POSTCARD N.239 - SENEGAL

Postcard sent on the 21st July; received on the 7th August 2026

Postcard image: Las Médulas, Spain - Info on Total Solar Eclipse of the 12th August.

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What a great postcard this one is. Absolutely amazing. Thank you so very much, Wilhelm. I wish you get a great view of the Eclipse at las Médulas.

Wilhelm's wonderful postcard is self-designed and there are quite a few things to notice on it.

The first is that I obliterated part of the main image for privacy reasons, but it depicts the Las Médulas site, an historically relevant mining site located close to Ponferrada, in the province of Léon, part of the  Autonomous Region of Castilla y Léon.

The second is that part of the image is also blocked by the much appreciated 5 stamps on the card, since it is not that often that I get mail from there.

Third is that information on the face of the postcard goes well beyond the picture, for not only does the recipient immediately learn that the site depicted is a UNESCO  World Heritage site, but also there are QR codes that take him to a) the European Space Agency Solar Eclipse  site, where one will be able to follow it in real time b) UNESCO World Heritage Convention page for Las Nébulas c) the eclipse map page at the NSO - National  Solar Observatory website.

The fourth is the inferred correlation between las Médulas and the Eclipse, given that the latter, once the largest open pit gold mine of all the Roman Empire, will fall on the path of totality, making it a privileged viewing spot for  the astronomical spectacle.

Of course there is yet the Spanish flag, a coat of arms that I cannot identify and a nice vintage "Par Avion Correo Aereo” label.

Then there is the stamps and the postmark:

The largest and more colourful stamp is a 25 CFA franc illustrated with a painting of two astronauts, the lunar module and the American flag on the surface of the moon with the Earth in the background. It is part of a set of four (25; 145; 180; 500 CFA franc), issued on 09OCT1999, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first man on the moon.

Hard as I tried, I could not find information on the other two stamps (50 and 125 francs) illustrated with the portrait of a "Femme Peuth" (Peulh Woman) the Peulh or Fula or Fulani being the second most numerous ethnic group in Senegal, with 27% of the population, right behind the Wolof (39%).

The stamps contain the legend “Poste 2025” on the base of the frame, so they are quite recent,  (the name of the artist - A. Aziz  - and the printer - Philaposte - is also present) and they may be part of a definitive issue comprising several stamps identical except for the colour and the face value.  

The very clear and large postmark indicates that the postcard was mailed from Foundiougne, a town on the west of Senegal with a population of about 9000.

How's that for info on a 10x15 cm piece of card?

The back of the postcard is totally occupied with printed information concerning the eclipse of next Wednesday, the 12th August, including a globe with the totality path indicated on it and lots of other information that I cannot decipher that seem to be time referenced to a spot located somewhere between Greenland and Iceland.....

On top of the card there is the Spanish coat of arms on one side and a QR code that I cannot read because a tiny slice of it is hidden under a strip of the margin of one of the stamps.

On the bottom left corner there is yet another coat of arms that I cannot decipher and the UNESCO las Médulas logo on the right one. Between them three unmistakable Spanish icons are also printed: D.Quijote and Sancho Panza, a Saint James Scallop shell and the Osborne Bull.

All in all a great Postcard. Vielen dank, Wilhelm.

I will try to watch the eclipse too, but I will be just outside or at the margin of the totality path, in Vinhais, Trás-os-Montes. Pity I could not get a sheet of solar filter so far, so no photos, probably....

COVER N. 740 - FRANCE

Postmark: Palais du tau Reims 1er Jour L51 reims la Poste 11.06.2026

Posted on the 11th June;  Received on the 25th June 2026

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A very relevant item in the vast list of French Historical Monuments: La Palais de Tau, another of Eric's great first day covers sent from Philex France 2026. Merci Encore, Eric.

The Archdiocese of Reims was first established as a diocese by Saint Sixus of Reims around 250 AD and elevated to its present status  by 750.

The palace which served as the residence of the Archbishop of Reims and which would become known as the Palais du Tau given its shape in plan form being that of a letter T (Tau, in Greek), was built upon the ruins of an ancient roman villa dating from the early 5th century, right on the side of  la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims (Reims Cathedral) where, from the 11th century on, with but a very few exceptions, all  French kings were crowned. 

Over the years the Palace has gone through several enlargements and architectural style changes, from its original fortress like appearance, to its final baroque/classical look, with a flamboyant gothic renovation in between.

Further to its use as residence of the Reims Archbishop, the Palace was also used as a tribunal and commodity exchange, between 1790 and 1823, the year when it again reverted to its original use.

With the official separation of the Church from the State in 1905, the Palace was classified as national monument and in 1907 it was again refurbished to house no less than 3 museums: the ethnographic museum of Champagne, a coronation museum and also an archaeology museum.

Heavily impacted by WWI, which left it mostly in ruins, the palace would once more be rebuilt in 1972, to open again as a museum. Currently the palace is yet again undergoing refurbishment works to install a new museum dedicated to the coronation of French Kings.

