The Balkans, Hikkim Post Office and Africa

Good Saturday to you all. Hope you enjoyed yesterday's update, now I'm back with another one.
Today's first card is a panoramic view of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On it you can see the Orthodox Church, The Cathedral and The Theological Seminary. The city will be hosting the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2019.

Ana used a Christmas / New Year stamp fom 2016. The actual stamp is shaped as a trapezoid but with the additional tab in top right corner, it becomes a rectangle. Nice clear circular postmark.

Next up is a card from Belgrade, Serbia, with nice views of the countryside and a couple of rivers.

Ana used a 2017 stamp, 1 of 3 in a set of Cities in Serbia on this card. I'm not sure about the "stamp" on the right. I don't think it's actually a stamp, just a tab. It has no value and I couldn't find any reference to it .

We're off to India next, high India in fact. On this card we see a local printing prayer flags using a 800 year old dye. He is located in the Spiti Valley, a cold desert mountain valley high in the Himalaya Mountains. The name Spiti means `` The Middle Land ``as in the land between Tibet and India.

The stamp used here was issued in 2016 and shows a Silver Spouted Lota or water pot.

Even though it`s upside down, you can see this card was posted from Indian Post, Hikkim Branch Post Office, The World`s Highest Post Office - at a height of 14567 ft.
I don`t know who sent this card, I don`t know why I received it, but you know I am glad to have it. It`s a keeper .


It`s 3 cards from Africa next. First is this one from Mopti, Mali. It`s the port of Mopti, with  a number of fishing boats and a passenger ferry.

All 3 of these Africa cards were sent by David, who recently visited the area.  Here he used 3 different stamps. On the left is a 2001 stamp from a set of 7 showing Exhibits From the National Museum. In the middle is a 2015 stamp showing  a bag of Timbuktu Manuscripts. The stamp on the right was issued in 2014 and shows a Serval, a wild cat found in Africa.

David`s second card is also from Mali, but Bamako the capital,  this time. The city of 1.8 million was in 2006 the fastest growing city in Africa and the sixth fastest in the world. On this card are the city`s Welcome Gates.

And the stamps - on the left , from 2005. It celebrates the World Summit on the Information Society  ( WSIS ) in Tunis. The other stamp , issued in 2001, commemorates the 40th Anniversary of Mali Independence.

Now last card time. Today it`s from Niamey, Niger. On it we can  see a couple of local ladies walking near Zinder.

That was the last card , here are the last stamps for this time. On the left, 1 of a set of 3, featuring Mammals from 2007. In the middle, from 2008, 1 of 3 stamps showing Traditional Living. On the right, from 2010, a single stamp showing Traditional Hair Styles.

There you have it, today`s update. Thanks for cards today go out to Ana, David and the Hikkim Post Office. Take care, and do drop by again.