Postcard from Armenia

A lovely postcard received today from Yerevan, Armenia, showing the Church of Hripsime (completed in 618) in the city of Vagharshapat, (Echmiatsin), which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots.

The card was sent only 5 days ago and bears two definitive stamps of 120 AMD from 2012, showing a letter from the Armenian alphabet.

Thank you very much, Yuri!

Postcard from Russia no. 4

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Here's a very nice postcard senr from St. Petersburg showing the main sights of the town of Kronshtadt, in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, 30 kilometers west of Saint Petersburg. The historic centre of the city and its fortifications are part of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. Pop. 43,000.

The 10 rouble stamp (16 Feb 2009) commemorates Grigory Yakovlevich Bahchivandzhi (1909-1943) is the test pilot of scientific research institute of the Air Forces, the Hero of the Soviet Union. Print run: 800,000 - quite a small number, I think, 800,000 copies of a stamp is an average print run of a commemorative here in the much small Czech Republic.

Postcard from Slovakia no. 8

Here's a postcard sent by our granny from Bardejov, in the east of Slovakia. It shows the Church of St. Giles (Aegidius), which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Historic Centre of Bardejov.

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The engraved EUR 0.80 stamp from 2011 shows Tatra 87, one of the classic Czechoslovakian cars, made by Tatra in Kopřivnice here in Moravia in 1936-1950. According to Wikipedia, John Steinbeck and Jay Leno, among others, drove this highly original car with the unmistakable shark's fin. The other stamp in the series shows the Prague-made Aero 30. Print-run 1 million each.

Czech cover no. 6

A new stamp in the ongoing series dedicated to the tradition of the Czech stamp production, issued on 20 January 2011, reproducing the stamp from a postal card (1966) made by Josef Herčík, one of the top Czech engravers. The cover above bears the stamp with the coupon (taken from a booklet), and has two cancellations... I wanted to have it only hand-cancelled, but interestingly, the cover then still went to receive the machine cancellation, at the same post-office (Kroměříž 1 - the only one here which has the machine).

Below, the stamp is used again, this time without the coupon, but with a hand-cancellation only, from Kroměříž 2 post-office located in the Main Square. This postcard shows the Baroque Church of St. John the Baptist, within a stone's throw of the said office.

Cover from Slovakia no. 4

Here's another bunch of splendid mail received lately from around the world. Due to further time constraints I will reduce my comments, but will show the lovely covers and postcards anyway, they speak for themselves:)

Slovakia: registered letter sent from Bratislava, 2 x Topolčany Castle (2010) with two coupons of the State Geological Institute, with two engraved wooden churches (East Slovakia, protected as a UNESCO WHS) and one offset printed coupon in the middle, taken from a sheet issued in 2008.

Thank you, Marian!!

Postcard from Poland no. 2

This is an impressive postcard received in January 2011 from Warsaw, showing the Palace of Culture and Science (Palac Kultury i Nauky) against a dramatic sunset.

The 3-zloty stamp was a bit of mystery to me. Before checking the Polish Post website, I tried to guess what it is related to... and had no idea... koi, a drop of water, and a blue stamp frame?? Well, the answer is... the stamp is taken out of a souvenir sheet which mentions the context on the border... The World Philatelic Exposition in Luoyang, China, held on 10-16 April 2009, and now it's obvious, my dear Watson:)

(An aside, in Polish I read that the stamp was issued on 16 "kwietnia" and I thought, ok, it's May - květen in Czech - but far from it! 16 kwietna is 16 April - duben in Czech... our languages are similar, but this is a truly false friend:)

Thank you, Marta, for this card!!

Cover from Slovakia no. 3

A great cover sent by Miloš. The 1.20 euro stamp was issued on 26 November 2010 in the ongoing art series (in the same tradition as the Czech one = large engraved stamps). This stamp shows a detail from the picture called the Coronation of Carl Robert of Anjou (1317), which can be found in the UNESCO WHS Cathedral Church of St. Martin in Spišská Kapitula. Another 1.20 euro portrait stamp (Madonna with the Child) was issued on the same day with the same nominal value.

The letter was sent through the town of Močenok in the Šala District, where a special cancellation was used on 31 January 2011, dedicated to St. Cyril and his discovery of the remains of St. Clement.

The list of the Slovak special cancellations can be found here. It looks like there are many more special cancellations on offer than in the Czech Republic.

Thank, you, Miloš!!

Postcard from France no. 7

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A lovely postcard received in October 2010 showing a view of Scandola Nature Reserve in Corsica, France, part of the UNESCO WHS: the Gulf of Porto - Calanche of Piana, Gulf of Girolata, Scandola Reserve. Scandola is famous for red cliffs, some 900 metres high, sand beaches, and practically inaccessible grottoes.

The stamp of 0.58 euro, issued on 8 September 2010, commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 by the French statesman Adolphe Crémieux to safeguard the human rights of Jews around the world (as Wikipedia says).

Thank you, Marie!!

Postcard from Chile

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A lovely postcard received a few days ago from Santiago de Chile showing Bellavista Hill in Valparaíso, in central Chile, one of the its most important seaports and the seat of the National Congress of Chile. Since 2003 the Historic Quarter of Valparaíso has been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

The postage of 310 pesos is covered by a 290 pesos Christmas stamp (issued on 26 November 2010) and a se-tenant duo of definitive stamps from 2008 showing typical Chilean characters, organillero (organ-grinder) and palomita (not sure about this one, heh, maybe popcorn vendor?, my dictionary does not help me:)).

