Postcards, Postcards, and more Postcards

Again today I have three postcards to show and write about. They come from 3 different areas of the world. From the hot desert island of Bahrain, to the snow and cold of Greenland, to the sand and sun of Mauritius. First up is the Bahrain postcard. It shows The Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is a 400 year old mesquite tree in Bahrain which is considered a natural wonder. This unique tree stands alone in the desert about 2 kilometers from Jebel Al-Dukhan, the highest point of land in Bahrain. The source of water for this tree still remains a mystery, because it stands in a place completely free of water whatsoever. Truly a mystical wonder. This card was sent by a Postcrosser who goes by the name of Sheyma the Humanette. She has sent me a number of postcards for which I am quite grateful. Thanks Sheyma. The stamp used is 1 of 16 different values in a multi-sheet from 2002, all bearing the likeness of The king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.

The second card from Mauritius was sent by Beth Taylor, who actually lives in Saudi Arabia. Mauritius is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean , about 900 kilometers east of Madagascar. Mauritius , in 1847, became the 5th country to issue postage stamps.The two types of stamps issued then, the red penny and the blue penny are probably the most famous stamps in the world, being very rare and considered to be among the most valuable. Beth used a couple of very nice stamps on this card. They were issued in 2006 as a set of 4 showing traditional games for children. The games consist of marbles, as shown on the card, hop-scotch, kite flying and sapsiwaye ( something like hacky sack). I'd certainly like to have the complete set of 4.

The final card for today is from Greenland . It has 2 different stamps , one a definitive from 2002 showing Margrethe II , Queen of Denmark and the other is 1 of a set of 3 issued 2006 showing eatable mushrooms. The card was sent from the Hotel Arctic in Ilulissat, which is located 250 km north of the Arctic Circle in Disko Bay at the west coast of Greenland. Ilulissat is Greenland's most popular tourist destination on account of its proximity to the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Hertitage Site. Greenland, the world's largest island, is a self-governing Danish province located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

That's all for today, more tomorrow , hopefully.