COVER N. 783 - MAURITIUS

Postmark: MPPC Tribeca 2 Mauritius 20.10.2026

Posted on the 20th October;  Received on the 28th October 2026

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Another rare visitor to this blog: Mauritius. Thank you so much Tasneem.

Another rare visitor to this blog: Mauritius. Thank you so much Tasneem.

Knowing my soft spot for all things that fly, Tasneem used a nice minisheet issued on 16SEP2024, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Mauritius Police Helicopter Squadron. The sheet comprises  3 stamps, illustrated with photographs of the three types of helicopter serving in the unit, namely the Eurocopter AS555 Fennec (3 rupee stamp); the HAL- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Dhruv (25 rupeee) and the venerable HAL Chetak - the French Alouette III made in India, under licence - (32 rupee).

The three helicopters are seen on the sheet photoshop layered into an aerial image of  Le Morne Brabant peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Mauritius Police Helicopter Squadron, formed in 1974, is the national law enforcement agency of Mauritius, tasked with:

- Search & Rescue and Casualty Evacuation;

- Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Missions;
- Operation to combat gandja (cannabis) cultivation;
- Traffic patrol and Security Escort of convoys;
- Conveyance of Very Very Important Persons (VVIPs) / Very Important Persons (VIP) and officials of Ministries / other agencies as approved by the Prime Minister’s Office;
- Formation of specialist Drivers (Helidrop);
- Photo and filming missions.

- Postage was completed with a 33 Rupee stamp issued on 09OCT2027, part of a 4 stamp set (3; 4; 23; 33 Rupees) issued as a souvenir sheet, entitled Mauritius Sea Shells.

The 33 rupee stamp on the cover features the Trapezium Horse Conch (Pleuroploca trapezium), a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fasciolariida,  recollected as food and whose shell can be used as a natural trumpet, once the tip of the spire is cut off.

Postmark from the Post Office at the Tribeca Mall, in Mauritius

COVER N. 782 - LICHTENSTEIN

Postmark: Liechtenstein 9490 Vaduz Internationale Briefmarken Börse ULM 2026 22-24.10.2026

Posted on the 22th October;  Received on the 28th October 2026

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On the same day I got a card from the United States from the Phantom, I also got a letter from him, posted at Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein....

The Ghost Who Walks really knows no boundaries.... he moves fast, in the dark, and jumping over an Ocean does not seem to be a great deal to him.... 

I just wonder why I haven't ever received a letter with his personal stamp mark... I'd love to add a cover marked with his famous (or should I say phamous) skull stamp... Hear that, Herr Phantom?

I don't understand the logic behind an issue of 10 stamps all of the same face value in a minisheet, subject to a common theme, as "Personalised stamps". What's to differ them from an ordinary stamp issue?

Still, that is what happens with the minisheet from where the stamp on the cover comes from. It was issued on 17APR2017 by Liechtenstein Post Ag, the postal administration of the Principality of Liechtenstein.

The 10 x 1 Swiss Franc stamps on the sheet are illustrated with photographs of famous trains from around the world.

The one on the cover features El Tren a las Nubes, in the province of Salta, Argentina, the fifth highest riding train in the world,

Postage on the cover was completed through the payment of another 90 Swiss Franc cents, as attested by the stamped on notice on the upper left corner.

The postmark on the stamp commemorates  the International Stamp Exchange of Ulm, Germany, which took place from the 22nd til the 24th October, 2026.

COVER N. 781 - TURKEY

Postmark: Karşıyaka PTT Müdürlüğü Izmir 12.10.2026

Posted on the12th October;  Received on the 26th October 2026

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Turkey is quite underrepresented in my blog, so I felt very happy to receive this cover, the more so since I love woodpeckers....Çok teşekkür ederim, Nail!

Toc-toc-toc-toc-toc-toc..... toc-toc-toc-toc-toc-toc..... toc-toc-toc-toc-toc-toc..... 

I do remeber the first time ever I heard a woodpecker doing its thing.... well, if not the first time ever, at least the first time the unmistakable noise made me stop and look.

At first I couldn't see it...

Another machine gun burst.... Toc-toc-toc-toc-toc-toc.....

What the heck?... 

toc-toc-toc-toc-toc-toc.......

Oh... Blimey!... is that... a woodpecker?... On the power line pole...?

It so happened I was on a early morning walk with my camera, but I needed to grab a longer lens from the backpack... I slowly took the backpack off, opened it, grabbed the lens and replaced the one in the camera. Just as I was lifting my head the  impromptu xylophone sounded again, but it was the last phrase in the score and the musician flew away in the glory of its black and white coat with a red sash over the belly.

Quite a view and it did made my day. 

