Sunday, 17 November 2024

NEW ZEALAND

MOROCCO

BRAZIL

A cover from Brazil with a R$ 2,55 stamp, celebrating the São Francisco Church in Salvador de Bahia. The São Francisco Church and Convent of Salvador is located in the historical centre of Salvador, in the State of Bahia, Brazil. The ornate Church of the Third Order of Saint Francis sits adjacent to the convent. The friars of the Franciscan Order arrived in Salvador in 1587 and constructed a convent and church on the site. This structure was destroyed by the Dutch during the Dutch invasions of Bahia in the next century; Father Vicente das Chagas initiated the current structure in 1686, which was completed in the 18th century. The Franciscan church and convent have the largest number of azulejos, 55,000, of any church in Latin America. The convent and its church are important colonial monuments in Brazil. It was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1938. The convent, church, and Church of the Third Order are one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World and form integral parts of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Salvador.

BRAZIL

This cover from Brazil depict a complete set issued in 1994 with Vegetables from the the Amazon region. The Central Amazon Conservation Area is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. As the largest protected area in the Amazon basin, the site is notable for its high biodiversity, range of habitats such as várzea and igapó forests and number of endangered species. It has been recognized by various conservation agencies as a high priority region.

FRANCE

Sunday, 3 November 2024

MOROCCO

A cover from Morocco depicting a joint issue with my country, Portugal, issued in 2024. The stamp on the right feature a picture of the town of Essaouira, known until the 1960s as Mogador. The foundation of the city of Essaouira was the work of the Moroccan 'Alawid sultan Mohammed bin Abdallah, who made an original experiment by entrusting it to several architects in 1760, in particular Théodore Cornut and Ahmed al-Inglizi, who designed the city using French captives from the failed French expedition to Larache in 1765, and with the mission of building a city adapted to the needs of foreign merchants. Once built, it continued to grow and experienced a golden age and exceptional development, becoming the country's most important commercial port but also its diplomatic capital between the end of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Medina of Essaouira was designated by the UNESCO a World Heritage Site in 2001.

GERMANY

This from Germany depicts 2 stamps of the same type (issued in 2024), celebrating the Cologne Cathedral, a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1996. At 157 m, the cathedral is currently the tallest twin-spired church in the world, the second tallest church in Europe after Ulm Minster, and the third tallest church in the world. It is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires. The towers for its two huge spires give the cathedral the largest façade of any church in the world. The choir has the largest height to width ratio, 3.6:1, of any medieval church.

BELARUS

NEW ZEALAND

This cover from New Zealand depicts 3 different stamps with some views of the world heritage site Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990 and covering 26,000 square kilometres (10,000 sq mi), the site incorporates four national parks: Aoraki / Mount Cook, Fiordland, Mount Aspiring and Westland Tai Poutini. It is thought to contain some of the best modern representations of the original flora and fauna of Gondwana, one of the reasons for its listing as a World Heritage site.

P. R. CHINA

Sunday, 20 October 2024

LUXEMBOURG

THis cover from Luxembourg features a miniature sheet issued in 2024, celebrating the visit of Pope Francis to Luxembourg. Because of its strategic position, Luxembourg was, from the 16th century until 1867, when its walls were dismantled, one of Europe's greatest fortified sites. It was repeatedly reinforced as it passed from one great European power to another: the Holy Roman Emperors, the House of Burgundy, the Habsburgs, the French and Spanish kings, and finally the Prussians. Until their partial demolition, the fortifications were a fine example of military architecture spanning several centuries. It is inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.

UNO VIENNA

A cover from UNO Vienna depicting 3 differente stamps. The stamp of 0,22€ (on the right) shows a picture of Mount Robson, in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Park. The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site is located in the Canadian Rockies. It consists of seven contiguous parks including four national parks: Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho. The area is known for its natural environment and biological diversity.