Uzbekistan , Country # 196

Well, today I received just a single postcard, but it's a keeper. It is from Uzbekistan and it is country # 196 from which I have now received a stamped postcard. It is from Anton Rakitskiy of Tashkent. It wasn't all that easy arranging for this postcard. At first Anton advised that one can receive postcards in Uzbekistan but you can not send them out as postcards. They must be in an envelope. Well that wouldn't work for my collection. What to do , what to do ? Anton and I emailed back and forth and came up with a solution. He took a postcard to the local post office and put a stamp on it and then asked for it to be postmarked. He told them at the post office that he would then put the stamped, postmarked card in an envelope and mail it. The post office people went for it and in addition to a stamped postcard from Uzbekistan, I also have a stamped cover from Uzbekistan. It's a win, win. Later emails from Anton now advise that postcards without envelopes can be sent from Uzbekistan post offices. They must , however , meet international standards if they are to be posted without an envelope.
The postcard shows the hills around the Tashkent area. Anton used a 2001 definitive stamp showing the coat of arms. The envelope shows 2 stamps from 2005 , also the coat of arms issue.

Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in central Asia, formerly a part of the Soviet Union. It is bordered by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. It has been an independent republic since December 1991. The country is a dry landlocked country, it is one of two double landlocked countries in the world- a country completely surrounded by land locked countries. The only other is Liechtenstein. Uzbekistan has an area of 447,400 square kilometers and a population of approximately 27.5 million persons. Its capital city is Tashkent. The average summer temperature is 40 c while the average winter temperature is 0 c.

The 3 stamps that Anton used are the only Uzbekistan stamps in my collection. Hopefully I will get more. Thanks to Anton for this postcard and his extra efforts at the post office.
I now have just 3 of the former Soviet Republics left from which I still need a stamped postcard. They are Tajikistan, Kyrgystan and Kazakhstan. As far as I know , a card from Kazakhstan is on the way. Hopefully it arrives soon. Stay tuned.
I also want to show 2 stamps that I received on an envelope that arrived today from New Zealand. I am showing them simply because I think they are outstanding. They are from a set of 6 issued 12 Jun 1991 showing scenic rock formations. I checked the complete set out on the New Zealand Post website and found all of them to be just as outstanding . I would be pleased as punch to have the whole set in my collection.

That's it for today. Hopefully I will have something more tomorrow.
Cheers,