CROATIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

This cover from USA depicts 2 stamps, including the 84 cts stamp on the right celebrating the Yosemite National Park. Yosemite National Park is a national park in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers 759,620 acres (1,187 sq mi; 3,074 km2) in four counties – centered in Tuolumne and Mariposa, extending north and east to Mono and south to Madera. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves, lakes, mountains, meadows, glaciers, and biological diversity. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada.

POLAND

MOROCCO

This cover from Morocco depicts 2 stamps of same type, issued in 2022, celebrating the Medina of Tetouan. Morocco's most complete medina at Tétouan served as the main point of contact between Morocco and Andalusia during the 8th century. The town was rebuilt by Andalusian refugees following the Reconquista, the influence of which is evident in its art and architecture. The site is inscribed at UNESCO since 1997.

P. R. CHINA

SPAIN

This cover from Spain depicts a stamp celebrating the Lebaniego Jubilee Year. Te Lebaniego Jubilee Year, also known as the Año Santo Lebaniego, is celebrated when 16 April (the feast of Santo Toribio) falls on a Sunday. This exceptionality allows pilgrims visiting the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana to obtain the "Jubilee grace" or forgiveness of all sins. The Catholic Church calls it winning the Jubilee, something that can only be done in four other cities in the world: Santiago de Compostela, Rome, Jerusalem and Caravaca de la Cruz. This year 2023 we celebrate a new Lebaniego Jubilee Year, the 74th in its history. The next one will take place in 2028. The Routes of Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and Routes of Northern Spain is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Spain. It was designated in 1993, and later expanded and renamed in 2015. The complete site includes a network of five traditional pilgrimage routes of the Way of Saint James as it passes through Northern Spain: the popular French Way, the Primitive Way, the Northern or Coastal Way, the Interior Way and the Liébana Route; as well as 16 of the most "culturally significant" individual structures, including religious and civil buildings. In 1998, UNESCO also designated as World Heritage Site the routes located in France. The old town of Santiago de Compostela and its cathedral, the final destination of these routes, is also a World Heritage site, although separate from this one. It was inscribed in 1985.

SRI LANKA

A beautiful cover from Sri Lanka, depicting a complete set celebrating the Ancient City of Sigiriya. Sigiriya or Sinhagiri is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is a site of historical and archaeological significance that is dominated by a massive column of granite rock approximately 180 m. According to the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle the Cūḷavaṃsa, this area was a large forest, then after storms and landslides it became a hill and was selected by King Kashyapa (AD 477–495) for his new capital. He built his palace on top of this rock and decorated its sides with colourful frescoes. On a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in the form of an enormous lion. The name of this place is derived from this structure; Sīnhāgiri, the Lion Rock (an etymology similar to Sinhapura, the Sanskrit name of Singapore, the Lion City). The capital and the royal palace were abandoned after the king's death. It was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th century. Sigiriya today is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site (since 1992). It is one of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning.

P. R. CHINA

MOROCCO

BRAZIL

SPAIN

This cover from Spain depicts 1 stamps with a picture of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco Museum in Salamanca. Salamanca is important as a university city, as the University of Salamanca, founded in 1218, is the oldest in Spain and among the oldest in Europe. The city was first conquered by the Carthaginians in the 3rd century, and later ruled by the Romans and Moors. The city centre represents Romanesque, Gothic, Moorish, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture. The Old City of Salamanca was inscribed at UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988.

P. R. CHINA

BELGIUM

An excellent cover from Belgium, with no room for more stamps, depicting 11 different stamps, mostly showing pictures of churches and cathedrals that are part of the UNESCO site called "Belfries of Belgium and France". A total of 56 belfries are listed as World Heritage. They were built between the 11th and 17th centuries in different architectural styles: Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque. They symbolized the wealth and the influence of the towns. In 1999, 32 belfries in Belgium were originally listed, and in 2005, the site was expanded to include the belfries in France and the belfry in Gembloux in Belgium. Some of the belfries include: Cathedral of Our Lady & Antwerp City Hall in Antwerp, St. Rumbold's Cathedral & City Hall in Mechelen, Belfry of Bruges, Belfry of Kortrijk, Cloth Hall in Ypres, Schepenhuis in Aalst, Belfry of Ghent, Oudenaarde Town Hall, St. Peter's Church in Leuven, St. Leonard's Church in Zoutleeuw, Belfry of Mons, Belfry of Thuin, Belfry of Tournai, and Belfry of Namur.

SPAIN

This cover from Spain depict a single stamp issued in 2020 celebrating "Petra", in Jordan. Petra is a historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Petra lies around Jabal Al-Madbah in a basin surrounded by mountains which form the eastern flank of the Arabah valley that runs from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and the Nabataeans might have settled in what would become the capital city of their kingdom, as early as the 4th century BC. However, archaeological work has only discovered evidence of Nabataean presence dating back to the second century BC,by which time Petra had become their capital. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra's proximity to the trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system, Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the stone from which it is carved. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. UNESCO has described Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage". Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction.

SPAIN

This cover from Spain depict a 6,45€ stamp celebrating Ibiza, on Balearic Islands. Ibiza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of Spain. It is 150 kilometres from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. The coast of Ibiza is home to posidonia oceanica, a seagrass only found in the Mediterranean that supports a diverse coastal and marine ecosystem. The island also contains numerous Phoenician ruins, and the fortified and walled older portions of the city date to the 16th century. Ibiza is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.