It seems that the great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) I saw that day did fly quite a distance, since I could now find it on Nail's cover, on the right side of the frame of the single 35 Lira stamp souvenir sheet, issued on 02JUN2025 to celebrate World Environment Day 2025, highlighting "İğneada Longoz Ormanları Milli Parkı (İğneada Floodplain Forests National Park), established in 2007 and located within Kırklareli Province in Marmara region at East Thrace, the European part of Turkey" (in Wikipedia).

The stamp itself is illustrated with a Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) family, while on the left side of the frame another of its relatives, an European green woodpecker (Picus viridis) is seen clinging  to a trunk.

- The second 35 lira stamp on the cover is part of a set of  four same face value stamps issued on 15AUG2025, honouring the memory of  Münir Özkul (1925-2018) on the year of the centenary of his birth. 

Münir Özkul was a theatre and cinema actor who  was awarded the title of "State Artist of Turkey" in 1998.

- The last stamp on the cover was issued on 30DEC1992 as part of a set of 5 (2x T; 3 x M) dedicated to Turkish cultural celebrities.

It celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Muhsin Ertugrul (1892-1979), a Turkish actor and director.

As a matter of curiosity, Muhsin Ertugrul (1892-1979) was the diretor of the film that made Münir Özkul  famous: Fareler ve İnsanlar, a production of John Steinbeck's adorable classic "Of Mice and Men".

The postmark hails from Izmir, on the Aegean coast of Turkey.

POSTCARD N.258 - U.S.A.

Postcard sent on the 30 September; received on the 28th October 2026

Postcard image: Pleiades - Fly fishing in North Carolina

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The Phantom, the restless wanderer, the Ghost Who Walks, was on a road trip in America and he was kind enough to let me postcard trace his path...After West Virginia, now its North Carolina... Danke sehr, Herr Phantom!

North Carolina was one of the 13 British colonies that went on to become the United States of America 250 years ago, following the adoption by the Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence on July the 4th, 1776.

Located on the East Coast, it is the ninth most populous State of Union, its Capital being Raleigh.

Judging from the photo on the card, North Carolina must also be  famous amongst fly fishing fans, but I know nothing about it :-). Still fly fishing is most often than not done in beautiful places, so I presume the State must have its fair share of nature wonders too.

Phantom Alex used a Global Forever self adhesive stamp issued on 14MAR2022,  part of the circular stamp series dedicated to flowers initiated in 2017.

The flower on it is the African daisy (Osteospermum sp.) numbering 70 species, which can be found in the wild in southern and eastern Africa and also in the Arabian Peninsula.

It is also widely cultivated, cultivars and hybrids of the species being a common sight in gardens all around the world.

Postmark from Scally Mountain, a location in the State which is associated with winter sports, although its ski slopes were closed in 2004 (due lack of snow due to climate change, probably).

COVER N. 780 - SPAIN

Postmark: Correos CTA Valencia 22.10.2026

Posted on the 22nd October;  Received on the 26th October 2026

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What a surprise.... I bet my friend Mr. Postman was as baffled as I when he saw the name on the address, which is so familiar to him that he never fails to deliver the letters even when it is incomplete or wrong....

All I can say is شكراً جزيلاً لكِ يا إيفا, hoping that google translate won't let me down.....

Languages are one of humanity's most precious treasures since they are the elementary fluid that binds together communities at local, regional or national level.

Learning one does not make you automatically a member of the particular community which uses it as the prevalent communication tool between its members, but it allows you to open a window into that same community, through which to observe, understand, compare and interact. 

As such, the more languages you are able to use, the richer you, as a person, are, for they grant you access to the idiom protected strongbox where communities keep their most priceless assets: books, songs, oral tradition.

Still, languages are so powerful a tool that they should invite one's constant scrutiny over their usage and impact, something people tend to forget, so many are the benefits of being privy to them.

Take English, the most obvious case, the modern day Esperanto... 

As the most spoken and published language in the world  it  makes it possible for billions to communicate all across the planet, and I, for one, could not have been happier for having learned it, since, as an example, it allows the posts in this blog to be potentially read by a lot more people than if they were written in Portuguese.

That said, its dominancy and the consequential cultural metastasizing it is prone to impart is something that really annoys me.

Portuguese is an extraordinary rich language (in truth, I believe all languages to be extremely rich, but let me say it this way for the argument's sake). We have time honoured Portuguese words for almost all the English words that I can think of, barring, obviously, neologisms associated with technology, for instance.

So why should anyone use such a utterly ugly word as "empoderado", a direct translation of "empowered", when one can just say "capacitado", which has always been used and means exactly the same? or "massivo", when the norm in Portuguese used to be "maciço", or use interjections such as "Ó meu Deus", the direct translation of  "Oh my God", when the formulation would at maximum be "Meu Deus", but any decent Portuguese would usually say "Ena pá" or "C'um caraças" or any other item of our extremely rich expletive catalogue.

