Nigeria: Lagos Easter Carnival

Carnival is a festive season that occurs immediately before Lent (the last celebration before lent); the main events are usually during February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life. Carnival  was brought to Lagos Island by Brazilians who settled around Campos area in Lagos State and on Lagos Island.

Stamps are definitives protected with holograms:
Lander Brothers Anchorage, issued on 01.02.2011.
Argungu Fishing Festival, issued on 09.10.2010.


Thank you Taouvik!

Postcard from Benin

Republic of Benin and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. The majority of its population lives on the small southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city and economic capital. Benin is a tropical nation, highly dependent on agriculture.

Stamp is Coat of Arms, issued on 01.01.2008.

Thank you Taouvik!

Postcard from Mali

Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of just over 1,240,000 square kilometers. The population of Mali is 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako. Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire.  In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, making it a part of French Sudan. French Sudan joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali.

This stamps are from set of five stamps Serval (Leptailurus serval). All stamps are same, only denominations are different. Issue date is 11.01.2014.


Thank you Taouvik!

Map postcard from Bonaire

Bonaire is an island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Together with Aruba and Curaçao, it forms the group known as the ABC islands, located less than a hundred miles off the north coast of South America near the western part of Venezuela. Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution in 2010, when the island became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands.

This is definitive stamp with logo of local post operator FXDC issued on 10.10.2014.


Thank you Arnold!

Serbia: 100th Anniversary of Toplica Uprising

New Serbian stamp dedicated to 100th Anniversary of Toplica Uprising comes tomorrow! The Toplica Uprising was a Serb rebellion in 1917 carried out by Serbian guerrilla in the Toplica District against the Bulgarian occupation force in the eastern part of the Kingdom of Serbia, occupied since October 1915. The rebellion lasted from 21 February to 25 March 1917. The rebellion included the areas of Toplica, Jablanica, Jastrebac, eastern and central parts of Kopaonik.

On March 12, the Bulgarian counter-attack started under the command of Alexander Protogerov involving IMRO forces led by Tane Nikolov. Bulgarian and Austro-Hungarian authorities worked together. IMRO commander and Bulgarian officer Todor Aleksandrov orchestrated the most violent actions committed by Bulgarian paramilitary. After several days of fighting, the Bulgarians entered Prokuplje on 14 March and the Austro-Hungarians entered Kuršumlija on 16 March. As of 25 March, the order there was fully restored. In the battles, several thousand people were killed, including civilians. In April 1917, Pećanac with his guerrillas, attacked a railway station. On May 15, Pećanac entered the old Bulgarian border and invaded Bosilegrad, which was burned. Then his band withdrew to Kosovo, controlled then by the Austro-Hungarians. The Allies opened a new front at Salonika in June but the Serbian Army was unable to break through the Bulgarian lines. After reemerging again for a short time, in September – October 1917 Pećanac again disappeared. In October 1917 the Austro-Hungarian command created entirely Albanian paramilitary detachments to capture the rest of the Serbian rebels into the mountains and in December 1917, Kosta Vojinović was killed.

The uprising is a notable event in the history of Serbia in World War I. It was the only rebellion in the territories occupied by the armies of the Central Powers.

Chile: Torres del Paine

Torres del Paine National Park is a national park encompassing mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. The park is located 112 km north of Puerto Natales and 312 km north of Punta Arenas. Paine means "blue" in the native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language and is pronounced PIE-nay.

This interesting stamp is from set The 3rd Anniversary of the Rescue of 33 Miners at the San José Mine, issued on 30.10.2013.


Thank you Fernando!

Easter Island - Rapa Nui

Easter Island or Rapa Nui is a Chilean island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapa Nui people. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected within Rapa Nui National Park. On this postcard you can see woman in Rapa Nui costume during Tapati festival.

Stamps are from set of eight stamps Valparaiso - World Heritage, issued on 12.07.2010.


Thank you Fernando!