It should also be mentioned that the palace was the place where for the first time a certain bubbly wine called Champagne was served to the guests attending the coronation of Louis XV.

The Palace of Tau as well as the Cathedral of Reims were awarded World Heritage Status by UNESCO in 1991.

On 11JUN2026 La Poste issued an in-taglio printed 1,52 € stamp illustrated with a view of the Palace of Tau, with the Legend “Palais du Tau” in gold ink.

The First Day Postmark contains the same graphic items as the stamp, although the palace is shown in a different view.

POSTCARD N.196 - NETHERLANDS

Postcrossing Postcard sent on the 29th October; received in November 2025.

Postcard image: Amsterdamse Grachtengordel (Amsterdam Canal belt)

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A view of one of the many bridges over one of Amsterdam's canals, which enjoy UNESCO World Heritage Site status, featuring another of  the city's icons: a cyclist.

Thanks a lot, Tamara

The class 1 International, stamp featured on the postcard is part of a 5 same tariff self-adhesive stamp set issued on 03JUL2023, illustrated with Dutch icons. 

The mechanical postmark was applied at Amterdam.

POSTCARD N.189 -  BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES - SAINT HELENA, ASCENSION AND TRISTAN DA CUNHA

Postcard sent on the 15th May; received on the 1st October 2025.

Postcard image: Tristan da Cunha, Innaccessible Island; thumbnails: Tristan Albatros, Sooty albatros, Innaccesible rail  

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Quite fitting that on World Postcard Day I should receive such an wonderful postcard from such an uncommon place as the one I got thanks to the offices of my good friend The Flying Dutchman. O meu muito obrigado Eric! Que surpresa fantástica!

There are remote places, and then there is the Tristan da Cunha Archipelago, midway between the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn....

While the archipelago comprises a total of six islands, only one, the largest, Tristan da Cunha, is inhabited, although a rather small contingent of six persons is also permanently placed in the island of Gonçalo Alvares (also called Gaugh Island), manning a meteorological station.

This is the second postal object I rceived from this farthest of all faraway places, the first being cover #536, and the postcard Eric sent me, really empathises the remoteness and "untouchedness" of the location from the very start since what could be more pristine and remote than an island called "Inaccessible"?

Inaccessible Island in truth is what is left of an extinct volcano and it occupies an area of less than 13 square kilometres, being inhabited only by colonies of  penguins and subantarctic fur seals, thriving in perfect peace for along with Gonçalo Alvares Island the island is  part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gough and Inaccessible Islands, a protected nature reserve.

As can be seen in postcard photo, the few beaches on the island are quite rocky with steep cliffs that seem to rise almost directly from the sea.

Further to the penguins other avian species also inhabit the island and some relevant dwellers are highlighted in the thumbnails. Top to bottom, we have:

- Tristan Albatross (Diomedea dabbenena), endemic to the islands, considered to be Critically Endangered by IUCN standards, and one of the largest of the albatross family, with a wingspan that can reach 3.05 metres;

- Sooty Albatross (Phoebetria fusca), an endangered species also of large dimension, with a wingspan of up to 2 metres, which can be found in the South Atlantic Ocean, the southern Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean between Australia and South America;

- Inaccessible rail (Laterallus rogersi), the smallest of all flightless birds there is, classified as vulnerable, endemic to Inaccessible island.

The ship themed stamps on the postcard are part of a thirteen definitive stamp set issued on 14DEC2020, dedicated to Modern Mail Ships, that serviced the Island. 

The 5p stamp bears the image of the Gilligan Gaggins, operational between 1965 and 1973;

The 1p stamp is illustrated with an image of  the RRS John Biscoe, a supply and research vessel used by the British Antarctic Survey which provided mail services to the island in1957;

The 2 p stamps carries the image of  the S.S. Brasil, an American built ocean liner launched at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi in 1957., which provided mail service to the Island between 1960 and 1965.

The 10 p stamp on the face of the postcard is illustrated with a photo of MV RSA, South Africa's first Antarctic supply ship, a  1572 gross ton vessel, built by the Fujinagata Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, in Osaka, Japan, launched on 28 September 1961. 

According to the date on the stamp, it provided  services to the Islands between 1963 and 1977. 

In 1980 MV RSA was transformed into a static training ship for merchant seamen and it was moored in Cape Town docks. It was later partially scrapped and then sunk, when asbestos was found to be present on it.

The 30p stamp illustrated with an Hawker Hart, the famous Sidney Camm design of 1928 that would father a line of very important, and quite beautiful I may add, biplanes which included the Osprey, the Hind, the Demon, the Hardy, to name but a few, was issued on 01APR2008 included in a 5 x 30 p stamp set celebrating the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Royal Air Force (which, upon inception in 1918, was called the Royal Flying Corps).

The Postmark reads "Tristan da Cunha South Atlantic" and is dated of 15May 2025.

