Gebel Barkal | Sudan

Postcard
Gebel Barkal is a very small mountain located about 400km north of Khartoum, capital of Sudan. The mountain is 98 m tall, has a flat top, and apparently was used as a landmark by the traders in the important route between central Africa, Arabia, and Egypt.

Together with the Sites of the Napatan Region, Gebel Barkal is a UNESCO World Heritage site, comprising five archaeological sites. They include tombs, with and without pyramids, temples, burial mounds and chambers, living complexes and palaces.

Read More

Zvartnots Cathedral ruins | Armenia

Postcard
Zvartnots is a complex of structures built in the middle of the 7th century near Echmiatsin in Armenia.

Zvartnots remained standing until the end of the 10th century, but historical sources are silent as to the cause of its collapse. The ruins of Zvartnots remained buried until its remains were uncovered at the start of the 20th century. The site was excavated between 1901 and 1907.

The temple ruins are part of Unesco World heritage site inscribed under the name Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots.

Read More

Mountainous Kazakhstan

Postcard
Belukha is a three-peaked mountain massif that rises along the border of Russia and Kazakhstan. This massif is located in the heart of the Altai.

The Altai mountains occupy an area that stretches 1,000 km from east to west and nearly 500 km from north to south. This area straddles four countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia.

Read More

Mount Cook | New Zealand

Postcard

Mount Cook is New Zealand's highest mountain, with a height of 3,754 metres. The park is located on the country’s South Island.

Mount Cook National Park is part of Unesco World Heritage site “Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand”. The other three national parks that comprises this site are Fiordland, Mount Aspiring and Westland. 

Read More

Tower houses in Lenjeri Village | Georgia

Postcard

Preserved by its long isolation, the Upper Svaneti region of the Caucasus is an exceptional example of mountain scenery with medieval-type villages and tower-houses. The sun rarely peaks out from behind a thin layer of clouds, and pine-covered hills rise over the traditional stone tower buildings.

Lenjeri is a village with many ‘Svan towers’. These tower homes were at the same time familial living quarters, fortified fortresses of defense, and personal treasuries. Most of the towers date back to the period between 9th and 12th century.

Upper Svaneti is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996. 

Read More

Jackson Hole | USA

Postcard
Jackson Hole is a valley between the Teton Mountain Range and the Gros Ventre Range in Wyoming, USA. Viewed from Jackson Hole valley looking west, the high peaks of the Teton Range rise more than 2,135 meters above the valley floor. What a breathtaking view!

Read More

View from Thethi | Albania

Postcard

Theth is a community in northern Albania, located at the centre of the Theth National Park. Surrounded by the Albanian Alps the area has wonderful landscapes with waterfalls, caves and canyons.

Stamp

The stamps on the left is part of a series of 4 stamps titled Cultural Heritage Day.

September 29 marks the National Day of Cultural Heritage in Albania. The day to commemorate restorers, architects, researchers, and scientists, folklore handlers and handicraftsmen, who have contributed in shaping and studying Albanian heritage.

The stamp on the right is part of a set of four stamps about antique silver, issued 2011.

Read More

Picture-Postcard Perfect: Hallstatt | Austria

Postcard

Hallstatt is one of Austria's most picturesque villages. It is located in the Salzkammergut in the upper part of the country. This region has been inhabited for thousands of years because of the salt mining.

Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Read More

Baranof Island, Alaska | USA

Postcard

Baranof Island is an island in the northern Alexander Archipelago in Alaska. The island was named after Alexander Andreyevich Baranov, the first governor of Russian America. Baranov Island was the center of Russian activity in North America during the period from 1804–1867.

Located on Baranof Island, Sitka was once the capital of Russian America and the fur-trading center of Alaska. Russian America was the name of the Russian colonial possessions in the Americas. In 1867 Russia sold its last remaining possessions to the United States. 

Read More

Ai-Petri Mountains Cable Car in Crimea

Postcard

Ai-Petri is a peak in the Crimean Mountains. There is a Cable Car that takes passengers to the main area in Ai-Petri. The upper station is located at an altitude of 1153 meters and offers spectacular views of the southern coast of Crimea. 

