Portrait of an Afghan Girl

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Afghan Girl is a 1984 photographic portrait by journalist Steve McCurry which appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic.

The women pictured is Sharbat Gula (born ca. 1972), an Afghan woman who was living as a refugee in Pakistan during the time of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan when she was photographed.

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Welkom in South Africa

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Welkom is a city in the Free State province of South Africa, located about 140 kilometres from Bloemfontein, the provincial capital. Welkom is South Africa's youngest town and has been the centre of the gold fields since 1947. The town sprung up after gold was discovered on a farm called St Helena. Welkom is Afrikaans and Dutch for "welcome". 

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Pamukkale | Turkey

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Pamukkale means "cotton castle" in Turkish. This amazing display of natural hot water pools is located in south-western Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. 

Somewhere deep in the earth beneath Pamukkale lies a vast source of water heated by volcanic lava. The water dissolves pure white calcium, becomes saturated with it, and carries it to the earth's surface, where it bursts forth and runs down a steep hillside.

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Faroe Islands, misty and green

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“The weather is maritime and quite changeable, from moments of brilliant sunshine to misty hill fog, to showers. The Gulf Stream encircling the islands tempers the climate. The harbors never freeze and the temperature in winter time is very moderate considering the high latitude. Snowfall occurs, but is short-lived. The average temperature ranges from 3,5°C in winter to 12°C in the summer. In sheltered areas, the temperature can be much higher, but the air is always fresh and clean no matter what the season.” 

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Santa Maria Island | Azores (Portugal)

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Santa Maria is the third smallest island of the Azores archipelago. The first inhabited island in the archipelago, from 1439 at Anjos. 

Christopher Columbus famously came ashore here in 1493 on his return voyage from the Americas; attending mass at the chapel of Nossa Senhora dos Anjos.

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Cinnamon Island Alidhoo | Maldives

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The Maldives is a tropical paradise in the Indian Ocean. An archipelago of almost 1,200 coral islands, 200 of which are inhabited and over 80 islands are tourist resorts. Alidhoo is one of these resorts. 

“A secluded hideaway washed by the waters of a crystal clear turquoise lagoon and bungalows built in harmony with its stunning natural setting, Alidhoo is a brand new resort island in the reclusive Haa Alif atoll, an ideal holiday for those keen to get away from it all and to enjoy superb facilities.”

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The Australian Pelican

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The Australian Pelican is found throughout Australia, Papua New Guinea and western Indonesia. There are seven species of pelicans in the world, all of which are similar in shape and, with one exception, are primarily white in colour. 

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Murray River Mouth | Australia

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With a 2,500 kilometers in length, the Murray River is Australia's longest river. Murray Mouth is the point at which the River Murray meets the Southern Ocean.

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Nikolskoe village on Bering Island | Russia

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Bering island is treeless, desolate and experiences severe weather, including high winds, persistent fog and earthquakes. It had no year-round human residents until roughly 1826. Today, the village of Nikolskoe is home to 600 to 800 people.

The Commander Islands are located in the Bering Sea, 175 kilometers to the east of Kamchatka. Bering Island is the largest and westernmost of the Commander Islands.

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Murter Island | Croatia

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Murter is an island in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea. The island is only 6 meters away from land and is connected to the mainland by a mobile bascule-bridge. 

Most of the island is covered with age - old olive trees and fig-trees, which are the main traditional crops grown by the natives. The island is surrounded on most parts by the Kornati islands.

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Lighthouse Grebeni stands on a rugged rock populated only by yellow-legged gulls. The island is located a four-kilometre boat ride from Dubrovnik's Old Harbour. The stamp is part of a set of four stamps about Croatian lighthouses (2015).

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Cookie the Little Penguin | Australia

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The video I stumbled upon, inspired me to post this card here. It shows a cute Little Penguin by the name Cookie. Little penguins are the smallest species of penguin in the world, with an average height of just 33 centimetres. They are found only on the southern coastlines of Australia and New Zealand. 

Australian little penguin colonies primarily exist on offshore islands, like Granite Island, where they are protected from feral terrestrial predators and human disturbance. The population of Little Penguins is decreasing as numerous colonies have recently declined or disappeared. 

(thx for sending Steve!)

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The Sundarbans | Bangladesh

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Located at the mouth of the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers between India and Bangladesh, the Sundarbans contain the world's largest mangrove forests.

The mangrove habitat supports the single largest population of tigers in the world which have adapted to an almost amphibious life, being capable of swimming for long distances and feeding on fish, crab and water monitor lizards. 

The Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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The Temple of Hadrian | Turkey

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The Ancient City of Ephesus is an outstanding example of a Roman port city, with sea channel and harbour basin (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1018).

The Temple of Hadrian, built around 118 AD, is one of the main attractions at Ephesus. Hadrian was a Roman emperor from 117 to 138.

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(left) The city of Safranbolu, a UNESCO World Heritage site (issue 2015). 

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Grande Comore | Comoros

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Grande Comore is an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the archipelago of the Comoros. The islands are sometimes referred to as the Islands of the moon.

Located in the most northern part of the island you find “Le Trou du Prophete” (the prophet hole).  

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Wang Wang and Fu Ni | Australia

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Adelaide Zoo is home to more than 3000 animals. But two of them are very special: Wang Wang and Fu Ni. Two Giant Pandas, born in Woolong Giant Panda Research Centre, China and moved to Adelaide Zoo in November 2009.

Thx Steve!

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Cozumel Island | Mexico

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Cozumel is Mexico’s largest island, located about 45 miles south of Cancun.

Mayans settled on the island roughly 2000 years ago. Cozumel means "Land of the Swallow" in Mayan. The ruins of San Gervasio is a Maya site located on the island. 

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The Great Blue Hole | Belize

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The Great Blue Hole is a giant submarine sinkhole off the coast of Belize. 

The 300m wide and 124m deep hole is a part of the larger Belize Barrier Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reef system is the second largest in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef.

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