Sudan, Italy, Mauritius, Ukraine and Russia

Here I am again, the third update in three days. I have a few cards for today from Sudan, Italy, Mauritius, Ukraine and Russia. Here we go.

Sudan is up first - This card from David was sends greetings from Meroe, Sudan. Mero is an ancient city on the east bank of the Nile., about 200 km north east of Khartoum. The city is marked by more than three hundred pyramids in three groups. We can see a few of the pyramids on David's card. In June 2011, the Archaeological Sites of Meroe were listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. David used 2 nice large stamps here. The top stamp was issued in 2008 and is 1 of a set of 4 issued for the 5th Sudan Population Census. I like the slogan on the stamp "Stand Up And Be Counted ."The stamp on the bottom was issued in 2009 and is 1 of 3 put out for the Merowe Dam and Transmission Line.
Now let's look at the Italy card, and it comes from Turin. The card celebrates the 150th Anniversary of the Unity of Italy (1861-2011). Turin is well known as the home of the Shroud of Turin and the home of Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo. It is sometimes called The Detroit of Italy. Turin was also the host city for the 2006 Winter Olympics. Three great stamps were used on this card. The smaller stamp on the left was issue in 2011 to mark the 150 years of Italian unity. The middle stamp , 1 of a set of 4, was issued in 2004 to celebrate the upcoming 2006 Olympics to be held at Torino. The final stamp is a Europa issue for forests, 1 of a set of 2 , issued this year.

Next we have a card from the island of Mauritius. It's a multi view card showing many of the flowers of Mauritius. David used 2 indigenous flower stamps from a set of 12 definitives from 2009.

Card # 4 is from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It gives us a look at the Church of St. Stanislaus in Chortkov, Ukraine. Quite impressive looking. Lots of stamps to talk about on this card. Let's do the top row first. Far left is a Red Jug Handicrafts stamp issued in 2011, in a set of 8. Now from next let to right : 1 of 4 issued for The Kiev Metro in 2010; 1 of 4 issued in 2009 Nature Reserve; 1 of 4 issued in 2009 for the National Song. The 3 alike stamps were issued in 2008, a definitive featuring a Pipe.

And, now the last card for today. It comes from Svetlana who lives in Tomsk, Siberia, Russia. The city of a half million is located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004. Winters in Tomsk are long and sometimes cold. The average temperature in January is between -21 C and -13 C. The lowest temperature recorded in Tomsk was -55 C in January 1931. Now that's COLD. Svetlana's cards is of the main building of Siberian State Medical University. It is one of the oldest and highest rated medical schools in all Russia. Svetlana used 2 stamps , the top stamp is from 2008 and is 1 of 2 issued for the Russian Federal Council. The second stamp was issued 2011 and features a Panda Bear.

So ends another update. Thanks to all who sent the cards mentioned, especially David L and David O, along with the Postcrossers for their cards.

One other item , a small carry over from my last update. I mentioned a card from Romania sent by Danut. I always give a plug here for anyone with a postcard blog, at least once. Well I didn't know that Danut had a postcard blog until today when I discovered it. It is called "World, Come To My Home ! "and here it is . I also like his subtitle "A Day Without A Postcard Is A Wasted Day . "
Take care and I'll be back here tomorrow , for the 4th day in a row.