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In 1980 MV RSA was transformed into a static training ship for merchant seamen and it was moored in Cape Town docks. It was later partially scrapped and then sunk, when asbestos was found to be present on it.

The 30p stamp illustrated with an Hawker Hart, the famous Sidney Camm design of 1928 that would father a line of very important, and quite beautiful I may add, biplanes which included the Osprey, the Hind, the Demon, the Hardy, to name but a few, was issued on 01APR2008 included in a 5 x 30 p stamp set celebrating the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Royal Air Force (which, upon inception in 1918 was called the Royal Flying Corps).

The Postmark reads "Tristan da Cunha South Atlantic" and is dated of 15May 2025.

COVER N. 588 - GERMANY

Postmark:  Dachau 10 85221 08.05.2024

Posted on the  8th May 2024; Received on the 13th May 2025

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Alex sent me Germany's EUROPA issue for the year. Nice! Danke Sehr, Herr Phantom!

The Swabian Jura is a mountain range located mainly in the state of Baden-Wuttenberg, but which also extends  into Bavaria .

In the caves of its valleys, our ancestors took shelter from the harsh elements during their migration into Europe coming from Central Asia and the Middle East, some forty thousand years ago, as proven by the most ancient mobiles and musical instruments ever found, unearthed by archaeologists in the valleys of Ach and Lone.

The Common theme for  the EUROPA/CEPT stamp issues of 2025 being National Archaeological Finds, Deutsch Post chose to highlight these findings in the German issue with a single 0.95€  stamp miniature sheet, issued on 08MAY2025, illustrated, both sheet and stamp, with artefacts recovered in this region, itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a status that acknowledges its importance as testimonial grounds for the evolution of mankind.

This fact is also highlighted in the stamp, which carries the legend: UNESCO - Welterbe Höhlen und Eiszeitkunst der Swchäbischen Alb. (UNESCO World Heritage Caves and Ice Age Art of the Swabian Alb).

Alex completed postage with two 0.15 € stamps of the World of Letters definitive series. This particular stamp featuring a Letters Peacock was issued on 10AUG2024

The Postmark issued at Dachau is dated of the 8th May, thus making the cover an FDC for the Europa Issue stamp.

COVER N. 399 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P.O. Colombo - Mail -  14.01.2024

Posted on the 14th January; received on the 24th January 2024 

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The second cover from Sri Lanka and the year is still in its infancy... Ravindra is fast becoming a rather frequent name in the Thanks list here on my blog and, by now, he's fully entitled to the associated member status I hereby bestow upon him 😀. Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

Diplomatic Relations between  France and Sri Lanka were established on 27 October 1948 and  75 years later, Emmanuel Macron became the first French President to visit the island state. 

The anniversary was celebrated by Sri Lanka Post with a two 50 Rupee stamp set, issued on 27OCT23 illustrated with images of the ancient city of Sigiriya  and Mont-Saint-Michel, both having in common the fact that they are perched atop natural ground elevations and both sharing UNESCO WHS status.

Ravindra also used another two stamps, both also celebrating diplomatic relations anniversaries, what makes the cover a rather diplomatic one ....

The 35 Rupee stamp was issued in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Nepal, which occurred on the 1st July 1957.  Curiously, the stamp was issued on 20FEB2020, almost three years past the celebrated date. 

The stamp is illustrated with images of the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy, Sri Lanka, (it is believed that the temple houses one of Buddha's teeth)  and the  Lumbini Temple in Nepal, erected in Buddha’s place of birth. Both temples enjoy UNESCO WHS status.

The 50 Ruppe stamp, a joint issue between Sri Lanka and Egypt, issued on 08DEC2023,  celebrates 66 years of Diplomatic relations between the two countries, Egypt having been the first Arab State to open a diplomatic representation in Sri Lanka, in 1957.

The stamp is illustrated with the images of the Jetavanarama stupa, a Buddhist reliquary monument,  in the ruins of Jetavana monastery, in the ancient city of  Anuradhapura, in Sri Lanka, and of the Sphinx and the Pyramid of Khafre, in Egypt, both also UNESCO WH Sites.

As usual with Ravindra's covers, the Postmark indicates expedition through the PO Headquarters of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital.

POSTCARD N.122 - SRI LANKA

Postcard sent on the 4th November; received on the 15th November 2023

Postcard image: Dutch Fort and Galle city (17th century A.D.)
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Getting to know the world through postcards... Yes, today there are more expedite ways of showing our neck of the woods to somone who lives thousands of kilometres away, but interesting as they might be, they will never replace the pleasure of finding a picture postcard with a nice stamp in a letterbox, with a photo of a place that makes you want to go there the very same moment.

That's what Ravindra’s postcard did to me.... a fortress by the sea, a World heritage Site, what's not to like...? If only I had wings 😀.