And don't even get me started on the discomfort I feel when looking at supermarkets full of stuff to foist upon avid consumers marvelling at the prospect of celebrating a tradition that has absolutely nothing to do with them....Happy Halloween, everybody.... 

Anyway, I was really chuffed to get this  lovely letter from Eva,  and to learn, thanks to her outstanding knowledge of languages,  than my name in Arabic would transcribe into Portuguese as  Bidru Suaris. I even like the sound of it :-)!

Once again, the stamp Eva chose to use on this particular letter was judiciously chosen so as to be in accordance with its contents.

The B tariff stamp issued on 19APR2024 highlights the popular festivals of Moros y Cristianos - Moors and Christians - which are celebrated in Spain, particularly in the Valencian Community and Andalusia, commemorating the battles during the days of the Reconquista, which ended in the end of the15th century.

The stamp is illustrated with the silhouettes of a castle and a bridge, and the legend Festa Populares Moros y Cristianos and the name of the place where they take place, in Catalan and Spanish:  Alcoi/Alcoy (Alacant/Alicant). I couldn't identify the castle (Barxell, maybe?), but I suppose the bridge is meant to evoke  Alcoi's Pont de San Jordi (San Jorge Bridge), a famous Art Deco local landmark, dated of 1930.

Eva's letter was written in a postcard part of a fund raising campaign for helping homeless children in Morocco. The photo on it showing Bab Ruah, the Gate of the winds, in Tetuan, was taken by a 14 year old photographer, she tells me.

As usual, the stamp carries the postmark of the Automated Treatment Centre of Valencia (CTA Valencia).

COVER N. 779 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O.Colombo Mail 13.10.2026

Posted on the 13th October;  Received on the 21st October 2026

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Thanks to Ravi, Sri Lanka ranks as one of the most represented origins in this blog. Here's another of his frequent and very appreciated letters. Bohoma Stuthi, Ravi!

- The London Buddhist Vihara was the first Budhist Monastery to be established outside of the Asian continent.

Founded in 1926 by Anagarika Dharmapala, it has continued, from its inception up to the present day - with the exception of the 1940s due to World War II - the task of disseminating Buddha’s teachings, known as Dhamma, with resident bhikkhus (monks) from Sri Lanka.

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of  London Buddhist Vihara Sri Lanka Post issued the 70 rupee stamp on the cover, graced with  the portrait of the founder of the institution, Anagarika Dharmapala,(1864 - 1933) and an illustration of the Norman Shaw designed building it occupies in Bedford park, Chiswick.

- The Universal Postal Union was created in 1874, in Bern, Switzerland, where it has been headquartered ever since, as the General Postal Union, with a view to harmonising international mail delivery. As of  1878 it changed its name to the current designation, Union Postale Universelle or Universal Postal Union, and in 1948 it became a body of the United Nations.

During its 1969 congress held in Japan, the Indian delegation proposed that the anniversary day for the Union - the 9th of October - should thenceforth be declared World Post Day. 

The proposal having been accepted, the 9th of October has become synonymous with celebrating postal services and their relevance, all over the world.

Honouring this date, many postal administrations issue yearly or episodically commemorative World Post Day stamps and /or cancellations.

Sri Lanka is one such case and on the cover we have this year's issue on the theme, with a face value of 70 rupee,  issued on the 9th October 2026 illustrated with UPU's official branding and motto for World Post Day:  "One Postal Network, Infinite Possibilities".

The last stamp on the cover was already mentioned on this blog in the previous post:  it is the 70 Rupee stamp issued on 09OCT2026, celebrating World Children's Day, a day of action by children, for children, which takes place on the 20th November.

World Children's day was established by UNICEF and was first celebrated in 1954

Postmark from the Sri Lanka Post Headquarters at Colombo, as usual.

POSTCARD N.257 - SRI LANKA

Postcard sent on the 13th October; received on the 21st October 2026

Postcard image: Pleiades - Open Star Cluster

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Another postcard from the series "Wonders of the Universe".

 

Bohoma Sthuthi, Ravi. 

Quoting again from the card: 

"Also known as the seven sister, this open star cluster (M45) lies in the constellation Taurus. Visible to the naked eye, it has inspired myths across cultures and is among the nearest star clusters to Earth, at about 444 light-years away"

The 50 rupee stamp from the Wonders of the Universe series dated of 25SEP2025, bears a photo of the M45 cluster with the legend Pleiades - Open Star Cluster, 

Further stamps of these series were used on Postcards #252 and #253.

Postage was competed with a 70 Rupee stamp issued on 09OCT2026, celebrating World Children's Day, a day of action by children, for children, which takes place on the 20th November.

World Children's day was established by UNICEF and was first celebrated in 1954

COVER N. 778 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O.Colombo Mail 13.10.2026

Posted on the 13th October;  Received on the 21st October 2026

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Some more mail from Ravindra in Sri Lanka, with  nice stamps on the envelopes, as usual. Bohoma Sthuthi, Ravi!

