The holy Island of Patmos | Greece

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Patmos is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea with only 3,000 inhabitants. The island's historic center Chora, along with the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse, were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1999. All can be seen on this postcard.

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A stamp picturing watermelons and figs, issued 2014. There are twelve stamps in the series, each one representing something particular to that month. This one is for August. 

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Singapore Botanic Gardens

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Singapore Botanic Gardens has been around for over 150 years. From an ornamental garden with roads, terraces, a band parade area and even a small zoo, it has come a long way in evolving into a leading equatorial botanic garden of 74 hectares, where major world crops, such as rubber and orchids were launched. The gardens are the first UNESCO World Heritage site for Singapore.

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Both postcard and stamp showing the bandstand on Lawrence Niven's parade ground. Probably one of the largest stamps in the world!      thx SL!

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The Putorana plateau | Russia

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The Putorana plateau is a stunningly beautiful landscape, located in the northern part of Central Siberia. It is a complex of high flat-topped mountain massifs divided by deep and wide stepped canyons.

The part of the plateau inscribed on the World Heritage List harbours a complete set of subarctic and arctic ecosystems in an isolated mountain range, including pristine taiga, forest tundra, tundra and arctic desert systems, as well as untouched cold-water lake and river systems. (source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1234)

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The 175th Anniversary of the World's First Postage Stamp - One Penny Black (issue 2015).

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Plebiscito Square in Naples | Italy

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Naples, two hours south of Rome, is the largest city in southern Italy. It has some of the world's best opera houses and theatres, and is often called an open-air museum, because of its many historic statues and monuments.

The postcard pictures Piazza Plebiscito (Plebiscito square), a large public square in central Naples. A 25,000 square meter open air arena set between the city and the sea.

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A machine label.

thx Cheryll!

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Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex | Vietnam

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The Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2014. This is a spectacular landscape of limestone karst peaks and  valleys, many of them partly submerged and surrounded by steep cliffs. The property also contains temples, pagodas, paddy-fields and small villages. 

 

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Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has 10 member states today: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.  All the flags are in the symbol on the stamp.

The goal of this organization is to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development among its members and to promote regional peace.

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Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen | Germany

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Essen is Germany’s 9th largest city with about 570,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the Ruhr district, a densely populated and industrialized region.

The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex is large historical coal-mining site in Essen.

UNESCO world heritage site since 2001.

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Werla paper mill | Finland

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The Verla groundwood and board mill is a unique, small-scale industrial complex from the early years of the Finnish wood processing industry. Within its rural setting, the area includes mills, power plants and workers’ housing. Only a handful of such settlements survive to the present day.

The first groundwood mill at Verla was founded in 1872 but was destroyed by fire in 1876. A larger mill, founded in 1882, continued to operate until 1964.

Verla is a UNESCO World Heritage site. (Not sure why the postcard shows Werla, with a “ W”)

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Ironbridge Gorge | United Kingdom

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The Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge formed by the River Severn in Shropshire, England. The bridge, built in 1779, is the first iron bridge of its kind in the world.

Ironbridge is also known throughout the world as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. The nearby mines, blast furnaces, railways, bridge and river all contributed to the industrialization of this region and the rest of the world. 

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Humayun's Tomb | India

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Humayun's tomb is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi, India. Humayun died in 1556, and his widow Hamida Banu Begam, ordered the construction of his tomb fourteen years after his death.

Humayun's tomb is UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Upper Harz Water Regale | Germany

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The Upper Harz was once an important mining region in Germany. The major products of its mines were silver, copper, lead, iron and zinc. The Upper Harz Water Regale is one of the largest and most important historic mining water management systems in the world.

Together with mines of Rammelsberg and the historic townof Goslar, Upper Harz Water Management System is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Part of a set of four stamps aus der Serie "Für die Jugend (2015). Süßwasserfische - Die Barbe

Thx Dustin!

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The Forth Rail Bridge | United Kingdom - Scotland

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The Forth bridge was opened in 1890 after eight years of construction. It was the first major structure in Britain to be made of steel and at the time the world's longest multi-span cantilever bridge. Its construction resulted in a continuous East Coast railway route from London to Aberdeen.

 

The Forth Bridge is a UNESCO World Heritage site since July 2015. 

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Part of a set of six stamps to commemorate 200 years Battle of Waterloo. The battle ended Napoleon’s aspirations to conquer large parts of Europe. After being exiled to the Island of St Helena he died in 1821 at the age of 51.  

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Heraion of Samos | Greece

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Samos is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, close to the Turkish coast. The island's population is 33,000, which makes it the 9th most populous of the Greek islands.

The ruins of the temple of Hera is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple was a large sanctuary to the goddess Hera, constructed in the 6th century B.C.

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Le Bois du Cazier, Marcinelle | Belgium

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The Bois du Cazier was a coal mine in Marcinelle, Belgium. It was the scene of a mining disaster in 1956, when 263 men lost their lives. 

