POSTCARD N.69 - Russia

Postcrossing postcard sent  the 31st January; received on the 16th February
Postcard image: MIG 29. Aerobatic team "Strizhi" (The Swifts)
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Inside Julia's beautiful cover (#75) was this also very nice postcard with two images of a Swift's MIG-29 in the display team's current painting scheme:

 POSTCARD N.68 - Russia

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 31st January; received on the 16th February
Postcard image: Main Narzan Baths, Kislovodsk
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Kislovodsk, (a toponym that would translate into "Sour Waters") is a Russian city placed between the Caspian and Black seas and  famous for its many spas, it seems. Another call to fame stems from the fact that it was also the birthplace of writer and 1970 Literature Nobel prize laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), famous for his novels highly critical of the communist regime, of which the mos famous is "Thje Goulag Archipelago".

Tank you Elena, for  a nice postcard, from an interesting place.

Stamps:

- Self-adhesive 5, 6 and 50 Rubles stamp, part of the 7th definitive issue of the Russian Federation, started in 2019. They exhibit the State Postal Administration Emblem and were issued on 07AUG2019.

Unfortunately I cannot read the rather light postmark.

COVER N.74 - Italy

Postmark: 52015 Prattovecchio (AR) - C 17-1-22
Posted on the 17th January; received on the 12th February
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Thanks a lot Roberto for this nice cover with a full set of 2 huge stamps. Quite a nice and appreciated addition to the fold. 

The two stamps constitute a commemorative set issued on 07MAR2008, highlighting the then forthcoming International Philately Festival, that took place in  the Pallazo dei Congressi (Congress Palace) in Rome, between 21 and 25 October 2009.

The 0,60€ stamp is illustrated with a view of the outside of the venue: Il Pallazo dei Congressi. The modernist lines of the building can clearly be grasped from the illustration and its construction began in 1938 within the scope of the Universal Exposition of 1942 that sadly was never to be, due to the second supreme nastiness.  The building was conceived by Adalberto Libera and was only finished in 1954.

The image on the 0,65€ stamp needs no description since it pictures the most iconic of all the iconic Rome landmarks (well, the Fontana di Trevi might also be a worthy contender to this title...)

Construction of the colosseum was ordered by emperor Vespesian and began in 72 AD, to be completed in 80 AD.

One cannot enter the colosseum and not be taken aback  by the sheer size of its amphitheatre. But what's even more striking and shiver inducing is just the thought of what was going down in the arena for the perverse enjoyment of the people....

The postmark tells us that the cover was mailled from Pratovecchio, an Italian comune of the Arezzo province, in the region of  Tuscany.

 COVER N.72 - India

Postmark: Ahmedabad G.P.O. Philatelic Bureau - 24-1-22
Posted on the 24th January; received on the 12th February
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I'm now well past the 40 countries mark and some new ones keep falling in. India, fantastic cover Piyush, thank you so much!

It always strikes me that covers from India I see here and there in the internet most of the times seem to have very nice envelopes, and this was also the case. I have written before how much I like the traditional airmail envelopes with their blue white red frames, but this one takes it to another level with the  colourful images of the four pilgrimage sites of Chardam Yatra , two of which are also the subject of the stamps on the cover.

Now, before going any further, I must say that I am totally ignorant in what regards Hinduism (and a lot of other religions), so I did a bit of checking on the internet to grasp what was the meaning of the images on the cover and at first i was misled, because the Chardam Yatra, the four holy pilgrimage sites that any Hindu should visit at least once in a lifetime, the Four Abodes, are are Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram. Of these four, only the first is included in  the images on the cover, so I dug a bit deeper and found that Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath are the Chota Chardam, meaning the four small abodes, that is to say a smaller pilgrimage circuit, but none the less important in Hindu tradition, linking temples that are located in mountainous and not easy to reach locations,  that nevertheless attract thousands of visitors each year, in spite of the often hazardous journey (this quote I took from Wikipedia tells it all, I believe: "Mortality rates for a season often surpass 200")...

Stamps:

Both stamps are part of a four stamp set issued on 19NOV2019, dedicated to the Chota Chardam sites. The 10 Rupee stamp depicts the Yamunotri temple,  located in western Garhwal Himalayas at an elevation of about 3,291metres. It is devoted to goddess Yamuna, that also gives her name to the second most holy river of India, that springs from Yamunotri.

the 15 Rupee stamp features the Kedarnath temple. Located on the Garhwal range of the Himalaias.it is dedicated to the god Shiva.

These beautiful stamps were cancelled by a postmark from the Ahmedabad Philatelic Bureau, a place very far from the sites they promote.

COVER N.73 - Switzerland

Postmark: 9000 St. Gallen - Annahme - 3-2-22 (?)
Posted on the 3rd February; received on the 12th February
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A nice and clean cover from the land of watches, mountain ridding trains and cheese with holes. Thank you so much Charlotte! 

