Sunday 18 September 2022

GREECE

This cover came from Greece and features 3 different stamps, including the stamp on the right corner celebrating the Monastery of Nea Moni of Chios, one of the monasteries of the World Heritage Site Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios. These three monasteries, although located in different parts of Greece, are representative examples of the middle period of Byzantine religious architecture and they share the same aesthetic characteristics. All three churches share an octagonal plan; Nea Moni has a plain octagon while the two have the central space surrounded with a series of bays. The monasteries were decorated with marble works and mosaics in the 11th and 12th centuries. They are inscribed at UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1990.

RUSSIA

This cover from Russia depicts 2 minisheets, including the one on the left celebrating the 325th Birth Anniversary of Empress Catherine I (1684-1727).

INDIA

This cover from India depicts 3 different stamps, including the stamp on the top corner celebrating the Historic City of Ahmedabad. The Historic City of Ahmedabad, founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah I in the 15th century, on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati River, presents a rich architectural heritage from the sultanate period, notably the Bhadra citadel, the walls and gates of the Fort city and numerous mosques and tombs as well as important Hindu and Jain temples of later periods. The urban fabric is made up of densely-packed traditional houses (pols) in gated traditional streets (puras) with characteristic features such as bird feeders, public wells, and religious institutions. The city continued to flourish as the capital of the State of Gujarat for six centuries, up to the present. Ahmedabad is inscribed on World Heritage List since 2017.

Sunday 11 September 2022

MOROCCO

Joint issue Morocco - Serbia, issued in 2022.

KYRGYZSTAN

POLAND

USA

This cover from USA depicts 2 different stamps, including a 75 ct stamp (on the right corner), celebrating the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The park contains some of the highest mountains in eastern North America, including Clingmans Dome, Mount Guyot, and Mount Le Conte. The border between the two states runs northeast to southwest through the center of the park. The Appalachian Trail passes through the center of the park on its route from Georgia to Maine. Te park was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, and an International Biosphere Reserve in 1988.

Sunday 4 September 2022

POLAND

This nice cover from Poland depicts a single stamp issued in 2022, celebrating the Nature reserve of "Bialowieza Puszcza". Białowieża Forest (or Biełaviežskaja Pušča; Polish: Puszcza Białowieska) is one of the last and largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to 800 European bison, Europe's heaviest land animal. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme designated the Polish Biosphere Reserve Białowieża in 1976 and the Belarusian Biosphere Reserve Belovezhskaya Puschcha in 1993. The forest has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an EU Natura 2000 Special Area of Conservation. The World Heritage Committee by its decision of June 2014 approved the extension of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Belovezhskaya Pushcha/Białowieża Forest, Belarus, Poland", which became "Białowieża Forest, Belarus, Poland".

MOROCCO

This cover from Morocco depict a single stamp celebrating the Al Aqsa Mosque, in Jerusalem (Al Qods in arabic). The Old City of Jerusalem and its walls is also listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1981. It was proposed as a site by Jordan. The site is not assigned to a state on the UNESCO listing. In 2011 UNESCO stated "The Old City of Jerusalem" is inscribed on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger.

P. R. CHINA

BELARUS

Saturday 3 September 2022

MOROCCO

This cover from Morocco depicts a single stamp issued in 2020 celebrating the Old City of Rabat. Rabat is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. It is also the capital city of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra administrative region. Rabat is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg, opposite Salé, the city's main commuter town. Rabat was founded in the 12th century by Almohads. The city steadily grew but went into an extended period of decline following the collapse of the Almohads. In the 17th century Rabat became a haven for Barbary pirates. The French established a protectorate over Morocco in 1912 and made Rabat its administrative center. Morocco achieved independence in 1955 and Rabat became its capital. It is one of four Imperial cities of Morocco, and the medina of Rabat is listed as a World Heritage Site since 2012.

MOROCCO

This cover came from Morocco and depcits 2 stamps, including the stamp on the right with a picture of Santo Domingo, capital and main city of Dominican Republic. The Colonial City of Santo Domingo is the historic central neighborhood of the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo. It is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the Americas. The area has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. It is also known as Zona Colonial (Colonial Zone) or more colloquially as "La Zona" (The Zone). The Ciudad Colonial is located on the west bank of the Ozama River, which bisects the city. It covers 1.06 km2 (0.41 sq mi) bounded by a walled perimeter. It is an important section of the city due to the high number of landmarks, including Alcázar de Colón, Fortaleza Ozama, Catedral de Santa María la Menor, and others.