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!