Bois du Cazier is one of the four mines that form the UNESCO world Heritage site of “Major Mining Sites of Wallonia”. 

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Bochnia Salt Mine | Poland

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The Bochnia Salt Mine is one of the oldest salt mines in the world and the oldest one in Poland. Operating continuously for 750 years until closure short after World War I.

St. Kinga’s Chapel is one of the largest and best preserved chapels in the mine. The chapel was established in 1747 and is located at a depth of 212 m. 

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The old mining town Banská Štiavnica | Slovakia

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Banská Štiavnica is the oldest mining town in Slovakia. Large scale mining started in Banska Stiavnica in the 12th century, profiting from its location in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. From the 15th century on the silver mined here brought great wealth. 

The Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

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Cesis Castle | Latvia

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Cesis is a medieval town in Latvia. The Cēsis Castle dates back 800 years. German crusaders known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (Livonian Knights) started construction of the castle in 1206. During the Great Northern War in 1703 the castle was demolished by Russian army but has never been restored.

 

The city of Cesis was a member of the Hanseatic League.

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Europa stamp 2015, Old Toys.

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A postcard from The Comoros

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The Comoros archipelago is made up of four islands: Anjouan, Grande Comore, Mohéli and Mayotte. The latter is still under French control.

The islands are a tropical paradise, but somehow doesn’t attract many tourists. Maybe it has something to do with the island’s political turmoil in the past: at least 20 coup d’états since gaining independence from the French in 1975. Or with volcanic activities. The Comoros has the most active volcanoes in the world. These volcanoes are located in the largest of the islands: Grande Comore.

Stamps

The stamp on the left is part of a set of 6 stamps about Medicinal Plants, issued in 2007. The orchid stamp is part of a set of 4 stamps issued in 2003. 

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Preah Vihear Temple | Cambodia

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Preah Vihear is an ancient temple atop a 525-metre cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains in Cambodia. The temple was once called Sri Sikharisvara, meaning "Glorious Lord of the Mountain", a dedication to the Hindu god Shiva.

In 1962, following a lengthy dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership, the International Court of Justice in The Hague (Netherlands) ruled that the temple is in Cambodia.

In 2008 Preah Vihear was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites.

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Litomyšl Castle | Czech Republic

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The Litomyšl castle in Czech Republic is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The castle (or chateau) dates back to the 16th century.  

 

According to whc.unesco.org “ the castle is an outstanding and immaculately preserved example of the arcade castle, a type of building first developed in Italy and modified in the Czech lands to create an evolved form of special architectural quality.”

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Europa 2013 stamp “The Postman’s Van”. 

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Chalk cliffs at Jasmund National Park | Germany

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Jasmund National Park is located in the northeast of Rügen, Germany’s largest island in the Baltic sea. Its most spectacular feature is without doubt the Königsstuhl (Kings chair) chalk cliffs, rising up 170 metres from the sea.

 

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A matching stamp!

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Dazu Rock Carvings | China

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The Dazu Rock Carvings are a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings, dating back as far as the 9th century. These carvings can be found in 76 places in Dazu County with a total of 60,000 stone statues.

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Te Waipounamu | New Zealand

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Te Waipounamu is the official Māori name for New Zealand's South Island, meaning "the place of greenstone". Named after the (green) Jade-like stones that can be found in this part of the world.

Te Waipounamu is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The site incorporates four national parks: Mount Cook, Fiordland, Mount Aspiring and Westland. Milford sound is a fjord is Fiordland National Park. Its highest peak is Mitre Peak with 1,695 metres.  

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Mount Taranaki is an active stratovolcano on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. The stamp is part of a set of 5 definitives, issued 2014. 

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70 Years since atomic bomb on Nagasaki | Japan

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Japan is the only nation in the world who suffered a nuclear attack. Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima another atomic bomb devastated Nagasaki, killing more than 70,000 people. This happened August 9, 1945. Today 70 years ago.

The card shows Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki. Construction of the original Urakami Cathedral, started in 1895, after a long-standing ban in Japan on Christianity. The cathedral was in a 500m range of the atomic bomb and completely destroyed. The cathedral was rebuilt in 1959 on the original site.  

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Chocolate Hills on Bohol Island | Philippines

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Bohol is the tenth largest island in the Philippines. In the middle of this island you can find a very unusual landscap: the Chocolate Hills. The origins of these 1,500 hills are not clear.

In the dry season of each year, the vegetation on the hills gives the landscape a brown colored view, hence the name "Chocolate Hills".

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Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte | United Kingdom

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Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte is Welsh for the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. With a length of 18 kilometres and height of 30 metres, the longest and highest aqueduct in Britain. Over 200 years old, engineering at its best! The aquaduct is a World Heritage Site.

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