According to a statement on The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Pakistan website, "Relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan are rooted in decades of close friendship, mutual respect, and strong diplomatic engagement. Since the establishment of formal ties in 1948, both countries have maintained regular high-level exchanges and cooperation across multiple sectors. Pakistan has consistently supported Sri Lanka in international forums, while Sri Lanka has reciprocated with equal diplomatic goodwill, reinforcing a partnership built on trust and shared regional interests."

1948 being the year when Sri Lanka became independent,(although still under British rule) as the Dominion of Ceylon (while Pakistan had reached the same status a year before, in 1947) it can be said that diplomatic relations between the two countries go back to their own establishment as States.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of  diplomatic relations between the two countries Sri Lanka Post issued on 08OCT2026 the two stamp set (50; 110 Rupee) on the cover, which I presume would be a joint issue, although I cannot find trace of the Pakistani counterpart having been already issued.

The 50 Rupee stamp features a photo of The Rankoth Vehera stupa at Alahana Pirivena, a massive 12th-century monastic university and religious complex located in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka, which was awarded World Heritage Status by UNESCO. 

The 110 Rupee stamp is illustrated with a photo of the ruins of Takht-i-Bahi, an ancient Buddhist monastery in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Being also a  UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is  considered among the most important relics of Buddhism in all of what was once Gandhara.

The Gandhara Civilization existed in what is now Northern Pakistan and Afghanistan from the middle of the 1st millennium BCE to the beginning of the 2nd millennium CE. Although multiple major powers ruled over this area during that time, they all had in common great reverence for Buddhism and the adoption of the Indo Greek artistic tradition which had developed in the region following Alexander's invasions into India. (cf. World History Encyclopedia)

Postmark from the Sri Lanka Post Headquarters at Colombo, as usual.

POSTCARD N.256 - U.S.A.

Posted on 18th July; received on the 19th October 2026

Postcard image: A whale watching tour boat on the Inside Passage, Alaska, gets a close view of a pod of Orca

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A scene I would love to see one day: a pod of orca in the wild. Thanks so much, A.W., I loved the card!

Orca are no strangers to the waters of the Atlantic in the region that I live in. In fact they are frequently seen in between 2 to 5 nautical miles from the beaches where I often go (therefore,  not visible from the beach, unfortunately).

And, lately, they have become a not so welcome sight for sailboat skippers, since this year alone  88 interactions between orcas and boats have been registered in Portugal so far, with some ending up in boats with inoperationl rudders. (Last year there was even a sunken boat, in September).

Marine biologists say that the type of behaviour that orcas are exhibiting around here is not any form of aggression but only a consequence of curiosity and the playful and exploratory character of the beautiful mammals.

Since they are also good learners, the behaviour is rapidly spreading amidst the newer members of the pod, so it is foreseeable that interactions and consequential incidents occur in the future.

As far as I could investigate on the internet, this tipe of behaviour is limited to Iberian Orca and although interactions with boats do take place in Alaska, damage to boats is a very rare occurrence.

A. W. used one of the "Global Forever" triangular self-adhesive stamps celebrating Postcrossing, issued by USPS on 26MAY2026.

The stamp features a motorcyclist holding a postcard. The other three stamps in the issue feature similar images of Diver; an Astronaut and a Cowgirl... postcards can go anywhere....

The stamp was cancelled with a celebratory postmark of this year's California State Fair which ran from  July 17 through August 2, 2026, at the California Exposition & State Fair (Cal Expo) in Sacramento, California, applied at the Expo Centre Post Office.

COVER N. 778 - SPAIN

Postmark: Oficina Postal de Avilés 06.10.2026

Posted on the 6th October;  Received on the 16th October 2026

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Always a treat to receive a cover from the beautiful region of Asturias, on the other side of the border here in the Iberian peninsula, graced with one of the lovely pictorial postmarks that Correos de España has available at some of its main local Post Offices.

Muchísimas Gracias, Angel!

Stamps,  left to right:

- Felipe VI became the King of Spain on 19 June 2014. The first definitive series featuring his portrait was issued on 19JAN2015. The self-adhesive 0,05€ stamp on the cover was the issued on 01FEB2017, this being the only stamp in the series issued on that particular year.

- The United Nations Assembly General of 2011 proclaimed the 30th July as the International Friendship Day.

This fact notwithstanding, this day  is also unofficially celebrated in Spain and in some of the Spanish speaking countries of Latin America and in Brazil slightly earlier, on the 20th July, the day when Neil Armstrong first set a human foot on the moon.

This year, to highlight the date, Correos de España issued on  20JUL2026, the 1€ self-adhesive stamp on the postcard, illustrated  with  a suggestive and self-explaining image and the legend Dia de la Amistad (Frierndship Day).   