The print-run of the Christmas stamp was 50,000. Out of curiosity, I checked the print-run of the last year's Czech Christmas stamp, which was... 15 million pieces! Mind-boggling difference, especially since the population of Chile is 17 million, and of Czech Rep. 10 million. The explication might be the tradition of sending greeting cards which is very strong here, but still...

Thank you, Hernán, for this beauty!!

Postcard from Russia no. 3

A great postcard received a couple of days ago from Moscow, showing the lower Katun River and the Aya Lake, part of the Golden Mountains of Altai UNESCO World Heritage Site, located largely in the Altai Republic, Russia, and in Kazakhstan (Central Asia). The great thing is that the self-tenant stamps on the right are related to the Altai mountains too, they show (clockwise) Belukha Mount, Lake Teletskoye and the the River Katun. The set was issued on 18 November 2004 in 200,000 copies. The rest of the postage is covered by a stamp with the coat of arms of the city of Yaroslavl (10.5 roubles). Thank you, Julia!!

Postcard of the Big Cypress Swamp in Florida, USA

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A postcard showing the Big Cypress Swamp in the Everglades National Park in southern Florida, one of the US UNESCO World Heritage Sites, consisting of subtropical wetlands designated as one of only three wetland areas of global importance.

The two first class (44c) stamps are taken from a set of ten stamps with homeless pets photographed for a project called Animal Rescue issued on 30 April 2010. Another one is here.
Thank you, Erin!

Postcard from Australia no. 2

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A fantastic postcard received today from Western Australia, showing three views from around Cape Naturaliste near Dunsborough: Sugarloaf Rock, the lighthouse and a beautiful sunset. The lovely pictures are accompanied by equally lovely stamps, hand cancelled at Perth Mail Centre on 30 August 2010. The stamp on the left shows The Indian Pacific train from a series called Great Australian Railway Journeys issued on 7 May 2010, the stamp in the middle was issued on 6 April 2010 on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth's birthday, and the self-adhesive stamp on the right is part of a series from 25 May 2010 dedicated to Australian World Heritage Sites and shows Purnululu National Park. The other stamps present Kakadu National Park, Gondwana Rainforests, and Tasmanian Wilderness.

Interestingly, the withdrawal from sale for these stamps is set for 30 November 2010, apparently an Australian specialty.

Thank you Heather, for this perfect card:)

Cover from Spain no. 5

A fantastic cover received a few days ago from Carballo, Galicia, Spain, with three brand new Spanish stamps. The 0.34 eurocent stamps (issued on 20 April 2010 in 320,000 copies) shows Carlos María de Castro (1810 - 1893), Spanish architect and urbanist, responsible for planning the regulated expansion of the city of Madrid in the 19th century. The stamp has a map of this expansion (ensanche) in its background.

The two nice photographic stamps with the nominal value of 0.45 eurocent, issued on 15 April 2010, feature important sights of the towns in Baeza (Palacio de Jabalquinto) and Úbeda (Casa de las Torres), in the province of Jaén, Andalusia. Both were inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2003 thanks to the many well-preserved examples of Italian Renaissance architecture in Spain.

Gracias, José-Luis!

Postcard from Peru

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A postcard from Peru, showing the historic centre of the city of Arequipa (Arequipa Region), in the Andes in the south of the country. In the picture there is the Plaza de Arms and the cathedral, overshadowed by the "El Misti" volcano. The historic centre of Arequipa is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The single stamp of 5.50 Peruvian nuevos soles, postmarked on 26 May 2010 in Arequipa, is taken from a sheet of four stamps issued in 2007 (even if the stamp bears the year 2006) dedicated to viceregal architecture. The viceregal period (periodo virreinal) lasted from 1542 to 1824 when Peru was part of the Spanish empire.

Thank you, Teresa!

Cover from Italy no. 7

I am back after a hectic week or so, with another fantastic registered cover from Giovanni! With the set of two engraved stamps issued on 31 October 2008, in a series dedicated to the Italian UNESCO protected sites... in this case, it is Val d'Orcia (0.60 euro), Tuscan landscape modified in Renaissance times to reflect the ideals of good governance and celebrated by many painters of that period, and the historic centre of Urbino (2.80 euro) in the Marche region, a walled city, another Renaissance place of independent culture and education. I find this light blue Urbino stamp magnificent!

Grazie, Giovanni:-)

Postcard from China no. 4

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A splendid view of Barkhor Street and the Potala Palace (at the back) in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, named after Mount Potala. The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The golden kaiserihind (Teinopalpus aureus) stamp is taken from a souvenir sheet showing wild animals under the first-grade state protection, issued on 25 February 2000 (code 2000-3, 10-2).
The two se-tenant stamps show the Hangzhou Bay cross-sea bridge which was linked up on 14 June 2007 and opened on 1 May 2008 and is the second-longest bridge in the world. The stamps were issued on 18 June 2009 and bear the code 2009-11, 2-1 and 2-2.

Thank you, Huang, for this beauty!