Postcard from Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, 1,412 kilometers directly east of mainland Australia's Evans Head, and about 900 kilometers from Lord Howe Island. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia. Together with two neighboring islands, it forms one of Australia's external territories. It has 1,796 inhabitants living on a total area of about 35 km2. Its capital is Kingston.

Unfortunately, no stamps on this postcard, only postmark for payed postage. Australia Post has taken over Norfolk Island post, and Norfolk Island stamps are no longer valid. And they use this ugly postmark in transitional period.


Thank you Kristi!

Two postcards from Egypt

I received two postcards from Egypt. First card shows various landmarks of Egypt: Philae Temple, Sphinx , Karnak and The Great Pyramid of Giza.

Stamp is Pharaoh Akhenaten, issued on 07.10.2013.

On second postcard you can see famous ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Alphabet.


Thank you Chrissie!

United Nations Headquarters in New York

The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River.


The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) is the postal agency of the United Nations. It issues postage stamps and postal stationery, denominated in United States dollars for the United Nations offices in New York, in Swiss francs for the offices in Geneva and in euros (formerly schillings) for the offices in Vienna. Postage rates charged are identical to those of the host nation. This postcard is sent from United Nations Headquarters in New York.

On this stamps you can see Addax nasomaculatus or white antelope. It's one of four stamps from set COP17 Eye on Africa issued on 24.09.2016.


Thank you Humba!

Aruba: Oranjestad

Oranjestad (Orange Town) is the capital and largest city of Aruba. Oranjestad is located on the southern coast near the western end of the island country. In the local language, Papiamento, Oranjestad is often referred to simply as "Playa". As of 2015, the population of the capital was around 35,000.

The town was built around Fort Zoutman shortly after it was built in 1796 . Initially the town had no official name, being known only as the town on the Bay of Horses, a place from which native-bred horses were raised and exported to neighboring Curaçao. The town has ever since been the capital city of the island.

Both stamps are from set of fourteen stamps Church Alto Vista, issued on 09.03.2009.


Thank you Trupti!

Christmas cover from Singapore

I received this Christmas cover from Singapore. Release date for cover was 25th December 2016. Cover designer is Johnny Lowis, who sent me this cover with very nice postmark. But this Christmas stamp is issued on 19.10.2016, as a part of set of eight stamps called Festivals.

There is also few stamps at the back of this cover:
Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray, issued on 16.11.1994.
The 25th Anniversary of Autonomous State (from set of six), issued on 09.08.1984.


Thank you Johnny!

Year of the Rooster on cover from Ukraine

Four Year of the Rooster stamps on cover from Ukraine! Stamp size is 40x40 mm, print run 140.000, perforation 13½, and release date is 11.11.2016.

Rooster (or Chicken) ranks the tenth among the Chinese zodiac animals. In Chinese culture, Rooster represents fidelity and punctuality, for it wakes people up on time. People born in the year of the Rooster are beautiful, kind-hearted, hard-working, courageous, independent, humorous and honest. They like to keep home neat and organized. On the other side, they might be arrogant, self-aggrandizing, persuasive to others and wild as well as admire things or persons blindly.

Second stamp on cover is definitive stamp English Oak - Quercus robur, issued on 03.02.2012.

Thank you Roman!

Serbia: Easter 2017

New stamps released today by Pošta Srbije (Serbian Post)! This is Easter 2017, and we have two stamps with old frescos, both from Studenica monastery. First stamp is 16th century fresco Last Supper. Second stamp is Crucifixion of Jesus, from year 1209.

Here you can see First day cover, and bellow you can this two stamps in 25 stamps sheets.

Postcard from Christmas Island

Christmas Island is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. Christmas Island is located in the Indian Ocean, around 350 kilometers south of Java and around 1,550 kilometers north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland.

Christmas Island has a population of just over 2,000 residents, the majority of whom live in settlements on the northern tip of the island. The main settlement is Flying Fish Cove. The first European to sight the island was Richard Rowe of the Thomas in 1615. The island was later named on Christmas Day 1643 by Captain William Mynors, but only settled in the late 19th century.

