KR386 - Mt. Soraksan Nature Reserve (1994)

Courtesy of Sarah from postcrossing

1518 TR - Archaeological Site of Ani (2016)

This site is located on a secluded plateau of northeast Turkey overlooking a ravine that forms a natural border with Armenia. This medieval city combines residential, religious and military structures, characteristic of a medieval urbanism built up over the centuries by Christian and then Muslim dynasties. The city flourished in the 10th and 11th centuries CE when it became the capital of the medieval Armenian kingdom of the Bagratides and profited from control of one branch of the Silk Road. Later, under Byzantine, Seljuk and Georgian sovereignty, it maintained its status as an important crossroads for merchant caravans. The Mongol invasion and a devastating earthquake in 1319 marked the beginning of the city’s decline. The site presents a comprehensive overview of the evolution of medieval architecture through examples of almost all the different architectural innovations of the region between the 7th and 13th centuries CE.

Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1518

Courtesy of PC_2 from postcrossing forum

Cathedral of Ani

The church of the Holy Redeemer

Manuchihr Mosque

Chapel in the Monastery of the Hripsimian Virgins

The Church of Saint Gregory of Tigran Honents

Church of St. Gregory of the Abughamrents

Bazaar

background is the city wall

1410 MX - El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve (2013)

El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve

The 714,566 hectare site comprises two distinct parts: the dormant volcanic Pinacate Shield of black and red lava flows and desert pavements to the east, and, in the west, the Gran Altar Desert with its ever changing and varied sand dunes that can reach a height of 200 metres. This landscape of dramatic contrast notably features linear, star and dome dunes as well as several arid granite massifs, some as high as 650 metres. The dunes emerge like islands from the sea of sand and harbour distinct and highly diverse plant and wildlife communities, including endemic freshwater fish species and the endemic Sonoran Pronghorn, which is only to be found in northwestern Sonora and in southwestern Arizona (USA). Ten enormous, deep and almost perfectly circular craters, believed to have been formed by a combination of eruptions and collapses, also contribute to the dramatic beauty of the site whose exceptional combination of features are of great scientific interest. The site is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

 Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1410

Courtesy of PC_2 from postcrossing forum

RU5309 - Rock Painting of Shulgan-Tash Cave (2018)

 Courtesy of PC_2 from postcrossing forum

RU5666 - Bashkir Ural (2012)

 Courtesy of PC_2 from postcrossing forum