MOROCCO

RUSSIA

An amazing UNESCO cover from Russia, featuring a miniature sheet issued in 2015 celebrating the Old City of Derbent. The Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent were part of the northern lines of the Sasanian Persian Empire, which extended east and west of the Caspian Sea. The fortification was built in stone. It consisted of two parallel walls that formed a barrier from the seashore up to the mountain. The town of Derbent was built between these two walls, and has retained part of its medieval fabric. The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Derbent is located in Dagestan, on the Caspian Sea. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second-most important city of Dagestan. Derbent occupies the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian Steppe to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. It has a population of roughly 120 thousand residents. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms. In the 19th century, the city passed from Iranian into Russian hands by the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813. It was declared a Wordl Heritage site by UNESCO in 2003.

CZECH REPUBLIC

A nice UNESCO cover from Czech Republic, depicting a miniature sheet issued in 2014 celebrating the Cathedral of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. Prague, situated on the banks of the Vltava river, has been an important European city since the Middle Ages. Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of 20th-century Europe. Main attractions include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, St. Vitus Cathedral and Vyšehrad. Since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

MONACO

A cover from Monaco, featuring the EUROPA CEPT issued in 2021 on motive "Endangered Species".

MONTENEGRO

GREECE

A cover from Greece with 3 different stamps, including the stamp on the right corner celebrating Mount Athos. Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in northeastern Greece and an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism. It is governed as an autonomous polity within the Hellenic Republic. Mount Athos is home to 20 monasteries under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Mount Athos has been inhabited since ancient times and is known for its long Christian presence and historical monastic traditions, which date back to at least AD 800 and the Byzantine era. Today, over 2,000 monks from Greece and many other countries, including Eastern Orthodox countries such as Romania, Moldova, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia, live an ascetic life in Athos, isolated from the rest of the world. The Athonite monasteries feature a rich collection of well-preserved artifacts, rare books, ancient documents, and artworks of immense historical value, and Mount Athos has been listed as a World Heritage site since 1988. Although Mount Athos is legally part of the European Union like the rest of Greece, the Monastic State of the Holy Mountain and the Athonite institutions have a special jurisdiction which was reaffirmed during the admission of Greece to the European Community. This empowers the Monastic State's authorities to regulate the free movement of people and goods in its territory; in particular, only males are allowed to enter.

P. R. CHINA

A beautiful UNESCO cover from P.R. China, depicting a complet set issued in 2021 celebrating the "Fujian Tulou". The Fujian tulou (Fujian earthen buildings) are Chinese rural dwellings unique to the Hakka in the mountainous areas in southeastern Fujian, China. They were mostly built between the 12th and the 20th centuries. A tulou is usually a large, enclosed and fortified earth building, most commonly rectangular or circular in configuration, with very thick load-bearing rammed earth walls between three and five stories high and housing up to 800 people. Smaller interior buildings are often enclosed by these huge peripheral walls which can contain halls, storehouses, wells and living areas, the whole structure resembling a small fortified city. The fortified outer structures are formed by compacting earth, mixed with stone, bamboo, wood and other readily available materials, to form walls up to 1.80 m thick. Branches, strips of wood and bamboo chips are often laid in the wall as additional reinforcement. The result is a well-lit, well-ventilated, windproof and earthquake-proof building that is warm in winter and cool in summer. Tulous usually have only one main gate. The top level of these earth buildings has gun holes for defensive purposes. A total of 46 Fujian tulou sites were inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, as "exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization [in a] harmonious relationship with their environment". The inscribed sites include Chuxi tulou group, Tianluokeng tulou cluster, Hekeng tulou cluster, Gaobei tulou cluster, Dadi tulou cluster, Hongkeng tulou cluster, Yangxian Lou, Huiyuan Lou, Zhengfu Lou and Hegui Lou.

LUXEMBOURG

A nice cover from Luxembourg with 2 stamps: the stamp on the top features the "Bock Casemates" in the city of Luxembourg and the other stamp celebrates the Luxembourg City Museum. Belonging to the UNESCO World Heritage, the first underground tunnels were built in 1644, in the era of the Spanish domination. The 23-kilometre long galleries were enlarged only 40 years later by Vauban, the French military engineer and fortress builder, and in the eighteenth century by the Austrians. The subterranean defensive passages were placed on different levels and reached down as far as 40 metres. After the dismantling of the fortress in 1867, 17 kilometres of the casemates were spared, left in good condition. Since 1933 the Bock and Pétrusse casemates have been open to the public. The fortress ramparts and the historically impressive Old Town enjoy international reputation: in 1994 UNESCO listed Luxembourg's old town and fortifications including the casemates as World Heritage.

LUXEMBOURG

A cover from Luxembourg, featuring 2 stamps of same type issued in 2021 on motive "EUROPA 2021 - Endangered species".

BOSNIA MOSTAR

A cover from Bosnia (Croat Post), featuring a complete set issued in 2021 on motive "EUROPA 2021 - Endangered species".

MONTENEGRO

A UNESCO cover from Montenegro, depicting 2 stamps celebrating the "Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor. The Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor is a World Heritage Site located in Montenegro that was inscribed in 1979. It encompasses the old town of Kotor (Italian Cattaro), the fortifications of Venetian Cattaro, and the surrounding region of the inner Bay of Kotor. he Bay of Kotor, a strategic natural harbour in the Eastern Adriatic, was an important center of arts and commerce during the Middle Ages. The value of the region is embodied in the quality of the architecture in its fortified and open cities, settlements, palaces and monastic ensembles, and their harmonious integration to the cultivated terraced landscape on the slopes of high rocky hills. The site includes the cities of Kotor, Perast, and Risan, as well as the fortifications of Kotor.

IRAQ

An amazing cover from Iraq, depicting a total of 14 stamps on both sides of the envelope (7 on front side and 7 on back side).