Six Postcards, Two New Countries, #203 and 204

Well, I am back, after 4 days away in Saskatchewan, Moose Jaw to be exact. Moose Jaw is the home base of the Canadian Forces Air Demonstration Snow Birds. If you are ever in their vicinity, be sure to look up. Now back to postcards. While away I received 6 postcards, 4 of which I will show here. First , let me say that I received cards from 2 new countries in my collection. These are Kyrgyzstan, country #203 and Kingdom of Tonga , country #204.
The first card shown today is from Ieper, Belgium. It was sent by fellow blogger Thomas. The card shows the Menin Gate Memorial, located in Ypres (known as Ieper in Dutch), in Flanders, Belgium. The gate opened on 24July 1927. It is a monument dedicated to the missing British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the battles around Ypres and who do not have a known grave, a total of 54,338. The citizens of Ypres wanted to express their gratitude towards those who had given their lives for Belgium's freedom. So every evening at 8:00 PM , buglers from the local fire brigade perform The Last Post. To date , it has been performed every evening since the gate's opening 24 July 1927 , a total of 27,556 times. Thomas used 2 stamps on the card. The smaller bird stamp , issued in 2003, is 1 of a set of 3 definitives., all featuring birds. The other stamp , issued in 2008, commemorates the Van Buuren Museum in Brussels.
The cancellation is a special cancel from the museum on Oct 18th which might be the first day of issue for the stamp. Perhaps Thomas can confirm that for me.

The second card for today is from Peoples Republic of China. It was sent by Postcrosser Tannie. Tannie attends 1 of 2 Grand Canadian Academies in China. Her card shows the Ruins of Guga Kingdom in Ngari, Tibet, China. The Guga Kingdom was a Tibetan Kingdom founded in about the tenth century . The ruins consist of 879 caves, 445 houses, 58 blockhouses and 28 stupas. Tannie used 2 definitive stamps , both issued in 2002. The smaller one was issued for the environment and the larger features a bird.

Next up is the card from Kyrgyzstan, new country #203. Kyrgyzstan is located in Cenntral Asia. Landlocked, it is bordered by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. The country celebrated its independence from the Soviet Union on August 32, 1991. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek. The card shows The Empire State Building in New York, but was indeed sent , mailed and postmarked from Kyrgyzstan. The card was sent by Michael Licwinko who writes the blog "Scribblings of a Peace Corp Volunteer". He is teaching English at a state university over there. Michael used 4 stamps on the card, 3 of them different. The two small definitives on the left were issued in 2008.The values of these two are different. The other stamp , the larger one was issued in 2005. It commemorates T. Sydykbekov, a National Hero, who helped write the words to the Kirghiz National Anthem.

The final card for today is from The Kingdom of Tonga, new country # 204. The Kingdom of Tonga, in the south Pacific ocean comprises 171 islands, stretching over a distance of 800 kilometres in a north-south line. Tonga is the only sovereigh monarchy among the island nations of the Pacific Ocean. Its capital is Nuku' alofa. The present king is Siaosi Tupou V, who was coronated 1st August 2008. The card was sent by Sarah LaRosa who writes on the blog Sarah's Faka-Fabulous Blog, about her experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer on Vava'u , Tonga. Sarah's card shows the new king along with 3 former kings and 1 former queen . Sarah used a new 2008 stamp commemorating the recent coronation of His Majesty King George Tupou V.

The other 2 cards ,not shown, were Official Postcrossing cards from Belgium and Germany. All in all quite a good day for postcards. Tomorrow's posting will be quite good, also. The mail lady just arrived and dropped 5 more postcards in my mailbox. So be sure to drop by again tomorrow for more postcards and stamps fun. Thanks to Sarah, Michael, Tannie and Thomas for their cards , without which there would be no blog.

As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.