Mount Kneisseh seen from Bois de Boulogne

 PostcardMount Lebanon is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height. Mount Kneisseh is part of the Mount Lebanon range.  The Bois de Boulogne is a park located in Paris. But Bois de Boulogne is also a village near Mount Lebanon. StampLebanese singer Nouhad Wadi Haddad, known as Fayrouz (1935). The Jewel of Leban...

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A postcard from the West Indies: Port of Spain, Trinidad

PostcardPort of Spain is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. With 51,000 inhabitants it’s the largest city. Thanks in large part to its fine natural harbour, Port of Spain was made Trinidad's capital in 1757. Cruise ships dock is right next to Port of Spain's downtown, which has an urban feel, with skyscrapers, a financial center, arcade malls and debilitating rush-hour traffic. StampFrom a set of 5 stamps about local...

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Dragon Boat Racing in Macau

PostcardMacau is a former Portugese colony in China. Since 1999 Macau is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. Dragon boat is a human-powered boat (Paddled Water Craft) traditionally made of teak wood to various designs and sizes. It is one of a family of Traditional Long Boats found throughout Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands. It is now used in the team...

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Sauti za Busara musicfestival, Zanzibar

PostcardIn the Swahili world, the big daddy of music festivals is Zanzibar's Sauti za Busara, meaning 'sounds of wisdom' An annual festival that takes place in Stone Town, Zanzibar, at the Old Fort. Truly a cultural melting pot, with people coming in from all corners of Africa, Europe, Asia and America to attend. This year, the 10th edition took place from 14-17 February.StampFrom a set of five stamps issued February 2012, picturing material culture:...

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Terraced Rice Fields, China

PostcardThe Longji Terraced Rice Fields are located 14 miles from Longsheng city. They are the most famous rice terraces in China. Construction started in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) and the fields cover an area of over 16,300 acres and at its highest point is 3600 feet high.Longji means Dragon’s Backbone. The Terraced Rice Fields received their name because the rice terraces resemble a dragon's scales, while the summit of the mountain range looks...

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Détente au bord du lac Tanganyika, Burundi

PostcardLake Tanganyika is regarded as the second largest and second deepest freshwater lake in the world after Siberia’s Lake Baikal. Burundi, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia-all the four countries enjoy some parts of Lake Tanganyika.Lake Tanganyika is not only a place for tourists. The surrounding areas of the lake are also developed for various economic activities like mining, livestock raising and agriculture. Fishery is also...

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Cape Velikan on Sakhalin Island Russia

PostcardSakhalin is a large Russian island in the North Pacific. It is famous for its serenity, beauty and unique wildlife. The island also has large energy resources. In the 19th century Sakhalin Island was the place of exile for prisoners sentenced to “katorga” (penal colony for hard labor). Sakhalin has been claimed by both Russia and Japan over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. This has led to bitter disputes...

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Dromedary Camels from UAE

PostcardThe UAE is historically known for its attachment to camels which are of social and economic value in the region. There are two types of camels. The dromedary, an Arabian camel, is a large even-toed ungulate with has one hump while the Asian camel has two humps.Historically, camels in the UAE were a dependable source of not only transport but also food and milk. Camel skin is used locally to make shoes, bags and water containers. Its wool,...

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Fraser Island

PostcardFraser Island is an island located along the southern coast of Queensland, Australia. The island has rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock.Fraser Island stretches over 123 kilometres in length and 22 kilometres at its widest point. It is the largest sand island...

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The smallest republic in the world: Nauru

PostcardNauru  is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just 21 square kilometers. With approximately 10,000 residents, it is the second least-populated country after Vatican City.Nauru has no armed forces; Australia is responsible for Nauru's defense. Nauru uses the Australian dollar as its official currency.  Nauru is a phosphate...

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Maya ruins from Mexico: Chichen Itza

PostcardChichen Itza is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico; an estimated 1.2 million tourists visit the ruins every year. Chichen Itza was founded in the 6th century (around 550 AD) by the Maya civilization, as a ceremonial center. The name is Mayan for “at the mouth of Itza’s well” and apparently comes from Itza, the name of an ethnic group very powerful at that time.The Kukulkan Pyramid in Chichen-Itza was elected one of...

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Visoki Decani Monastery, Serbia (Kosovo region)

PostcardVisoki Dečani is a major Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery located in Metohia (Kosovo). Probably the best preserved medieval church in the Balkans, containing the most extensive preserved fresco decoration. Nestled in the embrace of western Kosovo’s Decan Canyon, surrounded by grapevines and chestnut trees, the abbey is a two hour’s drive from the capital Pristina.StampXIV SERBIAN PHILATELIC EXHITIBITION ”SRBI...

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Sukhothai Historical Park, Thailand

 PostcardThe Sukhothai Historical Park covers the ruins of Sukhothai, capital of the Sukhothai kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, located in what is now the north of Thailand.Wat Mahathat is the most important and impressive temple compound in Sukhothai Historical Park. 'Wat Mahathat' translates as 'temple of the great relic' and many Thai cities have a Wat Mahathat, where relics of the Buddha were kept.StampFrom a set...

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A postcard from The Gambia

PostcardThe Gambia also commonly known as Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is almost completely surrounded by Senegal. It is the smallest country on mainland Africa.  The country is named after the river Gambia which flows through its length from East to West for three hundred miles and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. (picture left)The Kankurang is an initiatory rite practiced throughout the Manding provinces...

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Martyrs' Square, Beirut

PostcardMartyr's Square has a very rich history. Few statues in the world had witnessed a country history the way the Martyr square and statue did in Beirut.  You can read more about the square in this post:A statue in better days: Martyrs' squareIn the back you see the Rivoli Cinema.  Did you know that in the late 1950s and early 1960s the Lebanese were considered to be the foremost cinemagoers in the world? UNESCO’s 1965 annual report...

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مسجد الحسن الثاني ‎Mosque Hassan II Casablanca

PostcardThe Hassan II Mosque is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest mosque in the country and the 7th largest in the world.King Hassan II stated (on his birthday in 1980) his desire for the city to "be endowed with a large, fine building of which it can be proud until the end of time." Thirteen years later, he inaugurated the Hassan II Mosque. Built on a rocky outcrop of reclaimed land -- in response...

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Bliss Lighthouse, Belize City Harbour

PostcardThis light was built as a memorial to Henry E.E.V. Bliss, an English baron who was a major benefactor of Belize.  On March 9th 1926, two months after his arrival in Belize and without ever having set foot on Belizean soil, Baron Bliss died, leaving Belize a $2 million legacy. The interest from his legacy was used to fund many infrastructural projects throughout Belize including roads, schools and the country’s first theatre.StampA 2012...

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Easter Island | Isla de Pascua

PostcardEaster Island covers roughly 64 square miles in the South Pacific Ocean, and is located some 2,300 miles from Chile's west coast and 2,500 miles east of Tahiti. Easter Island is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. Known as Rapa Nui to its earliest inhabitants, the island was christened Paaseiland, or Easter Island, by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen in honor of the day of their arrival in 1722. Easter Island is world-famous...

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