The tallest water fountain in the world | Saudi Arabia

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King Fahd's Fountain is the tallest of its type in the world. The fountain ejects water to a height of 300 meters! The fountain is located on the coast of the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

On the left you see Jeddah’s water tower. 

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The Spanish Steps in Rome | Italy

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The Spanish Steps is a monumental stairway of 135 steps you have to climb to reach the Trinità dei Monti church. 

The square at the bottom of the steps is the Piazza di Spagna.

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Two largest cities of Vietnam: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

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The upper three pictures showing Hanoi, the lower three Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).

Hanoi, meaning ‘between two rivers’ is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. The city is situated in northern Vietnam on the western bank of the Red River.

Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city of Vietnam. Once started as a small fishing village. Today a bustling metropolis with 8 million inhabitants.

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Worship of Hung Kings in Phu Tho province (intangible cultural heritage).

The worship of Hung Kings originates from Hung Kings dynasty in the belief that all Vietnamese people have the same origin “Dragon’s children and Fairy’s grand-children”. 

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Tunis, the Capital of Tunisia

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Tunis is the capital and largest city of Tunisia. The name of the country is derived from the name of its capital. About 650,000 of the 11 million Tunisians live in Tunis.

 

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The stamp shows the lighthouse of the Galite Islands, a rocky group of islands of volcanic origin off the Tunisian coast.

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Cathedral de León | Nicaragua

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León is the second largest city in Nicaragua, after capital Managua. The city is named after the Spanish city of León. Its most famous building is the Cathedral of León, the largest cathedral in Central America. The Cathedral of León is on the list of Unesco World Heritage sites.

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These six stamps (of which three are only partially visible) with rainforest animals are part of a sheet of 20 stamp, issued 1991. 

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Herrenchiemsee Island and palace | Germany

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Herreninsel or Herrenchiemsee is an island in Bavaria's largest lake, the Chiemsee. It is the biggest of three main islands of which the other two are Fraueninsel and "Krautinsel". The island is inhabited by about only 30 people.

Herreninsel is famous for the extravagant Herrenchiemsee palace of Ludwig II of Bavaria, the ‘fairytale king’ (he also built Neuschwanstein castle). The castle was only inhabited by the king for ten nights before he died of drowning at just 40. 

Thx Dustin!

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Managua, the capital of Nicaragua

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Nicaragua is the biggest country in Central America. Bordering on Honduras in the North and Costa Rica in the South. In the West you will find the impressive Pacific Ocean, and in the East the Caribbean Sea. 

Managua is the capital and largest city of Nicaragua.  

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From left to right. 

Cats, part of a miniature set of 16 cat-stamps, issued 1994. 

Snapping Turtle, also part of 16-stamp miniature sheet and issued 1994.

Stamp part of a sheetlet of four stamps, honoring 100 years Queen Mother (1999).  

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Vaduz, capital of Liechtenstein

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This card depicts many interesting sites in Liechtenstein: Castle of Vaduz, Townhall, view on city of Vaduz, Gutenberg Castle in Balzers and Government building.

 

Vaduz is the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein and the seat of the national parliament. The city has about 5,100 inhabitants but it is not the largest: neighboring Schaan has a larger population.

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Part of a set of 9 stamps issued in 2000 picturing villages in Liechtenstein. Schaan is the largest city of Liechtenstein by population (just under 6,000) and area. 

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Erbil | ھەولێر Capital of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq

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Erbil (also known as Arbil, Irbil or Hewlêr) is the largest city and capital of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. Until recently one of the more peaceful regions in Iraq.

(Reuters) - The British government told its citizens to leave parts of Iraqi Kurdistan, including the regional capital Arbil, on Friday as the sweeping advance of Islamist militants brought them closer to Kurdish territory.

The government said the security situation could deteriorate quickly after fighting in the last two days to the southwest of Arbil, where many Western oil workers and executives are based, so British citizens in the regional capital of 1.5 million people should leave immediately.

This follows attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on towns to the Southwest of Erbil (Arbil) on 6-7 August.

Thx Steve!

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Sofia | София, capital of Bulgaria

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Sofia is the capital and, with a population of around 1.4 million people, the largest city of Bulgaria.

This fine bronze statue portrays the Russian Tsar Alexander II on horseback and is a gesture of gratitude to the Russian Tsar and his troops who finally liberated Bulgaria in 1878 from Ottoman rule. 

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The Forbidden City, Beijing, China

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Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China. It is the third largest city square in the World and main gate to the Forbidden City, the imperial palace for twenty-four emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was forbidden to enter without special permission of the emperor.

The Meridian Gate is the main gate to the Forbidden City. Everyone who entered the Forbidden City in the old days had to observe the strict rules concerning the total five doors of the Meridian Gate. The central doorway was for the exclusive use of the emperor. However, an empress was granted the privilege of using this opening once, and only once, on her wedding day.

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(left) One World One Dream - 2008 Beijing Olympic special sheet: boxing

(middle) Protected wildlife, the Brown Eared Pheasant (Crossoptilon mantchuricum)

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Greetings from the United Nations - New York

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The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) is the postal agency of the United Nations. It issues postage stamps and postal stationery for the United Nations offices in New York, Geneva and Vienna.

