Vietnam Water Buffaloes

PostcardThe water buffalo is common in the southern regions of Vietnam. It is a large black animal with huge curving horns. The buffalo are domesticated and peasants use them as draft animals.By comparison, the people are small, some hardly taller than their animals. Yet even the littlest child can lead a buffalo about by means of a metal ring in the animals' nose. To see them ambling slowly down the road, urged on by the occasional slap...

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A postcard from New Caledonia | Nouvelle Calédonie

PostcardNew Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The population is 252,000. The capital of the territory is Nouméa. Third largest island in the Pacific after Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, New Caledonia is only 1,500 km east off the coast of Australia. Seeing this "terra incognita" in 1774, the British navigator James Cook found a similarity between the mountainous terrain of the Grande Terre and...

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Sunset at Jaco Beach, Costa Rica

PostcardJacó is a coastal city in Costa Rica's Puntarenas province. Jaco Beach, south of Puntarenas is a sanctuary for surfers and fun-lovers! Jaco beach is also one of Costa Rica’s Top Ten Beaches.Stamps(top) From a set of seven stamps about national parks and national wonders of Costa Rica: Rio Celeste. (bottom) From a set of two stamps (2007) picturing the front and back of the Nobel Peace Prize medallion. Commemorating the Esquipulas II accords...

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The Citadel of Raymond de St-Gilles from Tripoli, Lebanon

PostcardTripoli is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated 85 km north of the capital Beirut.The Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles, is one of the largest and oldest military fortresses in Tripoli. It takes its name from Raymond de Saint-Gilles, the Count of Toulouse and Crusader commander who started its construction on a hilltop outside Tripoli in 1103 in order to lay siege to the city. The...

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Elephants Terrace from Angkor Thom, Cambodia

PostcardThe Terrace of the Elephants is part of the walled city of Angkor Thom, a ruined temple complex in Cambodia. Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire, was a fortified city enclosing residences of priest, officials of the palace and military, as well as buildings for administering the kingdom. The 350m-long Terrace of Elephants was used as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king's grand audience...

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The river Thames at Westminster, London

Postcard“On the edge of the Embankment, to the right of the pleasure boats, is the Royal Air Force War Memorial. Westminster Bridge is in the middle distance, with the Houses of Parliament on the right and St Thomas’s Hospital on the bank of the river.”StampFrom a set of 6 stamps to celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Dickens birth, featuring best-known characters. On this stamp Mrs. Gamp from the novel Martin Chuzzlewit....

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A tropical beach from Dominican Republic

PostcardThe Dominican Republic lies about 800 miles/1,280 kilometers southeast of Miami and is bordered in the Greater Antilles chain by Cuba to the West, and Puerto Rico to the East. The island of Hispaniola, which the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti, is the second-largest island in the Caribbean. Palm trees dot the landscape, and Punta Cana is one of the most beautiful areas of the Dominican Republic. The many resorts located in Punta Cana...

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A postcard in the shape of Cyprus

PostcardStavrovouni Monastery is a Greek Orthodox monastery which stands on the top of a hill called Stavrovouni. It is the earliest documented monastery on the island. Stavrovouni means Mountain of the Cross. StampFrom a set of four stamps about 2012 London Olympi...

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Cueva del Indio, Puerto Rico

PostcardThe Cueva del Indio is just another location in the top listing of must-see places on the island.The cave inside of a huge rock directly at the ocean near Arecibo, gives the impression to be at a movie set of Indiana Jones.Cueva del Indio means Cave of the Indian. The Taino Indians probably held tribal meetings at this locations centuries before the arrival of the Spanish invaders in 1493.StampPuerto Rico is a territory (Commonwealth) of...

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City of Deir el Qamar | دير القمر , Lebanon

PostcardDeir el Qamar is a village in south-central Lebanon, five kilometres outside of Beiteddine, consisting of stone houses with red-tiled roofs. The city is known the Capital of Emirs. From its palaces, Lebanon was governed from the 16th century until the 18th century. On the western side of the Square stands a Mosque, which was the first to be built in Mount Lebanon. The Emir Fakhreddine Ist Maan constructed it in 1493. StampThe Jewel of...

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The Yellow Hat Order from Tibet

PostcardThe Yellow Hat (Gelugpa) order is the largest Tibetan Buddhist order. It is lead by the Dalai Lama and was founded by Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), a lama who established a monastery at Ganden. The Yellow Hats have dominated Tibetan Buddhism since the 17th century The yellow hats are worn with red robes by monks during religious ceremonies. The hats look like large yellow bird claws or crescent moons and are worn with the concave side facing forward....

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Antigua Guatemala

PostcardLa Merced Church is a church in Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala.La Antigua is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish Mudéjar-influenced Baroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruins of colonial churches.StampFrom a set of two stamps about The Volcano and Lake of Ipa...

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The Sphinx and Great Pyramid of Khufu, Egypt

PostcardThe Pyramids of Giza are the most famous monuments of ancient Egypt. These massive stone structures were built around 4500 years ago on a rocky desert plateau close to the Nile. The people of ancient Egypt believed that death on Earth was the start of a journey to the next world.   The embalmed body of the king was entombed underneath or within the pyramid to protect it and allow his transformation and ascension to the afterlife,...

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Ancient city of Mardin, Turkey

PostcardMardin is one of the oldest settled areas in upper Mesopotamia. Excavations done in the 1920s discovered remains in the area that dated to 4000 BCE. The city is located on the slope of a hill looking down south to the Mesopotamian plains. It is known for its fascinating architecture consisting of heavily decorated stonework cascading from the hilltop.StampFrom a set of 8 stamps about touri...

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Annapurna Region and Phewa Lake from Nepal

PostcardAnnapurna is a series of peaks in the Himalaya. It is one of the world’s most popular trekking areas. Gateway to Annapurna trekking region is the famous city of Pokhara, the second largest city of Nepal. Phewa Lake is a freshwater lake located in the south of the Pokhara Valley. StampStamp issued 2006 to commemorate 2550th anniversary of Budd...

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Ulster, Northern Ireland

PostcardNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Ulster is one of the provinces of Ireland. This card is picturing clockwise:·         Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge·         Enniskillen Castle·         Giant’s Causeway ·         Mountains of...

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The Star Ferry Pier, Hong Kong

PostcardThe charming Star Ferry boats have been faithfully carrying passengers from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon and back since 1888. While the two sides of Victoria Harbour are now connected by a world-class infrastructure system of road and rail tunnels, tens of millions of people still climb aboard the humble Star Ferry vessels each year. Many visitors take the ride for an up-close look at one of the world’s most photographed harbours, while locals...

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Kaiping Diaolou | 開平碉樓 from China

PostcardThe Kaiping Diaolou are fortified multi-storey towers, generally made of reinforced concrete. The first towers were built during the early Qing Dynasty, reaching a peak in the 1920s and 1930s. Although the diaolou served mainly as protection against forays by bandits, a few of them also served as living quarters.Sta...

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Burundi

PostcardBurundi is a green, lush mountainous country, placed in the middle of Africa by the great lakes. The landlocked small country of Burundi, located on the northeastern shoreline of Lake Tanganyika, is a very mountainous country. The only land below 3,000 feet is a narrow strip of plain along the Ruzizi River in the west.Some facts:·         Population 8,074,254·        ...

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