POSTCROSSING

понедельник, 29 марта 2010 г.

UNITED KINGDOM / England, Hertfordshire

Litle old market. Corn Exchange, Hitchin.

Corn Exchange is the the most striking building on the Market Place. This Italianate building was completed in 1853 (for a price of 2000 pounds), shortly after the construction of the railway. With the arrival of the Great Northern Railway Hitchin became an important centre for grain trading. Bowmans - one of the country's largest remaining independent millers still have a large site at the charming nearby village of Ickleford to the North. This historic settlement is well known as it is bisected by the Roman trade route The Icknield Way and possesses a fine Norman church. Ickleford is one of several villages on the outskirts of Hitchin well worth a visit.
The origins of the grain trade go back a long way. In the sixteenth century, the town was said to be second to none for its grain market (especially wheat). Queen Elizabeth I is said to have replied to a Spanish nobleman, boasting of the vineyards of his country, that "My Hitchin grapes" (meaning malt) "surpass them, or those of any other country."

воскресенье, 10 января 2010 г.

BRAZIL / Bahia

Praia do Forte, Bahia, one of Brazil's most attractive beaches

Some 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Salvador on Bahia's Miracle Coast is the resort town/fishing village of Praia do Forte. Praia do Forte Resort Brazil's first Eco-Resort is located on the east coast of the state of Bahia in 155,000 square miles of pure tropical nature in harmony with the customs of an old charming fishermen's village.

среда, 9 декабря 2009 г.

BRAZIL / Serra da Capivara National Park

Serra da Capivara National Park

Serra da Capivara National Park is a national park in the north east of Braz , near the town of São Raimondo Nonato, 220 km south of Floriano and 5,230 km from Teresina. The main body of the park is the Serra do Congo massif and the central Chapada da Capivara in the State of Piauì. The park was created to protect the prehistoric artifacts and paintings found there. It became a World Heritage Site in 1991.
Many of the numerous rock shelters in the Serra da Capivara National Park are decorated with cave paintings, some more than 25,000 years old. They are an outstanding testimony to one of the oldest human communities of South America.
Over 300 archaeological sites have been found within the park, the majority consisting of rock and wall paintings dating from 50,000-30,000 years ago. Certain geological formations and palaeofauna that included giant sloths, horses, camelids and early llamas indicate that the Ice Age environment was quite different from the existing semi-arid conditions.