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.

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Issued 13 February 2013 celebrating the day when UN Radio was launched in 1946.

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مسجد الحسن الثاني ‎Mosque Hassan II Casablanca

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The 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 to Hassan II's translation of the Koranic verse that proclaims God's throne was built upon water -- the mosque is a truly marvelous piece of architecture. 

King Hassan II was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999.

 

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Mohammed VI (21 August 1963) is the present King of Morocco.

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Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)

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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, abbreviated to DPRK, and commonly referred to as North Korea, is a country in East Asia, located in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital is Pyongyang.

It's a small, isolated Asian country, yet North Korea has managed to grab world headlines for decades. Its people are highly sheltered, its government intensely secretive and its borders tightly controlled.

North Korea, with a population of nearly 24.5 million was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. Japan, which had occupied Korea, withdrew, leaving Soviet troops to control the north and U.S. forces to occupy the south. In 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was officially proclaimed. Much of North Korea's history has been dominated by its first leader, Kim Il-sung (The Great Leader), who ruled from 1948 until his death in 1994.

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(middle) North Korea flag.

(right) From a set of four stamps about monkeys, the cotton-headed tamarin (Saguinus oedipus).

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A postcard from Thonon-Les-Bains, France

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Thonon-les-Bains is a town in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.

Thonon-les-Bains is perfectly located to offer a complete range of activities on the banks of Lake Geneva and at the foot of the Alps: Swimming, outdoor activities, shopping, visits, hydrotherapy, mountains, culture, landscapes etc. This multi-facetted destination is surrounded by beautiful nature, a lake, mountain, city and countryside.

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Marianne is a symbol of Republican France. A Marianne is a bust of a proud and determined woman wearing a Phrygian cap. She symbolises the attachment of the common citizens of the revolution to the Republic - Marianne is liberty, egality and fraternity.

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Oyster and Pearl Fountain from Doha, Qatar

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The State of Qatar is situated on a peninsula projecting into the Arabian Gulf, bordering Saudi Arabia to the south. Prior to the discovery of oil, the Qatari economy was largely based on pearl fishing. Qatar is now one of the richest countries in the region, thanks to the exploitation of large oil and gas fields since the 1940s.

The oyster and pearl fountain is located on the Corniche of Doha, the capital city of the state of Qatar.

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From a set of four stamps. Doha, Capital of Arab Culture 2010.

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Coca Cola City: Atlanta, Georgia USA

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“On May 8, 1886, a pharmacist named Dr. John Pemberton carried a jug of Coca-Cola® syrup to Jacobs’ Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta, where it was mixed with carbonated water and sold for five cents a glass.

From humble beginnings 125 years ago, our Company has evolved from one product -- Coca-Cola -- to more than 500 brands in 2011. We’ve grown from selling a modest 9 drinks a day in 1886 to 1.7 billion a day. And we’ve expanded from one city in one country to availability in more than 200 countries around the world.”

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com

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Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

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Beiteddine Palace | قصر بيت الدين from Lebanon

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“Today Beiteddine, with its museums and its gardens, is one of Lebanon's major tourist attractions. The Beiteddine palace complex, Lebanon's best example of early 19th century Lebanese architecture, was built over a thirty year period by Emir Bechir El Chehab II, who ruled Mount-Lebanon for more than half a century.”

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(left) from a series of 10 stamps with different themes, Civil Defence

(right) René Moawad (1925 – 1989) was President of Lebanon for 17 days in 1989 when he was assassinated by unknowns.

THX Steve!

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Fountains at the Kuching Waterfront, and Square Tower from Malaysia

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Situated on the banks of Sarawak River is the picturesque Kuching Waterfront. This picturesque location has not lost its beauty and charm with time even though the city around it has been modernized. The magnificent musical fountains, a tea terrace, an observation tower, modern sculptures and a restored Chinese Pavilion are some of the latest additions to Kuching Waterfront.

Square Tower is a heritage structure on the Kuching Waterfront. It is one of those odd looking buildings that is hard to miss. It was built in 1879, originally used as a prison, and it even had dungeons. Then, it was turned into a fortress, and even into a dance hall.

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XXI IUFRO world congress 2011.

IUFRO is a non-profit, non-governmental international network of forest scientists, which promotes global cooperation in forest-related research and enhances the understanding of the ecological, economic and social aspects of forests and trees.

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A postcard from Iraqi-Kurdistan | هه‌رێمی کوردستان

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Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil (Erbil), known in Kurdish as Hewlêr.

The 2003 invasion of Iraq and the subsequent political changes led to the ratification of a new Constitution of Iraq in 2005. The new Iraqi constitution defines Iraqi Kurdistan as a federal entity of Iraq, and establishes Arabic and Kurdish as Iraq's joint official languages.

Iraqi Kurdistan is a parliamentary democracy. The three governorates of Duhok, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah comprise around 40,000 square kilometres (15,000 sq mi) and have a population of around 4 million.

(source: wikipedia)

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2010 Post festival Erbil.

THX Steve!

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