Thanks a lot Ravindra!, really interesting postcard

I confess my ignorance. I had never heard of Galle city or the Dutch fort, so, as usual, impelled by the image I went and did some looking up....and the Dutch fort was originally built by... The Portuguese.., in 1588, before being taken on by the Dutch in 1640, curiously the same year when we regained our independence from Spain after being ruled by Spanish kings for 60 years. I also found that Galle (a name which might derive from the Portuguese "Galo" - rooster) was the place where the Portuguese first set foot in Sri Lankan soil.... and that the city today  has a multi-ethnic and multi-religious population. Also, according to Wikipedia "The fort area is occupied by mostly artists, writers, photographers, designers and poets of foreign origin and is now a mixed bag of boutiques, hotels and restaurants"....

All this make me go and visit even more....

Stamps

- I also did now know what the legend on the large 50 Rupee stamp - National Meelad-Un-Nabi 2023 - issued on 22OCT2023, stood for, even though I was suspicious that it might be related to religion since the stamp is illustrated with images of building that I take to be mosques.  So I searched and I came across this site which clarified that "Muslims belonging to the Sufi or the Barelvi school of thought celebrate the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad, as Eid Milad-un-Nabi, also known as Eid-e-Milad, also called Nabid and Mawlid in colloquial Arabic. The celebration occurs during Rabi’ al-awwal, the third month in the Islamic calendar."

I tried to find information as to what mosques were depicted on the stamp but was not successful in my search.

- World Post Day is celebrated by UPU members on the 9th October. The circular 15 Rupee stamp, issued appropriately on 09OCT2021, is Sri Lanka Post commemorative issue for World Post Day 2021.

- The 5 Rupee stamp was issued on 26MAY2012, on the occasion of the 225th anniversary of  Saint Philip Neri's Church, at Udammita South, Ja-ela.  I could not find any relevant information about this Roman Catholic church, but as much as Galle city on the postcard image seems to an example of multi-culturalism and people of different creeds living together in harmony, so is my postcard: Mosques, a Church and a World Day of an organisation which claims to be nothing short of "Universal", here's a perfect example of what the world is lacking the most today: harmony in difference and common sense!

A usual with Ravindra's mail the postmark hails from Colombo's central PO. 

COVER N. 347 - CAMBODIA

Postmark: Siem Reap Cambodia 30.10.2023

Posted on the 30th October; received on the 28th November 2023

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Siem Reap, the base camp for Angkor Wat.... one day I'll have to get there too, meanwhile I was more than happy to get this nice cover with beautiful bicolour postmarks, from a country which I still had not in my collection. Super! Thank you so much, Edwin!

Cambodia’s history in later times is rather complex and not a very uplifting one....genocide is never something to be proud of, and the echoes of the killing fields will have left scars that will take long to heal, I'm sure. Still, all this is past and the former French colony, occupied by the Japanese during the second World War, which become independent in 1952 only to get deeply entangled in the side-effects of the Vietnam war, is now, and since the 90s of last century, a  multiparty parliamentary constitutional monarchy.

Political stability brought along eonomic growth and between 1998 and 2019 Cambodian economy grew at an average annual rate of 7.7 percent. Like elsewhere Covid took its toll, but prospects are good, and GDP is expected to grow by 5.3 this year and 6.6 in 2024.

Tourism, of course is one of the key elements of this growth (the other being the garment industry, often subject to human rights concerns....) and Angkor Wat is, I'm sure, Cambodia's top tourist attraction.

Originally an Hindu complex of temples built between 1122 and 1150, towards the turn of the century it evolved into a Buddhist one, after the conversion of king  Jayavarman VII to this creed, following his marriage with a Buddhist wife.

The importance  that the complex, spread throughout an area of 162.6 hectares which makes it the largest religious structure in the world, has for the  Cambodian soul  is readily apparent in the fact that it is one of the elements which constitute the country's national flag, its white colour representing the country’s religion and faith while the  red and blue stripes represent the nation's courage and determination and purity and justice, respectively.

Stamps left to right

500 riel stamp issued 11NOV2016 as part of a 5 stamp set (500; 2000; 2500;3000;3500 riel) issued in minisheet form dedicated to statues of the Khmer culture. Khmer being the dominant (over 90%) ethnic group of the country.

Cambodia's rich relugious and cultural heritage is not concntrated solely in Angkor Wat, and many more temples can be found elsewhere in the country.

One such temple is that of Sambor Prei Kuk, dating back to the 7th century, which, like Angkor Wat, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On 08JUL2018, Cambodia Post issued a three stamp set (2000; 3000; 4000 riel) dedicate to this temple ilustrated with photos of its main structures.

The 2000 reil stamp with the picture of three lions is part of this sereis. Of note in the inclusion of the World Heritage logo on the top right corner.

also in 2018, on 13AUG2028) Cambodia Post issued a set of five stamps (5200, 1200; 2100; 3000; 4000 riel) illustrated with photos of faces of sculptures present in the decoration of the temples at Angkor Wat. The 3000 reil stamp is part of this series.