In 1958, the island received its own postage stamps after being put under Australian custody. It had a large philatelic and postal independence, managed first by the Phosphate Commission (1958–1969) and then by the island's administration (1969–93). This ended on 2 March 1993 when Australia Post became the island's postal operator; Christmas Island stamps may be used in Australia and Australian stamps may be used on the island. And in this case, unfortunately, sender used only Australian stamps, but postmark is very cool:

Maria Island, issued on 05.03.2007.
Rottnest Island, issued on 05.03.2007.
Christmas 2016, issued on 31.10.2016


Thank you Anita!

Finland: Million Miles Away mini sheet

After a long time, i finally manage to obtain this stamp set! I am big fan of Children Of Bodom, Apocalyptica, Nightwish and Him, i am very happy to finally receive this gem! Other featured bands in this booklet are The Rasmus and Hanoi Rocks. This set was released on 11.09.2015. Print run is 150.000.

Designer was Klaus Welp: “For each stamp, I selected a band photo and a logotype that together resemble a band poster,” says Klaus Welp, the graphic artist that designed the Million miles away sheet. The background of the sheet depicts the green room backstage in the legendary Tavastia rock club, which Welp describes as an archaeological treasure of Finnish rock ’n’ roll.

This is front cover of this booklet, and this is so far nicest booklet cover i ever seen!

I received this mini sheet in this cover with stamps:

Meteorology: Archipelago (from set of three), issued on 24.01.2008.
WWF - Endangered Species (from set of three), issued on 09.09.2016.


Thank you very much Nina!

Nature of Ukraine

This nice postcard depicts animals species in Ukraine.

Stamps:

Euonymus europaeus, issued on 19.11.2015.
Common Aspen - Populus tremula, issued on 24.01.2012.
Region of Nikolaev, issued on 04.10.2003.

Thank you Bogdan!

Andaman Islands

The Andaman Islands form an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal between India, to the west, and Myanmar, to the north and east. Most are part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India, while a small number in the north of the archipelago, including the Coco Islands, belong to Myanmar. The Andaman Islands are home to the Sentinelese people, who have had no contact with any other people! The Andamans are theorized to be a key stepping stone in a great coastal migration of humans from Africa via the Arabian peninsula, along the coastal regions of the Indian mainland and towards Southeast Asia, Japan and Oceania.

Andaman Islands use regular Indian stamps. Here you can see:

Tadoba-Andhari National Park, issued on 29.07.2016.
B. R. Ambedkar, issued on 01.03.2009.
Varanasi City, issued on 24.10.2016.


Thank you Prakash Raj!

Postcrossing Meetup in Azerbaijan

My first postcard from Azerbaijan is from Postcrossing meetup held in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, in December. On postcard you can see view of Baku, and in the center is Flame Towers, the tallest skyscraper in Baku, Azerbaijan with a height of 190 m. The buildings consist of apartments, a hotel and office blocks. The estimated cost of Flame Towers is around US$350 million. Construction began in 2007, with completion in 2012. The Flame Towers consist of three buildings; south, east and west. The facades of the three Flame Towers are turned into gigantic display screens with the use of more than 10,000 high-power LED luminaires.

Stamps:

Caucasian Shepherd (Canis lupus familiaris), issued on 27.08.2014.
Formula 1 Grand Prix, Baku, Azerbaijan, issued on 10.06.2016.


Thank you Leyla!

Cover from Kazakhstan with Postcrossing stamp!

I have received cover from Kazakhstan with postcard inside. Stamps on cover:
The 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Ilyas Esenberlin, 1915-1983, issued on 18.06.2015.
Happy Postcrossing!, issued on 07.11.2015.
National Costume, issued on 20.11.2012.

Postcard inside is dedicated to national Kazakh hunting with eagles. Racing through the mountain range on horseback, the Kazakh people of the Altai Region in Western Mongolia practice their ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles. Around 70 Kazakh eagle hunters take part in the annual Golden Eagle festival and the following set of breathtaking images display the 4,000-year-old art in all of its glory.


Thank you Yevgeniya!