I was not familiar with the Lyceum Club Femenino, a Spanish women's association established in November, 1926, aiming at the promotion of the social, cultural, educational and political development of  women.

Throughout its existence the club carried out an intense activity enrolling very relevant figures, both masculine and feminine, of the Spanish political and  cultural scenes of the day and no better proof of its relevance could there be than the fact that the organisation would be disbanded in 1939 in the aftermath of the republican defeat in the civil war, being replaced by a regime oriented women's sports organisation, the Medina clubs.

Celebrating the 100 years of the founding of the Lyceum Club Femenino, Correos issued on 07SEP2016 the A tariff (Domestic 20g) on the cover illustrated with a suggestive image of three women in what seems to be a library, with the legend Centenario del Lyceum Club Femenino. The illustration contains the signature of Clara de Frutos, a Spanish illustrator and Comics author.

The Pictorial Postmark is illustrated with what I believe to be a view of Calle de Rivero (Rivero Street) one of the landmarks of Avilés, with its distinctive arcades.

COVER N. 777 - FRANCE

Postmark: Service des Oblitérations Philatéliques Boulazac Isle Manoir 09.10.2026

Posted on the 9th October;  Received on the 16th October 2026

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What do such disparate contraptions as the sewing machine, the folding umbrella or the hot air balloon have in common?

Once again stamps are happy to provide answers to those of enquiring minds and I have to thank Roland for sending me a cover with a stamp that led me to a possible answer. Un grand Merci, mon ami.

According to la Poste, they all are French inventions; same as the calculator, cinema, soundtracks, radio and the digicode, although I am sure that such an assertion, in some of the cases, must be opened to discussion...

The above mentioned eight inventions were highlighted in a self-adhesive, "Lettre Internationale" stamp set issued as a carnet on 16JUN2025.

One of these stamps, the one featuring the hot air balloon, was used on this particular cover.

It is well known that the principle that governs hot air balloons had been in use long before Pilâtre de Rozier and  Laurent d'Arlandes rose to the sky in Paris, in 1783, aboard an unthetered hot air balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers, for it is, of course, the same principle that was used in sky lanterns in ancient China and other parts of the Eastern hemisphere.

I wouldn't also be a decent Portuguese if I were not to mention the experiments of my fellow countryman and Jesuit priest Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão who, in 1709, proved the feasibility of the concept of manned hot air ballooning, with a  demonstration of his flying apparatus, which he called Passarola and in which he would actually later actually ascend (and descend, hopefully.... :-)), as stated in an article dated of October 1786, in the London Daily Universal Register.

For the purpose of this article let us though assume that the first fully functional hot air balloons for practical human flight were  those of Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, who would lend their family name to their invention - the Montgolfière - the subject of the stamp on the cover.

The stamp was cancelled with the pictorial postmark of the Service des Oblitérations Philatéliques, located in Boulazac Isle Manoir, a commune in the Dordogne department of south-western France.

POSTCARD N.255 - U.S.A.

Postcard dated of the 29th September; received on the 19th October 2026

Postcard image: West Virginia - The Mountain State

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A very nice illustration that would not look out of place on a West Virginia Tourist Board advertising campaign, landed on my letterbox, courtesy of the indefatigable Ghost Who Walks, my friend The Phantom. Danke Sehr, Alex!

The 10th smallest of all the States that are represented by a star in the American Flag  West Virginia, whose Capital is Charleston, a city of about 50 thousand inhabitants, is located within the Appalachian range, in the the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

Its location and orography  makes it a magnet for outdoor recreation fans something which is also highlighted in the nice illustration of the card, where some rafters are seen going down New River, close to one of the State's Icons, the New River Gorge Bridge, dated of 1977 and  the longest steel span in the western hemisphere.

The flag of the State, a blue bordered white rectangle with the State's Coat of Arms, featuring a farmer and a miner, in the middle is also present in the illustration

Alex used a Global Forever self adhesive stamp issued on 14MAR2022,  part of the circular stamp series dedicated to flowers initiated in 2017.

The flower on it is the African daisy (Osteospermum sp.) numbering 70 species, which can be found in the wild in southern and eastern Africa and also in the Arabian Peninsula.

It is also widely cultivated, cultivars and hybrids of the species being a common sight in gardens all around the world.

Further to the postmark of the Fayetteville Post Office, the card shows green stampmarks from The National Coal Heritage Area and Bluestone Scenic River.

As if 4 manual stampmarks were not enough, an overzealous someone at the USPS processing centre chose to scribble the centre of a cancelled stamp with a ballpoint.... 

On the front the card also bears a rather subdued mechanical cancellation with the slogan "Mail a smile, Smiling at you...."

