Postcard from Hungary

This is my first postcard from my north neighbor Hungary. Hungary is a parliamentary constitutional republic in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, Slovenia to the west, Austria to the northwest, and Ukraine to the northeast. The country's capital and largest city is Budapest

Following centuries of successive habitation by Celts, Romans, Huns, Slavs, Gepids and Avars, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th-century by the Hungarian grand prince Árpád in the homeland-conquest. His great-grandson Stephen I ascended to the throne in 1000 CE, converting the country to a Christian kingdom. By the 12th century, Hungary became a middle power within the Western world, reaching a golden age by the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526 and about 150 years of partial Ottoman occupation (1541–1699), Hungary came under Habsburg rule, and later formed a significant part of the Austro–Hungarian Empire (1867–1918).

Hungary's current borders were first established by the Treaty of Trianon (1920) after World War I, when the country lost 71% of its territory, 58% of its population, and 32% of ethnic Hungarians. Following the interwar period, Hungary joined the Axis Powers in World War II, suffering significant damage and casualties. Hungary came under the influence of the Soviet Union, which contributed to the establishment of a four-decade-long communist dictatorship (1947–1989).

Stamps:
Antique Furniture - Chair by Pál Eszterházy, 1916, issued on 09.02.2001
EUROPA - Think Green, issued on 06.05.2016.


Thank you Andrea!

Cover from Macedonia

I have received cover from Macedonia with two postcards inside and nice stamp set on cover.

On first postcard you can see Macedonian cuisine. Macedonian cuisine reflects Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences and shares characteristics of other Balkan cuisines. The relatively warm climate of the country provides excellent growth conditions for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits. Macedonian cuisine is also noted for the diversity and quality of its dairy products, wines, and local alcoholic beverages, such as rakija.Tavče-gravče and mastika are considered the national dish and drink of the Republic of Macedonia.

Second postcard shows Macedonian humor.

Beautiful stamps on cover. This is complete set World Wildlife Foundation - Eastern Imperial Eagle, issued on 01.02.2001. The eastern imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) is a large species of bird of prey that breeds from southeastern Europe to western and central Asia. Most populations are migratory and winter in northeastern Africa and southern and eastern Asia.The eastern imperial eagle is a large eagle with a length of 72–90 cm, a wingspan of 1.8–2.16 m and a weight of 2.45–4.55 kilograms. Females are about a quarter larger than males.

Thank you Predrag!

Åland Toys

Very cute maxicard from Åland Islands. This is Plasto duck, from set Åland Toys, issued on 10.05.2010. All toys from this set are made by Plasto, a Finnish manufacturer of high quality plastic toys. Factory was founded in 1954 and is located in Åland islands. Stamp designers are  Kjell Söderlund and Cecilia Mattsson. Photography on maxicard is made by Kjell Söderlund.

Maxicard is posted on first July from Mariehamn, capital city of Åland Islands.


Thank you Lilla!

Sunday morning by Jaime Zollars

This is painting Sunday morning by Jaime Zollars. Jaime Zollars is a painter and printmaker. She teaches in the Illustration Program at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Jaime is inspired by fairy tales and Flemish painters, non-fiction books, forgotten paper, found textures, and flea market photographs.

Stamps:
Views of Our Planets - Earth, issued on 31.05.2016.
Batman 75th Anniversary, issued on 09.10.2014.
Colorful Celebrations, issued on 02.06.2016.



Thank you Charlotte!

Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

I am delighted! I am big fan of space exploration, and this is my first postcard from Kazakhstan!
Baikonur Cosmodrome is Earth's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about 200 kilometres east of the Aral Sea, north of the Syr Darya river, near Tyuratam railway station, at 90 metres above sea level. It is leased by the Kazakh Government to Russia and is managed jointly by the Roscosmos State Corporation and the Russian Aerospace Forces. The shape of the area leased is an ellipse, measuring 90 kilometres east–west by 85 kilometres north–south, with the cosmodrome at the centre. It was originally built by the Soviet Union in the late 1950s as the base of operations for its space program. Both Vostok 1, the first manned spacecraft in human history, and before it, Sputnik 1, the world's first orbital spaceflight of any sort, were launched from one of Baikonur's launch pads, which is now known as Gagarin's Start, named after Yuri Gagarin.

