Kabul Card

Another card I'd like to show today was posted from Kabul, Afghanistan. It shows a view of Kabul, with the old Kabul Hotel , now known as The Kabul Serena Hotel, in the foreground. The card was sent by Chris Newbery, General Manager of the hotel. The stamps used are quite varied and cover the years from 1951-2002. The upper left stamp is 1 of 1 set of 17 featuring momuments , issued in 1951. The upper right stamp , issue in 1984, is from a set of 7, featuring planes and celebrating the 40th year of ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization. The lower left stamp and the stamp on the bottom, are from a set of 2 issue in 1969 , for National Arms. The stamp was normally used as a newspaper stamp , but as you can see, this time it was used as a postage stamp. The final stamp, lower right, was issued in 2002 and features Ahmad Shah Masood, an Afghan National Hero. Masood was a former Defense Minister of Afghanistanin 1992. Later he went on to become the military leader of the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan. he was assassinated in 2001 , supposedly by al-Qaeda.

A Yemen Card

Today I want to show a card from Yemen. The card shows Ibb, a city of 160000 inhabitants , in southwestern Yemen. It is located in the so called Green Province. It was sent by Denise, a volunteer with the charitable organization Canada Bridges. Canada Bridges helps foster human engagement between the east and the west countering the polarizing outcomes of September 11th. These volunteers consist of doctors, nurses, midwives, lawyers, judges and teachers who exchange their knowledge and wisdom with their local counterparts in Yemen.
The stamp that Denise used is the 100 Rials value from a set of 14 , issued in 1996 showing Landmarks. The 100 Rials stamp shows Old Sanaá City.

A French Postcard

Today I received a postcard from France. It was sent to me by Cotard Stephane, a visitor to this blog. He is also a postcard collector and he can expect a postcard from Canada in the mail soon. The postcard shows The Abbey of Saint Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The card was actually postmarked from the site. The stamp used is a 0.85e value , issued in 2007, and shows The Hall of Mirrors of The Castle of Versailles. A very impressive card and quite a nice stamp.

Pakistan Postcard

Since this is a blog about postcards, I guess I should show a postcard right about here. Today's postcard is from Pakistan. It was sent to me by The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation in Islamabad. The front shows Camping on Glaciers in The Karakoram Range of mountains in Northern Pakistan. The stamps used are both definitives. The smaller Rs4 value is from a 1998 set of 4 and the larger (both in size and value) Rs30 value is from a 1994 set of 12. With all the goings on in Pakistan right now , it's nice to know that they do have some sense of tourism at play.

Canada's Year of the Rat

For all those of you who are interested, I am today showing Canada's contribution to The Year of the Rat. Canada issued today, 2 stamps for this purpose. There are 2 denominations; $1.60 for international mailing and $0.52 for domestic mailing. The $1.60 stamp is only available in the Souvenir sheet shown. The domestic stamp is available in panes of 25 stamps. Hope you like them.

A Thailand Postcard

The only card that I am showing today, just arrived from Thailand. It was sent to me by Pam, a fellow Postcrosser. It's a totally homemade card , even including the photos on the front. It's as good as any professionally produced card, so take a bow, Pam. The card shows Wat Pra Keaw, The Temple of The Emerald Buddha, in Bangkok. It dates from around 1782 and is used by The King for anything concerning religion. The stamp that Pam used is a 15 Baht value definitive stamp, of which I could not find anymore information.
It has been a rather slow week for postcards, perhaps because of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Hopefully things will pick up in the coming weeks.

2008's First Cards

Before I get to todays cards, I think that a small review of 2007 is in order. Last year I received 190 postcards, and sent out 90 cards. I increased my different country total by 63 countries last year, bringing that total to 171 countries from which I have received a postcard. Some of the more unique countries that I received a card from last year are Falkland Islands, Lebanon, St. Pierre & Miq, Pitcairn Islands, British Antarctic Territory, Swaziland, Brunei, Bhutan, Comoros Islands, Andorra, Albania, Nepal, Botswana , British Indian Ocean Territory and The Military Order of Malta. All in all, it was a good postcard year. And, to top of 2007, I started this blog.

Now , for todays postcards. The first card is from The U.S.A. , sent by thepostcardscollector of www.postcardcollector.us fame. The card has 8 U.S. stamps on it, all definitives, but you know what, I like and collect definitives from The U.S. , so I was happy to get this card.

The 2nd card is from Malaysia and was sent by Kow Siew Lan of the blog StampHappyWind. The card is celebrating 50 years of Malaysia Nationhood.

The final card for today is a card, (my second) sent ny Velu, of The Stamps of Velu. This card, he sent from Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.
Enjoy!