COVER N. 776 - SOUTH KOREA

Postmark: World Maritime Day / Gangnam Korea 21.09.2026 

Posted on 21st September;  Received on the 16th October 2026

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What a lovely cover, this one from Korea. From the high quality envelope to the equally superior quality cancellations, everything looks fine and dandy! 감사합니다  Jung Min.

IMO, the International Maritime Organisation, a specialised agency of the United Nations, was established in 1958, with a view  "to provide machinery for cooperation among Governments in the field of governmental regulation and practices relating to technical matters of all kinds affecting shipping engaged in international trade; to encourage and facilitate the general adoption of the highest practicable standards in matters concerning maritime safety, efficiency of navigation and prevention and control of marine pollution from ships"

World Maritime Day was celebrated  for the first time ever on  March 17, 1978, marking the 20th anniversary of the above mentioned founding convention. On that same year the IMO Assembly decided that  The World Maritime Day would be  observed on the last Thursday of September each year. 

This year it was also decided  that henceforth the theme for World Maritime Day would be biannual. So the theme for 2026-2027 World maritime Day, which was celebrated on the 24th September, is "From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence".

Celebrating this observance date Korea Post issued on 15SEP2026 the 500 South Korean won on the cover, illustrated with a view of  what I believe is Busan Harbour, the busiest in Korea and one of the busiest in the world  with the South Korean Flag and IMO logo superimposed.

The First Day postmark features a nice head-on image of a cargo ship and the regular postmark was applied at Gangnam, a district of Seoul famous for being "a world-class fashion and trend centre and affluent area". (cf. wikipedia).

COVER N. 775 - HUNGARY

Postmark: Balatonalmádi 05.10.2026 

Posted on 5th October;  Received on the 8th October 2026

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Fast mail! Just 4 days between sending and receiving for a much appreciated letter from Hungary, with some nice stamps both inside and out. Not bad at all. Köszönöm szépen, Hóka! 

Hungary is also not that frequent a port of call here on my blog so I was extra pleased to see my box had been served with a cover with some Magyar stamps on it. Nice!

Traditional costumes is a theme that I find quite interesting, since clothes can really carry within themselves (design, materials, shapes, colours)  the distinctive traits of a human group, be it a vey localised, hence small one or of a nation or a country, as a whole.

Add to that the fact that cultures take immense pride in their distinctive symbols and it is easy to understand that sometimes even the humblest garment, made out of the most common and readily available materials  can be  skilfully manufactured and presented as a national treasure, which indeed it can be.

This is of course true for both popular and elite garments and more often than not even if the latter can exhibit more sophisticated or complex designs with better quality materials, constituents of the former are integrated into them, thus protecting their national identity, their national soul.

In our days.  when a large proportion of the world population tends to dress in a totally globalised way (myself included, of course), most times more concerned with manufacturer's labels than with real comfort or durability, traditional clothes, be it high or low end, are a pointer to the history of who we are and can be read as a book... most often than not, a beautifully illustrated one!

In 2016 Magyar Posta issued the first two stamps of a series dedicated to historical dresses that has recently seen its 5th issue, with the two se-tenant 440 forints stamps on the cover, issued on 15JUL2026.

They are illustrated with the male and female version of  a traditional Hungarian court dress of the 19th century, presumably from the times when the country was part of the Dual Monarchy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which lasted from 1867 till the end of the Great War, in 1918.

 

Two more stamps were used to post the cover, these belonging to a set of six stamps with the same denomination - 300 forints - issued on 25OCT2022, designated "Coats of Arms of the King of the House of Árpád".

The House of Árpád was the first royal dynasty of Hungary and it ruled first the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and later  the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1301.

The stamps show the coats of arms of the rulers from 1196 till 1301 inscribed in coins,  the one on the face of the cover being that of  Stephen V (1270-1272) and the one in the back, that of Emeric (1196-1204).

Postmark from Balatonalmádi, a town of about 8.500 inhabitants, located on the shore of... Lake Balaton, of course.

POSTCARD N.254 - PORTUGAL

Postcard dated of 1st October; received on the 7th October 2026

Postcard image: Cabo Espichel, Portugal

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Postcrossing was a good idea and so was World Postcard Day, which I believe, was also the brainchild of the Postcrossing team, who established it in 2020, as a way to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Correspondenz-Karte, the first  official post card, issued by the Austrian Post on the 1st October 1869.

Ever since the first edition of WPD, special commemorative cancellations have been created for the event by CTT, the  Portuguese Postal services provider and as usual I do not let pass the date without sending out a few postcards to friends and also one to my own self.

This year I used a postcard with a photograph of a place which I visit every now and then not only because it is absolutely beautiful but also because, come spring, I can find some wild orchids  there, something which is always a matter of joy and pleasure: Cabo Espichel, with its ancient sanctuary and church and its imposing lighthouse.