The very uncommon postmark in that it is bicolour, blue and red, was issued at the city of Siem reap, a mere 5 km from Angkor Wat.

POSTCARD N.119 - LATVIA

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 23rd October;received on the 31st August 2023

Postcard image: Kuldiga - Old brick bridge across the river Venta; Kuldiga castle gatehouse; old wooden architecture of Kuldiga.
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Kuldiga is a Latvian city on the Western part of the country, not that far from the Baltic sea, with a population of over 10,000 inhabitants.

In the course of the current year, the old town of Kuldiga has been awarded World Heritage Status by  UNESCO, recognising the fact that it is "an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional urban settlement, which developed from a small medieval hamlet into an important administrative centre of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia between the 16th and 18th centuries".

Thanks a lot for the card, Iveta.... I'll be sure to visit Kuldiga if ever my once planned but covid postponed Baltic States tour, comes to being.

- The Vairogs company resulted from the nationalisation of Rīgas Vagonbūves Rūpnīca, a train carriage factory established founded in 1895, to save it from bankruptcy.

From 1937, the company was licensed by Ford motor company to assemble Ford cars and trucks, which it continued to do  all through the 2nd world war, until the occupation of the Baltic States by the Soviets, who again nationalised the company, and stopped producing Ford vehicles altogether.

On 13JUL2018, Latvijas Pasts issued a 1,39€ stamp illustrated with the image of the most successful Ford produced by the Vairogs company, the V8 model of 1939.

- The 0,45 € stamp illustrated with the image of a black rabbit was issued on 13JAN2023 as part of a three stamp definitive set dedicated to domestic animals, the other two stamps being illustrated with images of a turkey (=.65 €) and a horse (1.65€).

Unfortunately other than the date, the postmark information is totally illegible.

COVER N. 245 - UNITED NATIONS - VIENNA  

Postmark: Wien Vereinte Nationnen 14(?)0  - 17.04.23 

Posted on the 17th April; Received on the 2nd May 2023
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Another of Eric's suprise envelopes. This time from The Vienna Office of the United Nations.

Thanks a lot, Eric.

A funding member violates the Charter, and presides over the Security Council...all at the same time...

It really takes a lot of nerve.... but some people do have it, don't they, Mr. Lavrov?

How on hell will we ever be able to reform the UN?

In the meantime, let's just look at the beautiful images on the stamps. They are soothing and relaxing... a far cry from those that come out of the Ukraine these days....

The four stamps on the cover belong to a set of eight, (3x0,15; 3x0,20; 0,55 and 0, 75€) issued on 24OCT2003, dedicated to World Heritage Sites in the USA. 

Of note is the fact that the 0,55 and 0,75€ stamps are identical to one of f the 0,15 € and another 0,20 €, although the colour of the green frame around the image is slightly different.

The three 0,15 € stamps on the cover feature images of :

- Olympic National Park - This park, located on the Olympic Pensinsula in the state of Washington, on the Northwest corner of the USA, bordering British Columbia in Canada,   gets its name from Mount Olympus.

The park was inscribed in the WHS list in 1981 and a full description of the raguments that led to its classification can be found here.

Think of Sequoias and Ansel Adams and Alex Honnold’s absolutely incredible free climb solo ascent of El Capitan... Yosemite National Park is located in Sierra Nevada, in the state of California, and is probably one of the most famous Parks in the world.

It was inscribed in the WHS list in 1984, and its entry on UNESCO's site can be checked  here.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park extends over an area of 2,114.15 km2, spread across the states of North Carolina and Tennessee in the southeast of the US, encompassing several ranges of the Appalachian Mountain chain.

It made it to the list in 1983 and its entry in the UNESCO site can be consulted here.

The Everglades....alligators and fast moving airboats.... Located on the southernmost tip of the Florida Peninsula, the Everglades National park, due to its inherent characteristics, is a site of outstanding importance in terms of biodiversity associated with wetlands.

It was inscribed in the WHS list in 1979, and its entry on UNESCO's site can be checked here.

The Postmark, indicates that the cover was mailed from Vienna as expected 😀.

COVER N.130 - FRANCE.

Postmark: Centenaire de la découverte du tombeau de Toutânkhamon - 1er Jour 23.06.22 Paris
Posted on the 23rd June; received on the 1st July 2022
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Tutankhamun... one of the precious memories I have of my childhood was the hours I spent going through the pages of my father's "National Geographic" and "Science et Vie" magazines. I could not speak the languages, but there were photos, good ones, and I was the curious kind so I would  ask my father who would, to the best of his ability and knowledge, explain to me what I was marvelling about.

