Meanwhile here are some books -

736 - from Viktoria in Voronezh in Russia  (postcrossing RU-1816704)

748 - from Heleen in The Netherlands - a picture of Emile Zola by Edouard Manet -

 

772 - from my friend Danielle in Nebraska who is one of my most regular postcard swappers and who always seems to find exactly the right card for me.    This is 'Girl reading in a sunlit room' by Carl Holsoe (1863-1935).

809 - From Anastasia in Belarus came this postcard by contemporary artist Pino. 

Pino Daeni (November 8, 1939 – May 25, 2010) was an Italian Impressionist book illustrator and artist. He is known for his style of feminine, romantic women and strong men painted with loose but accurate brushwork. Considered one of the highest paid book illustrators of his time, he created over 3,000 book covers, movie posters and magazine illustrations.

These were the wonderful stamps Anastasia found for me.

860 - Another "reading" card from Daniell.  She and I have noted that there are very few pictures of men reading compared to those of women.  And those of men tend to be newspapers rather than books.

 

934 - from Jean-Michel (postcrossing FR - 318375) came this one 

I loved all the stickers and stamps he used on the back ...

935 - Jonnukka from Finland (postcrossing FI-1872109) sees me drinking a coffee and reading a book.  Fairly accurate.  That's what I'm off to do now before bed.....

See you soon...

Temple of Apollo, Antalya.

Card no 396 – Ibrahim (postcrossing)

The 2nd Century Temple of Apollo, Antalya, Turkey

Country: Turkey

Place: Istanbul  

Received: 12^th February 2013

Distance: 1,703 miles

Travelled for: 21 days

The ruins of the Ionic Temple of Apollo with its columns pointing up into the sky and its legend of the romance between the sun god Apollo and Daphne is near to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Antalya.  Antalya WHS was the capital of Lycia and illustrates the blending of Lycian traditions and Hellenic influence, especially in its funerary art.  

The original temple and home of an oracle was destroyed during the Persian Wars and the one we see today was rebuilt following the victory of Alexander the Great over the Persians.  

This is my first card from Turkey (though not my first one of Turkey!), taking the number of countries I have received cards from to 40. 

A Map of Gökçeada, Turkey

Card no 377 - Riutsi

A Map of Gökçeada, Turkey

Country: Finland

Place:  Jyväskylä

Received: 30th January 2013

Distance: 1,217 miles

Travelled for: 6 days

The Island of Imbros or İmroz officially changed its name to Gökçeada in 1970.  It is the largest island of Turkey and is located in the Aegean Sea, at the entrance of Saros Bay.  It is also the westernmost point of Turkey.  Gökçeada has an area of 108 sq miles and contains some wooded areas.  If you are wondering about the connection with Finland, the sender has a summer house there.

According to the 2011 census, the island-district of Gökçeada has a population of 8,210.  Its main industries are fishing, tourism, vineyards and wine production. 

The population is predominantly Turkish but there are still about 250 Greeks, most of them elderly. The island was primarily inhabited by ethnic Greeks from ancient times through to the middle of the twentieth century when many emigrated to Greece, Western Europe, the United States and Australia during a campaign of discrimination.

According to Greek mythology, the palace of Thetis, mother of Achilles, king of Phthia, was situated between Imbros and Samothrace. The stables of the winged horses of Poseidon were said to lie between Imbros and Tenedos.