This stamp is from set of two stamps Water Birds - joint Issue with Azerbaijan, issued od 24.11.2010. Bird on stamp is Phoenicopterus roseus - Greater flamingo.


Thank you Sergey!

Tajikistan: Yurt in Pamir Mountains

This beautiful postcard is my first card from Tajikistan, Tajikistan is a mountainous, landlocked country in Central Asia with an estimated 8 million people in 2013, and an area of 143,100 km2. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. Pakistan lies to the south, separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Traditional homelands of Tajik people included present-day Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

On this postcard you can see traditional yurt in Pamir Mountains. A traditional yurt is a portable, round tent covered with skins or felt and used as a dwelling by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. Yurts have been a distinctive feature of life in Central Asia for at least three thousand years.

Stamps:
Asian Fauna - Argali, issued on 21.08.1992.
Red Crescent, issued on 01.03.2016.
Opera and ballet theatre, issued on 13.07.2014.



Thank you Matthew!

Postcrossing postcard from Malaysia

I have received wonderful postcard from Malaysia dedicated to Postcrossing. Postcrossing is an online project that allows its members to send and receive postcards from all over the world. The project's tag line is "send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!” Its members, also known as postcrossers, send postcards to other members and receive postcards back from other random postcrossers. Where the postcards come from is always a surprise.

Stamp is Grand opening of the World Scout Bureau, Kuala Lumpur (from set of three), issued on 18.06.2014.


Thank you Cary!

Map postcard from Brazil

I have received my second postcard with map of Brazil. Six important sights is marked on this unusual map. List is on picture bellow.

This postcard has no stamps or classic postmark. Only machine postmark.

Thank you Daniel.

Postcard from Bangladesh

This is my first postcard from Bangladesh! 

People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign country in South Asia. It forms the largest and eastern portion the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal. Located at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh is bordered by India and Myanmar and is separated from Nepal and Bhutan by the narrow Siliguri Corridor. Bangladesh is the world's eighth-most populous country.

Three of Asia's largest rivers, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna, flow through Bangladesh and form the fertile Bengal delta — the largest delta in the world. With rich biodiversity, Bangladesh is home to 700 rivers, most of the world's largest mangrove forest; rainforested and tea-growing highlands; a 600 km coastline with one of the world's longest beaches; and various islands, including a coral reef.

There's a lot of nice stamps on this postcard:
Mohastan Garh, issued on 01.08.1980.
The 8th National Scout Jamboree, issued on 16.01.2010.
Falco Tinnunculus, issued on 13.01.2013.
Postal Communications, issued on 21.12.1983.


Thank you Rahman!

Animals of Qatar

I have received my first postcard from Qatar, and it's beautiful! On this card you can see popular local animals: Arabian oryx, falcon and camel.

The Arabian oryx is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the Oryx genus, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved in zoos and private preserves, and was reintroduced into the wild starting in 1980.
In 1986, the Arabian oryx was classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and in 2011, it was the first animal to revert to vulnerable status after previously being listed as extinct in the wild.

The sport of falconry began over 5,000 years ago in Iran, and spread over the centuries to East and West. The sport was introduced to Qatar through Bedouin tribes who used the birds as a tool for hunting. They discovered that it was much easier to allow the raptors to take down birds migrating across the Arabian Peninsula than it was to shoot them down themselves.

Camel racing is a popular sport in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Australia, and Mongolia. Professional camel racing, like horse racing, is an event for betting and tourist attraction. Camels can run at speeds up to 65 km/h  in short sprints and they can maintain a speed of 40 km/h for an hour. Camels are often controlled by child jockeys, but allegations of human rights abuses have led to nationwide bans on underage labor in the UAE and Qatar.