On one of those National Geographic issues there was an article with photos of the famous golden death mask and of the golden sarcophagus of the pharaoh and I was immediately grabbed  by  the story behind it. Especially by the fabled Tutankhamun's Curse. Science would of course prove it to be but bollocks, but to my 6 or 7 years old mind this was the type of thing that would generate the sort of enthusiasm that adults dread to see growing on children for fear they won't talk about anything else for quite a spell.😀 I guess I did have what it would take to be a young Indiana Jones, but my father was not an University teacher, and his family name was Soares, not Jones...😀

Anyway, the current year marks the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by the British Archaeologist Howard Carter, on commission by George Herbert, the 5th Earl of Carnarvon, who, in 1914, had come in the possession of the rights to excavate at the Valley of Kings. Aside from this one, the Earl was a man of many other possessions (the most precious of them all being his wife, who was endowed with what I would term as illimited financial security), and if any doubts there could be, sufice would be to say that he was the owner of the "little house on the prairie" where the mega hit series "Downtown Abbey" was filmed. Therefore, in this state of affairs money to finance the exploration of the valley would not be a problem and Carter and the rest of the team would persist in trying to find the coveted tomb. Unfortunately, the first World war would interrupt the archaeological work but at long last, in November 1922, Carter was finally successful in finding Pharaoh Tutankhamun burial chamber, which he would open to find the famous treasure (and be exposed to the no less famous curse 😀) in February 1923.

Thank you so much Pierre for this very beautiful First Day Cover, and for the memories it triggered...

Celebrating the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb, La Poste has issued this magnificent stamp with the image of the Pharaoh's death mask, lavishly encased in a golden (what other colour could have been used????)  frame of legends, reading "1922-2022 - Centenaire de la découverte du Tombeau de  Toutânkhamon" and which also includes the denomination (1,65 €) and the country of issuance - France.

The first day postmark repeats the legend and the motif on the stamp.

POSTCARD N.85 - INDIA

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 15th June; received on the 30th June

Postcard image: Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu 

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Hoysaleswara temple was erected in the 12th century in between 1121 and 1160 as a sanctuary dedicated to Shiva, the God of Destruction, one of the three deities in the Hindu trinity, the other two being Brahma, the God of Creation,  and Vishnu, the God of Preservation.

Located in Halebidu, in the state of Karnataka, in the bottom Southwest tier of India’s inverted triangle, it was attacked and plundered by Muslim forces in the 14th century, being devoted to neglect since then until the intellectual curiosity that permeated the 19th century brought it under the light of explorers and academics, awed by the marvellous sandstone sculptures  that have held their intricate and minute detail over the ages.

Thank you Anusha for a beautiful postcard with a image of  a bas relief  image of Shiva of one of the temple walls.

 Stamps, Left to right:

Like many postal administrations India Post has also diversified its sphere of activity, offering financial services through a bank division. The India Post Payments Bank was created on 2018 and on 30JAN2019 India Post issued a 5 rupee commemorative stamp celebrating the fact.  The stamp is illustrated with an allegoric image, although I'm not familiar with the story behind it. The main elements in the image are a person, a horse and 3 belts, over which a silver rupee coin is growing..., the legend Financial inclusion being written on the side frame.

5 Rupee stamp, part of a five stamp set issued in souvenir sheet form on 15AUG2020 dedicated to UNESCO World Heritage sites in India. It depicts a detail image taken from one of the 7th and 8th centuries monuments at Paltadakal.  

5 Rupee stamp issued on 14JAN2020, part of a nine stamp minisheet set dedicated to India's designers creations. The model in my stamp is wearing what is identified as an Ambika Jacket.

POSTCARD N.73 - USA

Postcrossing postcard sent  the 3rd(?) April; received on the 12th April
Postcard image:Statue of Liberty
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Over the centuries, France has given a lot to the world, but perhaps nothing as simple and powerful as the three humble words on which the French Republic was erected: Égalité; Fraternité; Liberté.

These are beacons for Humanity. Evergreen ideas that will not subside in spite of men and their petty misconducts centred on the idea that the world revolves around one's navel; on the belief that empathy is the nicest concept provided it comes from others unto us; on the simple lack of awareness to the fact that we are transient and that others will come to take our place, so we'd better leave it better than we found it and not the opposite.

For me, not a French nor an American, the iconic statue that is implanted on an island in  New York's harbour, although being called La Liberté éclairant le Monde, is much more than that: it represents all that is contained in the three little words that the light of its torch somehow illuminates.

May her light be perennial!

Donated by the People of France to the United States the project was the brainchild of Eduard René de Laboulaye a French jurist, writer and ardent abolotionist who saw in it a way to celebrate the centennial of the American Independence and what it represented on the aftermath of the American civil war.

Laboulaye called on the mastery of his friend sculptor Frédéric  Bartholdi to conceive the statue which would be supported on a metal framework drawn up by none other than Gustave Eiffel. Fund raising issues led to delay in the coming into being of the project but Liberté would finaly éclaire le monde on the 28th October 1886, that is to say a decade after the centennial celebrations.

In 1984 is was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO

Thank you so much Rosanne for such a nice postcard (sent inside cover #96) from your hometown.

