TURKEY

A nice cover from Turkey, depicting a Romania-Turkey joint miniature sheet issued in 2013. The stamp features the Great Kral mosque in Constanta (Romania) with a view of Istanbul as background.

CHINA

BELARUS

Another nice cover from Belarus, depicting a stamp issued in 2014 on topic "Birdlife".

UN VIENNA

A nice UNESCO cover from the UNO in Vienna, depicting 3 stamps (from a set of 6) issued in 2018 with 3 UNESCO places in United Kingdom: Conwy Castle in Wales, the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland and the Westminster Palace. 

1. The Conwy Castle (since 1986), located in the former principality of Gwynedd (North Wales), is an extremely well-preserved monument and an example of the colonization and defence works carried out throughout the reign of Edward I (1272-1307) and the military architecture of the time.

2. The Giants Causeway (since 1986) lies at the foot of the basalt cliffs along the sea coast on the edge of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland. It is made of some 40,000 massive black basalt columns sticking out of the sea. The dramatic sight has inspired legends of Giants striding over the sea to Scotland.

3. Westminster Palace (since 1987), rebuilt from the 1840 on the site of importante medieval remains, is a fine exemple of neo-Gothic architecture. The site - which also comprises the small medieval Church of Saint Margaret and Westminster Abbey, where all the sovereigns since the 11th century have been crowned - is of a great historic and symbolic significance.

UNITED NATIONS (Vienna Office)

A nice UNESCO cover from the UNO in Vienna, depicting 3 stamps (from a set of 6) issued in 2018 with 3 UNESCO places in United Kingdom: Stonhenge, Maritime Greenwich and Edinburgh (Scotland).

1. Stonhenge and Avebury (since 1986), in Wiltshire, are among the famous groups of megaliths in the world. Both sanctuaries consists of circles of menhirs arranged in a pattern whose astronomical significance is still being explored. These holy places and the nearby Neolithic sites are an incomparable testimony to prehistoric times.

2. Maritime Greenwich (since 1997), in London area, symbolize english artistic and scientific endeavouir in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Queen's House was the first Palladian building in England, while the complex that was until recently the Royal Naval College, was designed by Christopher Wren. The park contains the Old Royal Observatory, the work of Wren and the scientist Robert Hooke.

3. Edinburgh (since 1995), has been the scottish capital since the 15th century. It was two distinct areas: the Old town, dominated by a medieval fortress; and the neoclassical New Town, whose development from the 18th century onwards had a far-reaching influence on european urban planning. The harmonious juxtaposition of these two contrasting historic areas, each containing many importante buildings, is what gives the city its unique character.

SOUTH KOREA

FRANCE

BELARUS

Another nice cover from Belarus, depicting a stamp issued in 2013 on topic "Birdlife".

JORDAN

An amazing UNESCO cover from Jordan, depicting a complete set issued in 2017. This complete set of 5 stamps features all the cultural and natural places in Jordan inscribed at UNESCO: Um Er-Rasas (2004), Qusayr Amra (1985), Baptisme site (2015), Wadim Rum Desert (2011) and Petra (1985).

1. Um er-Rasas - This site contains remains from the Roman, Byzantine and Early Muslim periods end of 3rd to 9th centuries AD) and a fortified Roman militar camp. The site has also 16 churches and some with well-preserved mosaic floors.

2. Qusair Amra - Built in the early 8th century, this excepcionally well-preserved desert castle was both a fortress with a garrison and a residence of the Umayyad caliphs. The most outstanding features of this small pleasure palace are the reception hall and the hammam, both richly decorated with figurative murals the reflect the secular art of the time.

3. Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan" (Al-Maghtas) - Situated on the eastern bank of the River Jordan, nine quilometres north of the Dead Sea, the site is believed to be the location where Jesus of Nazareth was baptized by John the Baptist. It features Roman and Byzantine remains including churches and chapels, a monastery, caves that have been used by hermits and pools in which baptism were celebrated, testifying to the religious character of the place.

4. Wadi Rum - The 74,000-hectare property, inscribed as a mixed natural and cultural site, is situated in Southern Jordan, near the border with Saudi Arabia. It features a varied desert landscape but petroglyphs, inscriptions and archaelogical remains in the site testify to 12,000 years of human occupation and interaction with the natural environment.

5. Petra - Inhabited since prehistoric times, this Nabataean caravan-city, situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, was an important crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia. Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. It is one of the world's most famous archaeological sites, where ancient Eastern traditions blend with Hellenistic architecture.
Petra is inscribed as Unesco's World Heritage site since 1985 and considered as one the most astonished cultural places in the world.