Two New Countries, Rwanda and Antigua & Barbuda #'s 214 and 215

Today was a great day at the mailbox. Eight postcards, including two new countries in my collection , and a beautiful cover from Austria. Not to mention 2 cards from Iraq. Makes for a pretty good day, I think.
My first card is from Rwanda, country # 214. It is a view of the Source du Nil Golf Club in Kigali. In actual fact is is Hole # 6, Par 4, 340 Metres. Rwanda is a small landlocked country in east-central Africa, bordered by Uganda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. The country is home to over 10,000,000 people and has the densest population in continental Africa. Rwanda has received considerable international attention due to its 1994 genocide in which 800,000 to 1,000,000 people were killed. My postcard was posted from Kigali, the Rwandan capital. I received this card from Kriss K, but unfortunately our connection escapes me. Kriss used 2 stamps from a 1995 set of 4 featuring trees and forests. This is a great addition to my collection. Whenever I get a new country, it is great and when that new country is in Africa , it is even better.

Next up is another new country , # 215. It is Antigua & Barbuda. The card shows a couple of sailing ships , and is entitled Antigua Sailing Week. It was sent by The Antigua Hotels & Tourist Association. I vacationed in Antigua about 20 years ago , well before I starting collecting postcards. Too bad, I could have sent myself one. Oh well, the vacation was quite enjoyable, though. The stamps used are from a 2001 issue of 5 featuring ships and boats. This one shows M V Freewinds in Bequia. I find it a little strange that Antigua and Barbuda would issue a stamp with a ship shown in Bequia, an island in St Vincent and The Grenadines.

The next 2 cards are from Iraq. I don't know about you, my readers, but I seldom see postcards from Iraq on any of the postcard blogs. So, getting 2 on the same day is really good. They are both from the same sender, Milad Z of Baghdad. The same stamps were used on both cards and I will get to them in a moment. The first card shows Al-Thahreer Square at night. The square is the main square in Baghdad. The second Iraq card is a multiview of 4 scenes in Iraq. Both cards were mailed on March 29th and postmarked April 1st, and arrived Calgary today, April 22nd. Milad used 3 stamps, the larger one on the left is from a 2008 set of 3 entitled One Nation. The other is from 1 2006 set of 2 , folklore issue. Thanks Milad for these cards.

My last card for today is from Seattle, Washington, USA. It was sent by Kris of PostCardKris fame. The card is of Seattle Tacoma International Airport and sports a Boeing 747 flying over the field. Seattle Tacoma is the busiest and largest airport in the Pacific Northwest. Kris knows that I collect postcards with aircraft on them and this one is the 3rd that he has sent. Kris used a couple of definitives from 2006 and 2003, along with a new Frank Sinatra commemorative from 2008.

Finally , I want to show a cover I received from Austria. It was sent by Edna C of Vienna. She and I have exchanged stamps along with postcards. She used just super beautiful stamps on this cover. I hope no one is offended by the stamp on the left.

That is my report for today. A really great day for postcards and stamps , not to mention 2 new countries.
Take care and comments are welcome.