POSTCARD N.66 - Australia

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 11th January; received on the 26th January
Postcard image: Antonov 12
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It is not every week that I get two postcards from a place so distant as Australia. What's even more uncommon is to have different views of the same landmark on both postcards, but that's what happened, since a couple of days  after receiving Postcard I got this beautiful one with a general view of the Sidney harbour with the bridge and the amazing Opera building glowing in the dusk light. Thanks a lot for a beautiful card, Karen.

Australia is on my "most wanted" list and I'm sure that one day I'll be able to take a photo of the  Opera building myself and maybe go inside for a concert or so... (one can ever want....)

Conceived by Danish architect  and Pritzker laureate Jørn Utzon, Sidney's Opera House was inaugurated in 1973 after a complicated building process that started in 1959 but was to suffer several setbacks, including the mid course resignation of its chief architect in 1966.

In the end, after 14 years of construction works and a dramatic overspill of costs, the Opera was inaugurated and luckily so, because it is one of the most iconic buildings in the world, having been atributed World Heritage Site Status by the Unesco in 2007, and as such must have already generated notoriety revenues for Australia  that overshadow its 102 Million AUD pricetag, 

At another scale, this reminds me of our own beautiful Casa da Música at Porto.

Designed by Rem Koolhaas, another Pritzker award winning architect,  It was to be inaugurated in 2001 within the scope of Porto 2001 European capital of Culture, but it only opened in 2005 following delays in construction and a significant overspill in construction costs. Another common feature with Sindey's Opera is that Ove Arup was also one of the main building contractors involved.

POSTCARD N.30 - Germany

Postcrossing postcard posted on the 29th August; received on the 4th September (from 23AUG till 4SEP I was away, so the date of reception could be any day within that interval)
Postcard image: a view of  the city of Jena
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Mona, who sent me the card, says she works in one of the high-rise buldings in the photo of the city of Jena. Thanks Mona, you must have a good view from your office....

Jena, the city of ....Zeiss. You might not know that Jena is a city integrated in the Free State of  Thuringia, located in the centre of Germany, which was part of what used to be Eastern Germany untill that beautifull day in 89 when the wall came down (sadly we live in counterflow times nowadays and walls seem to have a tendency to go up again in lots of places in the same western world that was claiming "Tear it down" just three decades ago... sic transit gloria mundi....) famous for being an important education and  investigation centre with its  Friedrich Schiller University and several institutions dedicated to  Research and Development, but the association with Zeiss immediatly rings a bell in anyone with an interest in either photography or in....soccer...or in both.... (not my case, though since I side with the former and care not about the latter....)

And all for the same reason. Jena was the place where Carl Zeiss in 1846 founded the optical company that would bear his name and would become one of the most important manufacturers and developers of optical products and solutions, even if the post war spliting up of Germany meant that the company was also split into East and West counterparts (the quality of the glass didn't seem to suffer from this division though....)

Soccer lover workers of the original company would form in 1903 a Soccer Club which they appropriately designated Fußballclub Carl Zeiss Jena, and which survives to this day, even though its former glory days as one of the main Soccer clubs of the then DDR are long gone.

The importance and dimension of the Zeiss factory can be ascertained in the area occupied by the buildings in the postcard,  built around what used to be the original factory,  of which some still remain afoot, it seems, in spite of the city having suffered heavy bombing raids during the war.

Stamps:

To post the postcard, Mona used a very nice se-tenant 2 stamp (0,45€ each) issued on 12JUL2018 with a panorama photo of the Dessau Wörlitz Garden Realm, a World Heritage Site located not that far from Jena (about 110 km to the northeast, as the crow flies). The site is "one of the first and largest English parks in Germany and continental Europe. It was created in the late 18th century under the regency of Duke Leopold III of Anhalt-Dessau (1740-1817)" according to my good friend, the Wikipedia.

The 5 cent stamp with a photo of a Phlox is part of the definitive "flowers" series, started in 2005, and it was issued on 13APR2017.

POSTCARD N.29-  Austria

Postcrossing postcard posted inside cover #35, on the 30th August; received on the 4th September (from 23AUG till 4SEP I was away, so the date of reception could be any day within that interval)
Postcard image: several views of Vienna and Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss"
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I loved Vienna and I'm glad to say I visited or saw almost all of the sights included in the nice postcard Chris sent me, and for which I truly thank her.

Seeing the Kiss in real life was also one of the highlights of my visit, but  of all the Gustav Klimt's works I've seen, the Beethoven Frieze in the Secession Building is really something out of this world (well, if on a scale of 1-10, the kiss is nothing short of a full 10, the Frieze is an 11 (or a 12 :-)).

Schloss Schönbrunn and the historic centre of Vienna are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, so I can add the tag WHS to this postcard too.

POSTCARD N.25 - Portugal

Postcard posted on the 5th August; received on the 11h August
Postcard image: River Douro and the city of Porto
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The travelled distance might not be as large as that associated with most of the postcards on this blog, but the pleasure of receiving and reading is just the same, because my world begings just outside the window in this room where I'm typing this right now. Thanks a lot, Pedro, I really enjoyed it.