First and third stamps are from set of 18 stamps Football World Cup - Japan and South Korea, but they are showing logos and mascots of all Football World Cups through history. On this two stamps you can see logos and mascots from Football World Cups in Mexico '70 and England '66. Date of issue is 31.05.2002.
Second stamp is from set Arab Games in Dora, issued on 09.12.2011. And last stamp is definitive stamp Sheik Hamed ibn Khalifa ath-Thani, issued on 16.11.1996. (from set of  eleven stamps). Very nice detail is map of Qatar between stamps.


Thank you Ashraf!

Palestine: Yasser Arafat square in Ramallah

On my second postcard from Palestine you can see Yasser Arafat square in Ramallah. In the center you can see a new monument which has a man climbing towards the Palestinian flag and symbolizes the Palestinian struggle for nationhood. His intimate relationship with his people is symbolized by the water at the bottom of the structure. The young lad, who is holding the flag of Palestine near the top of the lighthouse/tower symbolizes President Yasser Arafat’s dream of liberation, and is an expression of his famous statement: "A day will come when one of our boys or girls will raise the flag of Palestine over the walls of Jerusalem, the minarets of Jerusalem, and the churches of Jerusalem”.

This stamp is Mosquito (Culicidae), from six stamp set Animal Stories in the Holy Qura'n 2014, planned to be issued on  26.08.2014, but they are issued in January 2015.


Thank you Bahjat!

Palestine: Ramallah

I have received two postcards from Palestine! On first card you can see panoramic view of Ramallah.

Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 km  north of Jerusalem at an average elevation of 880 meters above sea level, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority. Ramallah was historically an Arab Christian town. Today Muslims form the majority of the population of nearly 27,092 in 2007, with Christians making up a significant minority.

Name of the city "Ramallah" is composed of "Ram," an Aramaic word that means "high place or mountain," and "Allah," the Arabic word for God, meaning "the Hill of God". Ancient rock-cut tombs have been found near Ramallah. Potsherds from the Crusader/Ayyubid and early Ottoman period have also been found there.
Ramallah has been identified with the Crusader place called Ramalie. Remains of a building with an arched doorway from the Crusader era, called al-Burj, have been identified, but the original use of the building is undetermined.

This stamp is Mosquito (Culicidae), from six stamp set Animal Stories in the Holy Qura'n 2014, but they are issued in January 2015. The series was originally planned for August 2014, and if you find FDC you will see first-day postmark dated 26.08.2014.


Thank you Bahjat!

J. P. Wynne High School from Breaking Bad

I have received another fine postcard from one of my favorite TV shows Breaking Bad!

J. P. Wynne High School is a public high school located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Walter White was formerly employed as a chemistry teacher at the school. It is also the school where Walter White Jr. and Jesse Pinkman attended as a student.

After the Wayfarer 515 disaster, the school held an assembly to discuss the tragedy. Several students and faculty spoke about their feelings.

Walt took a lot of time off from teaching while battling lung cancer and expanding his meth production. Walt's behavior becomes increasingly erratic and when talking with the assistant principal, Carmen Molina, he attempts to kiss her, which results in him being placed on "indefinite leave".

Postage is payed with ATM label The 100th Anniversary of the Easter Rising, issued on 24.03.2016.
The Easter Rising was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week, April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent Irish Republic while the United Kingdom was heavily engaged in World War I. It was the most significant uprising in Ireland since the rebellion of 1798, and the first armed action of the Irish revolutionary period.

Almost 500 people were killed in the Easter Rising. About 54% were civilians, 30% were British military and police, and 16% were Irish rebels. More than 2,600 were wounded. Many of the civilians were killed as a result of the British using artillery and heavy machine guns, or mistaking civilians for rebels. Others were caught in the crossfire in a crowded city. The shelling and the fires it caused left parts of inner city Dublin in ruins.


Thank you Claudia!

Germany: North Sea

I have received wonderful postcard from Germany! The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of around 570,000 square kilometres.

Stamps are Tulip, issued on 08.09.2005, and Bruno Haus in Tel Aviv - 50 years of diplomatic relations with Israel, issued on 07.05.2015.


Thank you Dorothee!