To send the postcard I chose a N20g (domestic up to 20g) stamp from this year's issue of the "Portuguese Contemporary art" series, dated of  12SEP2026, featuring a mural by Street Artist Vihls done with his trademark technique of surface perforation, part of his "Scratching the Surface" project.

Unfortunately, the work, dated of 2014, which was located in Avenida da Índia, Lisboa, very close to the Tagus river, does not exist anymore, since the building on which it was created, part of a sugar manufacturing plant,  was demolished in 2018.

The celebratory postmark is self-explanatory and was applied at the Chiado (Lisbon) Post office.

COVER N. 774 - GREECE

Postmark: Kolymvarion 21.06.2026 

Posted on 21st July;  Received on the 30th September 2026

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I very seldom get mail from Greece, so this was more than welcome, Still the kind letter, full of much appreciated  stamps inside, is shrouded in mystery, for it has no sender. Judging from the sticker on the front of the envelope, and the use of a quite formal "M." before my name in the address, it must have come from France, so, un grand merci pour l'ami qui m'a envoyé ce pli. J'étais ravi de le recevoir. 

I believe that the large sticker in the envelope with the legend Jardins de France was part of the 2007 issue of that series, which was dedicated to the Parc de la Tête d'Or, at Lyon. I was able to identify it because of the image of the gilded gate, which I could match to one I found on the Internet thanks to Google.

The two "Postcards Worldwide" Greek stamps are part of one of this year's three "Travelling in Greece" issues, dated of 27MAY2026, each one comprising four self-adhesive stamps, meant to be used for postcard sending in worldwide service.

They are part of the set dedicated to teh Cretan city of Chania and the top one is illustrated with a photograph of Elafonissi beach, while the bottom one carries a photo of Samaria Gorge.

The postmark hails from Kolymvari,a  coastal town at the southeastern end of the Rodopou peninsula on the Gulf of Chania, also in the Island of Crete.

POSTCARD N.253 - SRI LANKA

Postcard dated of 19th September; received on the 30th August 2026

Postcard image: Total Solar Eclipse with Corona

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The second "Wonders of the Universe" card I got from Ravi is dedicated to a theme that was pretty hot a couple of months ago, and I suspect will be even hotter next year: Total Solar Eclipses.

 

Bohoma Sthuthi, my friend. 

Quoting again from the card: 

"A solar eclipse's "diamond ring" effect occurs just before or after totality, when a single bright point of sunlight remains visible along the Moon's edge, creating a dazzling spectacle.

The sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, becomes visible, forming a breathtaking cosmic display"

Stamps:

An in the previous case, further to the identification of the country of issue and the face value (50 Rupee), the main stamp carries the same photograph as the card and the legend "Total Solar Eclipse with Corona".

Postage was completed with a 20 rupee stamp with a image of a Pale Ceylon line blue, (Nacaduba sinhala), a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family, endemic to Sri Lanka. 

This stamp is part of the 12 stamp issue dated of 01DEC2022, themed on Butterflies of Sri Lanka, that Ravi had also sent me and was the subject of posts regarding covers # 343/4/5.

Only one word can be inferred from the postmark: Cinnamon, but I know the card was posted at the Cinnamon Gardens Post Office at Colombo.

POSTCARD N.252 - SRI LANKA

Postcard dated of 19th September; received on the 30th August 2026

Postcard image: Galactic wreckage in Stephan's Quintet

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Ravi kindly sent me two postcards issued by Sri Lanka Post in conjunction with the "Wonders of the Universe" issue, dated of 25SEP2025, comprising 10 circular stamps illustrated with beautiful photographs of ... Wonders of the Universe; planets, stars, galaxies, constellations...

Bohoma Sthuthi, Ravi. It is a very nice set of stamps and cards.

These will also be easy to post since the cards contain a pretty detailed summary of the image, so all I have to do is quote :-)

There are several things to like about this postcard and stamp, but who wouldn't be instantaneously grabbed by a title that seems perfect for a surrealist painting or a jazz album review....  Galactic Wreckage in Stephan's Quintet... oh, what a poem!

"Stephan's Quintet is a striking group of five galaxies, four of which are locked in a cosmic dance of gravitational interactions.

This galactic wreckage, located about 200 million light-years away, shows intense tidal distortions, shock waves, and bursts of star formation as these galaxies collide and merge".

Stamps:

Further to the identification of the country of issue and the face value (50 Rupee), the main stamp carries the same photograph as the card (which I believe was taken by the Hubble telescope) and the legend I so much like: "Galactic Wreckage in Stephan's Quintet".

Postage was completed with a 20 rupee stamp with a image of a Pale Ceylon line blue, (Nacaduba sinhala), a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family, endemic to Sri Lanka. 

This stamp is part of the 12 stamp issue dated of 01DEC2022, themed on Butterflies of Sri Lanka, that Ravi had also sent me and was the subject of posts regarding covers # 343/4/5.

