Tuesday, 21 February 2023

NEW ZELAND

This amazing cover from New Zealand depicts 3 stamps celebrating the 3 UNESCO sites in the country: Tongariro National Park (80c stamp), Te Wahipounamu (1,40$ stamp) and New Zealand Subantartic Islands (2,00$ stamp)

P.R. CHINA

A beautiful cover from P.R. of China, depicting a complete set issued in 2022 celebrating five national parks in the country. Three of them are inscribed at UNESCO as World Heritage Sites: the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries and the Mount Wuyi National Park.

ALAND

EUROPA 2022 from Aland

Sunday, 19 February 2023

SERBIA

This cover from Serbia depicts a joint issue Serbia-Iran celebrating 85 years of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries. The stamp on the right features a picture of the Mausoleum of Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae. Pasargadae (from Old Persian Pāθra-gadā, "protective club" or "strong club"; Modern Persian: پاسارگاد Pāsārgād) was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), who ordered its construction and the location of his tomb. Today it is an archaeological site and one of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage Sites (since 2004), about 90 kilometres to the northeast of the modern city of Shiraz.

Thursday, 9 February 2023

BRAZIL

This cover from Brazil depicts 5 different stamps, including 2 stamps celebrating the Central Amazon Conservation Complex. 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 and recognized by UNESCO as an World Heritage Site in 2000.

ISRAEL

This cover from Israel features 2 different stamps, both celebrating the White City of Tel Aviv. The White City is a collection of over 4,000 buildings in Tel Aviv from the 1930s built in a unique form of the International Style, commonly known as Bauhaus, by Jewish architects who fled to the British Mandate of Palestine from Germany (and other Central and East European countries with German cultural influences) after the rise to power of the Nazis. Tel Aviv has the largest number of buildings in the Bauhaus/International Style of any city in the world. Preservation, documentation, and exhibitions have brought attention to Tel Aviv's collection of 1930s architecture. In 2003, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed Tel Aviv's White City a World Cultural Heritage site, as "an outstanding example of new town planning and architecture in the early 20th century.

BELARUS

Saturday, 28 January 2023

WALLIS & FUTUNA

This amazing cover came from Wallis & Futuna and it is my first one from this exotic territory. Wallis and Futuna is a French island collectivity in the South Pacific, situated between Tuvalu to the northwest, Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast, Samoa to the east, and Tokelau to the northeast. Mata Utu is its capital and largest city. Its land area is 142.42 km2. It had a population of 11,558 at the 2018 census.

UNITED KINGDOM

A very nice cover from United Kingdom, depicting 2 different stamps, including the stamp on the right celebrating The English Lake District. The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains, and its associations with William Wordsworth and other Lake Poets and also with Beatrix Potter and John Ruskin. The Lake District National Park was established in 1951 and covers an area of 2,362 square kilometres. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

This cover from USA depicts 2 stamps (on the right corner), celebrating the Independence Hall in Pennsylvania. Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers. The structure forms the centerpiece of the Independence National Historical Park. Independence Hall was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966 and as a World Heritage Site in 1979. The building was completed in 1753 as the Pennsylvania State House. It served as the first capital of both the United States and of the Province and later the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It was the principal meeting place of the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1781, and was the site of the Constitutional Convention, at which the U.S. Constitution, the longest-standing written and codified national constitution in the world, was ratified on June 21, 1788.

TURKEY

This cover from Turkey depicts 3 different stamps, including the 2 stamps on the right corner celebrating the National Park of Göreme and Rock Sites of Cappadocia. Göreme Historical National Park is a national park in central Turkey. It occupies an area of nearly 100 km2 and is located in Nevşehir Province. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 under the name Goreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia. The park features a rocky, water- and wind-eroded landscape with a network of ancient, interconnecting underground settlements.

Tuesday, 24 January 2023

UN NEW YORK

This cover from United Nations (New York Office) depicts 4 stamps (2 of each type), celebrating 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Spain: the Alhambra, Generalife and Albazín in Granada and the Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida. The three sites in the town of Granad are remnants of the Moorish influence in southern Spain. The fortress Alhambra and the palace Generalife were built by the rulers of the Emirate of Granada are are part of the World Heritage List since 1984. The Albayzín district contains examples of the Moorish vernacular architecture and was added to the listing in 1994. Augusta Emerita, also called Emerita Augusta, was a Roman colonia founded in 25 BC in present day Mérida, Spain. The city was founded by Roman Emperor Augustus to resettle Emeriti soldiers from the veteran legions of the Cantabrian Wars. The theater and amphitheater are visible to the right, along the city wall. Today the Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida is one of the largest and most extensive archaeological sites in Spain and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.