Sunday, January 15, 2012

United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, Paris, Postboxes, USS Philadelphia, SR/71, Sao Paulo, St. Barth, Lufthansa Airbus A380, and a Bridge

Wow, that's quite the title, lots of cards covering lots of stuff. Another of my mishmashes. So let's get to it , I have a lot to cover today.
Card # 1 - Comes from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. On it we can see Sheikh Zayed Mosque. It is the country's grand mosque and as such it is the key place of worship for Friday gatherings. The mosque has a capacity of over 40,000. It has 82 domes and 4 minarets. Jean Pierre posted this card 17 Dec 2011 and that month marked the 40th anniversary of the creation of The Emirates on 02 Dec 1971. One of the two stamps that were used commemorates this event. The other stamp, issued in 2009 is one of 7 Bird definitives.

The next card is from Sri Lanka. Pictured is Bogawantalawa, "The Golden Valley of Tea ". And no likes a good cup of tea more than me.
Ravindra sent this card and he has a couple of postcard blogs. One is called Discover the World on Trains and another is Lighthouses on Post Cards. The 2 stamps used are the 2011 Christmas stamps.

Jean Pierre's card showing Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is next. This Roman Catholic cathedral was completed in 1345. Three Marianne definitives , along with a 2010 commemorative depicting said cathedral were used.

Japanese postboxes appear on this next card. The card snows 3 styles from 1871, 1908, and 1962. I like 1908 the best. Masayo , a Postcrosser from Japan sent this card. I worked for a number of years with a young lady named Masayo. It's not her though. Here are the stamps Masayo used.

The next 2 cards are the result of a private swap with Kate. She operates a great postcard blog called deltiolog. We've swapped a few cards in the past and I hope we do so again. She has great cards and a huge bunch of great stamps as is evident on these cards.
Here's a card showing the USS Philadelphia. Now I've been collecting postcards for over 6 years and scanning postcard blogs for that amount of time and let me say, one doesn't see many submarine cards. The USS Philadelphia , a U.S. Navy nuclear class high speed attack submarine is seen churning along on the surface. The 360 foot, 6,900 ton vessel was launched on October 19, 1974 and decommissioned on June 25, 2010.

Here is Kate's 2nd card. It gives us a look at the SR/71 Reconnaissance Aircraft. Before I go any further , let me say that the photo is courtesy of the United States Air Force. I think the photographer could have moved slightly to the right and included both engines. The SR/71 served with the USAF from 1964 to 1998. Of 32 aircraft built, 12 were destroyed in accidents. None were lost due to enemy action. The Blackbird as it was commonly called was an advanced , long range, mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft. It operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface - to- air-missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outrun the missile. It's top speed was around 3,530+ km/h. It landed quite fast too, requiring a parachute at the rear to slow it down. This plane brings back memories for me from 1974-1978. I was living and working at Goose Bay , Labrador and the U.S.A.F. operated an airbase there at Goose Air Base. I seen the SR/71 up close, I seen them land and I seen them take off. Take off was best, using just a small amount of runway, they lifted off and went straight up like a missile. Out of sight in seconds. Those were the days.
That's 2 great cards , Kate. I'm showing the stamps from both cards together. On the sub card we see a 1993 Joe Louis stamp and 2 of 4 Space Projects stamps issued in 1992. On the SR/71 card we have a 1994 issued Winter Olympic stamp, 1 of 5 in a set and the remaining 2 of 4 Space Projects stamps from 1992.

I think that's about it for this time. I still have 4 cards left , but I'll save them for next time. I'm calling it a day or a night , what ever it might be. Thanks to all for their cards. Take care and enjoy the coming week.

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