Stamps left to right:

10+10 Swiss Franc cents stamp, issued on  29MAY1970, as part of a 4 stamp set (10; 20; 30; 50 Swiss Franc cents) with a 10 cent fund raising surcharge for  Stiftung PRO PATRIA Schweizerische Bundesfeierspende a "Swiss patriotic and charitable organization. Its purpose is to give meaning to the Swiss national holiday, August 1, by collecting donations to the benefit of social and cultural works of national public interest" (cf. Wikipedia).

The stamps in the set are illustrated with images of contemporary stained glass windows, that on  my cover, entitled "sailor", being authored by Gian Casty (1914-1979), a prolific artist who specialised in glass painting and left a sound body of work in both profane and religious buildings.

100 and 85 Swiss Frank cents stamps, part of a four stamp set issued on 04MAR2021 (incidentally, my birthday...) dedicated to "animals in the city". The stamps depict an ermine  (Mustela erminea) and a wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), respectively, the other stamps in the set being graced with images of a mole (Talpa europea) -1.50 CHF and a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) - 2 CHF.

The postmark, although difficult to read, indicates that the cover was mailed from Post Branch 9000 St. Gallen 1 Annahme.

St. Gallen is the capital city of the canton of... St Gallen, located in the eastern part of Switzerland, very close to the Bodensee, the natural border with Germany.

 COVER N.71 - ALGERIA

Postmark: Annaba - R - P 22JAN22
Posted on the 22nd January; received on the 12th February
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Argelia! And so the list keeps growing... how fitting it is that after receiving a letter from Tunisia, I should get another from the country next door. Thanks a lot Kader!

And what a nice envelope it was, with no less that 5 very interesting and eye catching stamps. 

Kader is a fellow postcrosser and I emailed him asking if he'd be interested in swapping a cover, to which he replied affirmatively and here's the proof of it. I hope my letter also falls soon into his letterbox.

Stamps, left to right, top to bottom:

5 Dinar stamp, part of a 4 stamp set, issued on 12MAY2018, showcasing some of the country's historic sites. The beautiful illustration depicts one of the thirteen mausoleums, located close to the Algerian city of Tairet that were erected in pre-Islamic times, in the mountains of the Frenda region. 

5 Dinar stamp, part of a 4 stamp set, issued on 11NOV1998, dedicated to birds dwelling in humid areas. The lovely illustration on the stamp shows an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), a fish eating bird of prey with a vast distribution across all the continents with the exception of Antartica and thankfully still deserving a "least concern" global conservation status, due to the high numbers of individuals in the wild. The other three stamps in this beautiful set are the Adouin's Gull (Larus audouinii) -10 Dinars; the European Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) - 24 Dinars, and the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - 30 Dinars.

10 Dinar stamp, part of the already mentioned set dedicated to historic sites, issued on 12MAY2018, It depicts the ruins of the Roman city of Tiddis, located in Eastern Algeria. 

24 Dinnar, issued on  08APR2004 stamp celebrating the 2004 Presidential election which would be once again won by Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1931-2021) , who served as the country's President between 1999 and 2019, after a resignation dictated by health issues, thus ending a long political carreer that started in the ranks of the National Liberation Front, and would see him occupying top political chairs before becoming the country's President, like that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Presidency of UN's General Assembly between 1974 and 1975.

10 Dinar stamp, part of a two stamp set issued on 11NOV2015, (10 and 25 Dinars) dedicated to renewable energies. it carries the legend "Les differentes energies" to showcase hydro-electric, solar,  wind generated and bio-mass generated energy.

COVER N.70 - Tunisia

Postmark: Le Bardo 18JAN22
Posted on the 18th January; received on the 4th February
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Thanks a lot,  Mourad, for a nice Euromed cover from Tunisia! Another country box ticked!

Stamps left to right

500 milimes stamp, part of a 2stamp set (130 and 500 milimes), dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Republic of Tunisia. A French protectorate since 1881, The Republic of Tunisia gained its independence in 1957, thus materialising the dream of Habib Bourguiba, the country's first President, and founder of the Neo-Destour, a political party that fought for an independent and secular Tunisia. The stamp depicts an airplane and flowers, probably as an alegory for progress and peace. the other stamp in the set showcases Tunisia's coat of arms with a self-explanatory "40" numeral.

the 1 and 0,75 Dinar stamps are Tunisia's 2019 Euromed emission, dedicated to the theme of typical costumes of the Mediterranean, and were issued on 05SEP2019 . They depict, respectively, a masculine costume from the city of Kairuan and a feminine one from the city of Douz. Detailed information on both can be found at the very informative Euromed site.

The postmark tells us that the letter was posted in the city of Le Bardo.