Turkey

Postcard showing Sultan Ahmed Mosque and the Sea of Marmara beyond. It was built between 1609 and 1619 by Sultan Ahmet I, who decided to build a large mosque in Istanbul to reassert Ottoman power following losses in Central Europe and Persia. It incorporates some Byzantine Christian elements of the neighboring Hagia Sophia with traditional Islamic architecture and is considered to be the last great mosque of the classical period. Part of the Historic Areas of Istanbul World Heritage site. Many thanks and teşekkürler to my Mum for sending this to me while on holiday.

Stamp on the left is the 1998 definitive of Kemal Atatürk, seen as the founder of modern Turkey (and a first-rate Dracula impersonator, by the looks of it). Stamp on the right is from a 2000 set of four about crocuses, and features the snow crocus, Crocus chrysanthus. It is native to Turkey and the Balkans and flowers very early in the spring, often pushing up through the snow.

Malta

Multiview postcard of Malta, showing the country's namesake Maltese Cross, the harbour of capital city Valetta, with fortifications forming part of the City of Valletta World Heritage site, and some traditional wooden fishing boats. Thank you and grazzi ħafna to friend Sam who went to Malta to visit relatives.

Stamps are from a 2002 set of four on endangered species, showing seahorses of the Mediterranean. Shown are the long-snouted seahorse, Hippocampus guttulatus, and the short-snouted seahorse, Hippocampus hippocampus, both of which live in the waters around Malta.

Norway

Happy World Post Day! World Post Day is celebrated every year on 9 October, to commemorate the foundation of Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Swiss capital, Bern.

To celebrate, a postcard of Nærøyfjord, a branch of Sogne fjord, the largest fjord in Norway and the longest in the world. The fjord is quite narrow and picturesque – said to be the inspiration for Arendelle in Frozen. It is part of the West Norway Fjords World Heritage site. Tusen takk to my Mum for sending this card to me on her recent cruise of the Norwegian coast.

Permanent rate stamp from 2013 set of six featuring tourism activities. Pictured is whitewater rafting on the Sjoa River in Central Norway.

Suriname

Postcard of Paramaribo, the capital of South America's only Dutch-speaking country. It's also home to nearly half of the entire population of the country. The city was founded in 1603 and switched between Dutch and English control several times in its early history. The historic inner city of Paramaribo is a World Heritage Site (although I'm not entirely sure that is pictured here). Many thanks and dank je to Sherwin for swapping with me!

Stamps on the left are from a 2008 set of five on local birds. Pictured is a white-necked jacobin, Florisuga mellivora, a large hummingbird common to northern South America. Stamps on the right feature another hummingbird found in Suriname's jungles, the grey-breasted sabrewing, Campylopterus largipennis. From the 1977 definitive set.

Peru

Postcard of a site that needs hardly and introduction, Machu Picchu. Built by the Inca around 1450 and abandoned around the time of the Spanish Conquest, it is now one of the New Seven Wonder of the World and a World Heritage site. Muchas gracias to my Mum for sending this to me while on holiday in South America.

The stamp, issued in 2009, commemorates the National Archaeology, Anthropology, and History Museum of Peru. Founded in 1826, it is the largest and oldest museum in Peru and covers the entire human history of the country.

New World Heritage sites 2015

As this year's World Heritage Committee meeting wraps up in Bonn Germany, a big congratulations to the 24 new sites and three extensions that were inscribed on the World Heritage list, bringing the total number of Sites to 1031, in 163 countries. Special congratulations to Jamaica for adding its first site to the list, Blue and John Crow Mountains, and to my adopted home, Singapore, for adding its first site to the list as well, the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

There had been a bit of controversy surrounding the Committee meeting as there was a big push to put Australia's Great Barrier Reef site on the List of World Heritage in Danger following the approval of large-scale development and mining plans on the near shore and the deterioration in reef health. In the end, it was not placed on the list, but UNESCO basically said "We're watching you". I was also a bit surprised not to see Pimachiowin Aki back up for consideration. Pimachiowin Aki is a large stretch of pristine boreal forests in Northern Central Canada that includes the ancestral lands of several indigenous people. Listing was deferred at the 2013 Meeting to give Canada time to improve certain aspects of the bid. Given our current government's rather dreadful attitude towards indigenous people, I'm not surprised they didn't make any efforts to do so. What a pity! Hopefully things will improve following our national elections in the autumn.

