Mauritius, Christmas Island, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and Taiwan

Hello again. From looking at the title above, it looks like its going to be a pretty interesting update. These are mighty interesting places from which to receive cards. So without further ado, here we go.

First up is Mauritius. I have already received a card or two from this paradise island, but one more won't go astray. As I often say, one can never have too many cards from anywhere. This card is the result of a private swap with David, who lives in Port-Louis. David operates the Mauritian Philatelic Blog here . His card shows us a few sunny views of Ile Maurice. Looks to me like a good place to pass a week this winter. David went a little above and beyond for me on this card. I specially requested a Dodo stamp. I think maybe he had a little trouble, but finally came up with one. Thanks so much David. The stamp is 1 of 4 Dodo bird stamps from 2007.

Next we have a card from Christmas Island. No , not the country in the Indian Ocean, but the Christmas Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. This Christmas Island, in Cape Breton, has a post office, a firehall and a very small population. The post office of Christmas Island gets postcards from around the world during Christmas time so they can get the Christmas Island post stamp.
The card is a very old Christmas postcard. We see on the card the Christmas souvenir sheet of 3 of the Christmas Ornaments issue , issued on November 1, 2010. Take note of the special Christmas Island Postmarks , dated on Christmas Eve. Thanks to Postmistress Hughena Mackinnon for her help on this.

Now we have another addition to my special aircraft/airlines on postcards collection. It is a side shot of the engines of Singapore Air Lines Boeing 747 Megatop Jumbo Jet. The Megatop was once considered the world's most advanced long-haul passenger aircraft. This Sri Lankan card is compliments of Ravindra who has a number of blogs about trains, lighthouses and cars. His blog about trains , Discover the World on Trains , can be found here. Ravindra used 3 nice stamps. The smaller one is from a 2008 set of 16 definitives. The larger one on the left was issued in 2010 and is part of a mixed set of 6. This one commemorates the Centenary of Kokuvil Hindu College. The 3rd stamp, also issued in 2010 , commemorates the 100th anniversary of the birth of P.R. Anthonis. Thanks Ravindra for this.

Here are a couple more cards from David, from his recent African trip. Both are from Ethiopia, one posted in Lalibela and the other in Addis Ababa. The first card gives us a look at the rock hewn Church of Bet Medhane Alem ( House of The Redeemer of the World) . Bet Medhane Alem is the largest monolithic rock-hewn church in the world, measuring 11.5m [37' 8"] in height and covering an area of almost 800m2 [8,610 square feet]. A plain building, held up by 36 pillars on the inside and another 36 around the outside, Bet Medhane Alem has a classical dignity reminiscent of an Ancient Greek temple, a resemblance that has led some experts to imagine it was modeled on the original St Mary Zion Church built by King Ezana at Axum.The interior of the church is also plain, and its huge size creates a cathedral-like austerity. Graves have been carved into the rock floor; they are no longer permanently occupied, Bet Medhane Alem has a wide courtyard whose walls are pockmarked with niches that originally served as graves or hermits’ caves.Approaching the most eastern church of this group, Bet Medhane Alem, you first catch a sight of the roof, decorated with relief crosses connected by blind arcades, and the upper part of the solemn colonnade surrounding the church: The roof demonstrates traces of the plaster remains of the restoration efforts of the early 1930’s.The tuff, from which the church is carved, blazes a typical deep pink color in striking harmony to the brownish-yellow earth and green-leaved trees of the landscape.
David used 2 Critically Endangered Black Rhinoceros stamps issued in 2005.

David's second card is of Martyr's Monument in Addis Ababa.
He used 4 stamps on this one, including a set of 3 from 2009, featuring Addis Ababa's monuments. The stamp on the left shows the same monument as is on the card. he 4th stamp is from 2003 and is 1 of a set of 4 featuring opals. Thanks David, great cards and great stamps.

The last card for this update is a maxicard from Taiwan ( Republic of China ). It is a Year of the Rabbit card with 1 of 2 Year of the Rabbit stamps from Taiwan. The postage side has 2 other stamps bearing beetles, but I wasn't able to locate the year of issue. This card is from George WU, who operates Gulfmann Maxicards among others and you can find it here. Thanks George, I appreciate it.

Great cards, Great places, Great stamps. A great update I guess, at least I think so. Comments ?
Comments ? Comments ?