 

The peak is actually the weathered remains of a huge coral reef formed millions of years ago, when this area was under the sea.

Stamps

On the left you see “Swallow’s Nest”, a castle built in the late XIX century near Yalta, in the South of Crimea. 

Read More

The Semmering Railway | Austria

Postcard

The Semmeringbahn is a mountain railway crossing the Semmering, a mountain pass in Austria. Built over 41 km of high mountains between 1848 and 1854, it is one of the greatest achievements of civil engineering from this pioneering phase of railway building.

The Semmering Railway is UNESCO World Heritage site.

Stamp

The postcard was actually send from Germany. Normally I only show cards sent from the country of origin. But I guess the exception proves the rule.  

Read More

Glarner Hauptüberschiebung | Switzerland

Postcard

Glarner Hauptüberschiebung is a major thrust fault in the Alps of eastern Switzerland. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed under the name ‘ Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona’.

Read More

Tongariro National Park | New Zealand

Postcard

Tongariro National Park in New Zealand has active and extinct volcanoes, a diverse range of ecosystems and some spectacular landscapes.

Mt Ruapehu is one of New Zealand's most active volcanoes, and the highest mountain on the north island. It last erupted in 2007. The majestic slopes of Mt Ruapehu accommodate New Zealand’s largest and most developed ski areas. Skiing on an active volcano! Not for the faint of heart I guess.

Stamps

(left) Round Kiwi stamp, issued 2011.The kiwi is a national symbol of New Zealand.

(right) Maori Crafts, Taniko Embroidery. Part of a set of 6 stamps, issued in 1996. Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand.

Read More

Te Waipounamu | New Zealand

Postcard

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.  

Stamp

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. 

Read More

Scandola Nature Reserve, Corsica | France

Postcard

Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to France. The island has a population of about 325,000 inhabitants. It is located north of the Italian island of Sardinia.

The Scandola Nature Reserve, located on the north western coast of the island, is accessible only on foot or by boat. The reserve is a Unesco World Heritage site.

Read More

Rosevelt Piek or Mamabobiberg | Suriname

Postcard
Rosevelt Piek is a 451 m high mountain peak in Suriname. The mountain is named Mamabobiberg in Suriname language. Mama = mama, bobo=breast and berg means mountain. 

Read More

White Island | New Zealand

Postcard

White Island is New Zealand’s only active marine volcano. It was named White Island by Captain Cook, the first European to sight the island in 1769. White Island has been in a near continuous stage of smoking since then.

Stamps

(right) The Antipodean albatross is a large albatross that breeds almost exclusively on the Auckland and Antipodes Islands.

The bird silhouette disappears if you warm up the stamp with your finger! 

Read More

La Gomera Island | Spain

Postcard
La Gomera is one of Spain's seven Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. In area this island is the second-smallest of the main islands of this group. The island is of volcanic origin and roughly circular, with a height of 1487 m at the highest peak.

 

Here you see a CanaryIslands map card.

Stamp

A stamp in remembrance of Spanish guitarist Paco de Lucia (1947 – 2014).

Read More

Purmamarca's Hill of Seven Colors | Argentina

Postcard

Quebrada de Humahuaca is a narrow and arid mountainous valley, located in the province of Jujuy in Argentina. Purmamarca (Purma means desert and Marca means city) is a town located in this valley, at the feet of the Cerro de los Siete Colores: the Hill of Seven Colors. Look at the postcard and you know where it got its name from.

 

Quebrada de Humahuaca is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003.

Read More

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump | Canada

Postcard

a? A rather strange name, but it actually makes sense when you know what’s behind that name. The buffalo jump was used for 5,500 years by the indigenous peoples of the plains to kill buffalo by driving them off the 11 metre high cliff. 

For thousands of years the native people of the plains hunted the North American bison. The plains Indian lifestyle became dependent on hunting buffalo, and they adapted numerous hunting techniques to obtain their livelihood. 

Stamps

A preprinted matching ‘stamp’ and 4 more low value definitives depicting insects. But what is the 1c USA stamp doing here? 

Read More