Russia: F1 Stadium in Sochi

The Sochi Autodrom , previously known as the Sochi International Street Circuit and the Sochi Olympic Park Circuit, is a 5.848 km Formula One racing street circuit in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

The circuit is similar to the Beijing Olympic Green Circuit and the Sydney Olympic Park Circuit in that it runs around a former Olympic complex; in this case, the Sochi Olympic Park site, scene of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The inaugural World Championship Russian Grand Prix took place in 2014, beginning a seven-year contract. The 5.848-kilometre circuit is the third-longest circuit on the Formula One calendar, behind Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Silverstone in the UK.

Great matching stamps! First one is from set of four - Happy New Year - Winter Olympics 2014 - Sochi, issued on 29.11.2013. Second one World Championship "Formula 1". Grand Prix of Russia, issued on 12.10.2014.


Thank you Olga!

Burundi: German Fault

This my first postcard from Burundi!

Burundi is a landlocked country in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa, bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. It is considered part of Central Africa. Burundi's capital is Bujumbura. The southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika.

A few miles from Rutana as the crow flies, a magnificent landscape occasioned by a great collapse through which extends a spectacular panorama of the vast depression of Kumoso. There are a few stones from the old boma that the Germans had built while fleeing from the Belgian forces, the reason why the name of "Germans’ faults."

This stamp is Homoderus mellyi & Leonotis leonurus, from set od four stamps. Date of issue  is 22.09.2014. Homoderus mellyi is a species of stag beetle in the family Lucanidae. Leonotis leonurus, also known as lion's tail and wild dagga, is a plant species in the Lamiaceae (mint) family. The plant is a broadleaf evergreen large shrub native to South Africa and southern Africa, where it is very common.

Thank you Deo!

Birds of Fiji

This is my first postcard from Fiji, and it's wonderful!

The avifauna of Fiji is the richest in West Polynesia. Numerous families reach the farthest east of their range, and the island is home to several endemic species and genera, as well as sharing several more endemics with its close neighbours Tonga and Samoa.The avifauna of Fiji include a total of 149 species, of which 27 are endemic, 13 have been introduced by humans and 34 are rare or accidental. Numerous species listed have been extirpated from Fiji and are not included in the species count, although they are listed where known. Of these, 17 species are globally threatened.

It's interesting story about word Bula! from postcard. Bula is the national greeting that seems to mean: hello, how are you, it’s a sunny day, take your time, have a good day, hope you and your extended family are well, play nicely. But sometimes it also can mean: goodbye, buy me a drink, I’m bored, I’m hungry or I’ve run out of conversation. It’s a nice all-purpose, well-meaning word that you can just roll out on any occasion.

This nice matching stamp is Fiji Goshawk (Accipiter rufitorques), from set od eight stamps. Date of issue  is 25.07.1995. The Fiji goshawk is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It was once considered to be the same species as the brown goshawk of Australia and New Caledonia. It is endemic to Fiji, where it occurs on the larger islands of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kadavu, Gau and Ovalau.[2] It occupies a range of wooded habitats in Fiji, from natural rainforest to coconut plantations and urban gardens and parks.The Fiji goshawk ranges in size from 30–40 cm, making it medium-sized for its genus. It exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the females being larger than the males.The Fiji goshawk feeds on birds as large as pigeons, insects, introduced rodents and reptiles.



Thank you Umer!

Netherlands: Café Terrace at Night by Van Gogh

Café Terrace at Night, also known as The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, is a coloured oil painting executed by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh on an industrially primed canvas of size 25 in Arles, France, mid-September 1888. The painting is not signed, but described and mentioned by the artist in three letters. There is also a large pen drawing of the composition which originates from the artist's estate.

This stamp is Postcrossing, from set od ten different stamps. Issue date is 29.03.2016. On this stamp you can see famous Rembrandt’s painting The Night Watch. Sheet of 10 different stamps features also Delta Works, Frisian Islands, Hoge Veluwe, Binnenhof, Alkmaar's cheese market, Bollenvelden, Giethoorn, Marken and Zaanse Schans.


Thank you Tjarda!