Only one word can be inferred from the postmark: Cinnamon, but I know the card was posted at the Cinnamon Gardens Post Office at Colombo.

COVER N. 773 - MOROCCO

Postmark: Premier Jour d'émission Meknès CD  29.07.2026/ Meknès C.D 15.09.2026 

Posted on 15th September;  Received on the 30th September 2026

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The second Moroccan FDC I got on the same day. Encore merci, Pierre, pour ce pli fantastique.

Morocco and Mauritania, before independence both French administered territories in the North of Africa, first established formal diplomatic relations in 1970. These, notwithstanding, would be severed in 1981 after an attempted coup d'état that occurred in Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital, against the government of Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, who would  accuse Morocco of instigating it.

At the core of the disputes between the two countries was the territory of the  former Spanish Colony of Western Sahara, which Spain  ceased to lay claim to in 1975. In the wake of Spain's decision both countries claimed rights to the territory and invaded it.

Meanwhile in 1973 an independentist movement - the Polisario Front - had been established in Western Sahara with the aim of achieving independence from Spain by political action and also armed struggle. When Spain left the territory, the military effort of the independentists was redirected against the occupying Moroccan and Mauritanian forces.

Mauritania would eventually abandon its claim to the territory, in 1979, recognising, in February 1984,  the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), established in 1976, and its founder, the Polisario Front, as the legitimate representative of the Saharawi people, a position also sustained by the United Nations. 

Morocco would go on to this day without recognising the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and at present a state of low intensity warfare remains, with armed actions from both sides occasionally taking place.

With Mauritania abandoning its claim to the Sahrawi territory and an internal coup in December 1984 that overthrew the pro-Polisario president of the country, the door was opened to the reestablishment of relations with its neighbour Morocco, what would formally take place in April 1985.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the re-establishment of formal diplomatic relations, the postal administrations of Morocco and Mauritania launched a common stamp issue, comprising two stamps. (I have found no information regarding the Mauritanian issue)

The Moroccan issue, dated of 29JUL2026, is featured on the official First Day Cover that Pierre sent me.

It consists of two stamps with face values of 4.10 and 9,80 Dirham,  illustrated with images of the Ancient Mosque of Chinguetti in Mauritania and the Fort of Ait-Ben-Haddou, Morocco, respectively.

Both structures are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Chinguetti Mosque (constructed of split stone and clay with a roof of palm beams on stone piers) dates from the 13th or 14th centuries, and is located in the Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata, in the Adar region of Mauritania.

The  Fort of Ait-Ben-Haddou, dating from the 11th century, is constructed in earthen clay, and is located in the Ouarzazate Province of Morocco, in the ancient route between the Sahara and Marakesh.

I had the opportunity to visit it in 2023 and seeing it on a stamp prompted me to go take a look at my photos.... always a pleasure remembering places we've been to.... 

COVER N. 772 - MOROCCO

Postmark: Premier Jour d'émission Meknès CD  13.07.2026/ Meknès C.D 14.09.2026 

Posted on 14th September;  Received on the 30th September 2026

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Merci, Pierre, pour les jolis plis premier jour. Two FDCs in one day is a nice score ;-)

One of the joys of stamps is the amount of knowledge they convey to those that care to look at them with a bit more than a "where does this come from?" preoccupation.

In fact, it wouldn't be exaggerated to say that stamps are tiny pages of an ever growing worldwide collaborative  encyclopaedia that is being constantly updated as new sets are issued across the planet.

Take the stamp on this beautiful cover.

I was familiar with the tiny colourful geometric ceramic tiles that are used to compose elaborate motifs that decorate walls and façades in Islamic architecture.

But I did not know where they originated from, neither what were they called.

Today, thanks to this year's Moroccan Euromed Issue, dedicated to this particular icon of Moroccan culture, I was prompted to do some reading and I learned that these tiles (as indicated on the cover cachet and the legend on the side of the 4.10 Dirham stamp issued on 13JUN2026) are called Zellige.

This is particular relevant for me, for the word would go down to my own laguage as Azulejo, this being what we call the ceramic tiles that cover so many of the old buildings of the historic quarters of our cities, in Portugal.

I also learned that for the most part zellige are  manufactured as solid colour square tiles that are then cut to the desired shape, once baked, so that they can be encrusted into the surfaces being decorated in the pre-determined patterns.

Not so with Tetouan's zellige, though, since their tiles are cut in the desired shape before being baked, what imparts durability to the small pieces of ceramic, at the expense of it being a bit harder to get a perfect fitting in a giving design pattern.

The celebrative stamp is illustrated with two images of a fountain, presumably in Tetuan, decorated with Zellige, giving the viewer a perfect idea of the intricate beauty of the patterns achieved with this age-old decorative technique.

The stamps were cancelled with the First Day Postmark, issued at Meknès, the same location that is inscribed in the actual circulation postmark.