Porto. The city that gave the name to the wine that was carried in the casks that can bee seen in the Rabelo boats on the photo, from the high Douro valley, where the vinyards and winneries are located, to the warehouses of Vila Nova de Gaia, just across the bridge from the Ribeira, the area intensly illuminated on the right centre of the card. 

The historic Centre of Porto, as well as the D. Luis Bridge an all metal double deck bridge designed by Théophile Seyrig a disciple of Gustave Eiffel, one of the 6 connecting both margins of the Douro, and the Monastery of Serra do Pilar, were awarded World Heritage Site status by the UNESCO in 1996, the United Nations agency stating that Porto "...with its urban fabric and its many historic buildings bears remarkable testimony to the development over the past thousand years of a European city that looks outward to the sea for its cultural and commercial links".

Today's Porto is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city that will surely fit the special interest bill of any traveller that elects to spend a day, a month or a year getting to know its people, culture and heritage.

Part of that charm can also find its roots on the huge renovation that the city underwent when it was declared European Capital of Culture in 2001, a title it shared with the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

One of the emblems of that renovation was the Casa da Música, a magnificent concert hall designed by  the Dutch Architect Rem Koolhaas, that prooved to be so complex to build that was only concluded in 2005, long after the city had ceased its Capital of Culture status.

But good things take time, and after having had the opportunity to attend a baroque music concert in the main concert hall, all I can say is that I want more....

All this talk about casa da música stems from the fact that one of the 3 stamps Pedro used to post the Postcard  has a photo of it. With a face value of 0,50€ it was issued on 20SEP2017 as part of a 4 stamp set dedicated to the city of Porto, as a continuation of the series started in 2016 with a set dedicated to Lisbon, denominated "As nossas Cidades" (Our cities). The other 3 stamps on this set show the D. Luís Bridge (0,70€); a Barco Rabelo and a local jumping off the D. Luis bridge to the river (0,80€) and a general panoramic view of the city (0,85€).

The other 2 0,02€ stamps Pedro used to complete the 0,54€ - domestic up to 20g - tariff were issued on 17APR2015, as part of a the second emission of definitive stamps dedicated to radical sports (the first having taken place on the previous year).

The postmark that was only applied to the lesser value stamps reads CPL Norte (Centro de Produção e Logística - Norte) which lead me to think the postcard was posted in the city of Maia, which is part of the Porto Metropolitan Area. 

POSTCARD N.11 - Finland
Postcrossing postcard included in Cover n. 23
Potscard image: Seafortress Suomenlinna, a UNESCO WHS near Helsinki
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World Heritage Sites always make good postcards to send or receive, such as this one hailing from Finland. Thanks a lot Nina

Suomenlinna Fortress, I read, was built by the Swedes during the 18th century, the decision to build it, having bee taken by Swedish monarch Frederik I, in 1747. The fortress is implanted on a site that is made of six interconnected islands at the entrance of Helsinki's harbor.

UNESCO declared  the fortress of Suomenlinna a World Heritage Site in 1991,  acknowledging it as  an "outstanding example of general fortification principles of the 17th and 18th centuries, notably the bastion system", as can be read in the relevant page of UNESCO's WHS portal.

POSTCARD N.7 - Portugal

Postcard posted on the 6th July, received on the 8th July.
Potscard image:Bom Jesus de Braga, a Unesco World Heritage Site
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A ripe fruit from my blog, it seems. Pedro, another like minded (and like named, for that matter) blogger, visited my "Thank you Mr. Postman" pages and kindly wrote me this postcard (which, of course, will not go unanswered).

Although hailing from Brazil, Pedro Lives up North, at Porto and he has a keen interest not only in stamps and covers but also in postcards, especially those illustrating UNESCO WHS, such as the one he sent me. 

He also has a blog, to prove it.

 

The existence of a church on the hill where the Sanctuary now stands can be traced back to the 14th century. Over a period of 600 years the site was built, rebuilt and transformed so as to reach the actual configuration, whose works were completed in 1811. The most iconic part of the complex is the gargantuan stairway with 573 steps, divided in 3 flights, that runs up the hill parallel to a funicular line (for those less inclined to take the hard route) on which  the oldest funicular built in the Iberian Peninsula, dating back to the 19th century, still operates flawlessly.

information on the Sanctuary is easy to access on the internet. A good English summary can be found here.

Portugal held the Presidency of the EU Council during the 1st semestre of 2021. to mark this occasion, CTT the Portuguese Post, issued a 2 stamp plus Souvenir sheet set on 14MAY21. Pedro used the 0,54€ (domestic up to 20g tariff) to mail me the postcard. The other stamp is denominated at  0,88€ (Europe, up to 20 g) while the stamp on the souvenir sheet has a value of 2,5€.

The hand applied cancelation proves that the postcard was mailed from the actual city where the monument is located, Braga. A really nice touch.