More information all all the new sites from UNESCO's site here.

Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System (Mexico)

Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale (Italy)

Baekje Historic Areas (South Korea)

Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” (Al-Maghtas) (Jordan)

Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars (France)

Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church Settlement (Denmark)

Climats, terroirs of Burgundy (France)

Cultural Landscape of Maymand (Iran)

Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape (Turkey)

Ephesus (Turkey)

Fray Bentos Cultural-Industrial Landscape (Uruguay)

Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and its surrounding sacred landscape (Mongolia)

Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of Jewish Renewal (Israel)

Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site (Norway)

Rock Art in the Hail Region of Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia)

San Antonio Missions (United States of America)

Singapore Botanical Gardens (Singapore)

Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining (Japan)

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus (Germany)

Susa (Iran)

The Forth Bridge (United Kingdom)

The par force hunting landscape in North Zealand (Denmark)

Tusi Sites (China)

Blue and John Crow Mountains (Jamaica)

Jordan

Postcard of the famous ruins of Petra in southern Jordan. Petra was established as early as 300 BC and was a prominent city in the region for nearly one thousand years until trade routes shifted during the Roman period and a series of earthquakes crippled the vital water management system. The city was gradually abandoned and forgotten to the West until 1812 when the site was reexplored by Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

Many thanks to friend Dan for sending this card while on a semester abroad in the region.

Two preprinted stamps on the right, showing Amman, Jordan's capital, and the black iris, Jordan's national flower. Stamp on the left is part of a set of two issued in 1995 commemorating the Arch of Hadrian in Jerash, erected to honour the visit of Roman Emperor Hadrian to the city in the winter of 129–130.

Hungary

Postcard of Matthias Church in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, part of the longly-named "Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue" World Heritage site. The origins of the church go back to the eleventh century. During the Ottoman period, it became the city's main mosque. After regaining its status as a church, it became the coronation site of many Hungarian kings.

Thanks to my Dad for sending this card, along with this one and this one, from his trip "behind the Iron Curtain" and setting me off on my postcard adventures many years ago.

Stamps are from a 1986 set of six on Hungarian castles. Shown is Baroque Forgách Castle, in Szécsény in northern Hungary.

Estonia

Postcard from Tallinn, the capital of Estonia showing St Nicholas Church in the foreground and the Dome Church behind, in the World Heritage-listed old town centre. The Dome Church is the Lutheran cathedral for Tallinn and was originally established in the thirteenth century, making it the oldest church in Estonia. St Nicholas Church was also originally built in the thirteenth century, and was partially destroyed in Soviet Bombing of Tallinn during World War II. It was later restored and now houses a branch of the Art Museum of Estonia.

Stamp on the left was issued in 1999 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Council of Europe. Stamp on the right is from a 1995 set of two featuring local geese. Pictured here is the barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis, a midsize goose from the Arctic and North Atlantic. Interestingly, the word "barnacle" derives from the bird and was only later applied to the crustacean barnacles.

Laos

Postcard from the Town of Luang Prabang World Heritage site showing Wat Xieng Thong (Temple of the Golden City). The temple was built in 1559 and is one of the most important in Laos. It was traditionally the site where Laotian kings were crowned. Many thanks and khawp jai to friend Dani who visited Laos.

Stamp on the left is from a 2005 set of three commemorating Laos' 50th anniversary of  its accession to the United Nations. Stamp on the right is from a 2007 set of three featuring the Boun That Luang festival, a three-day religious festival help at Pha That Luang, the country's most important temple.

China II

Another China postcard from the archives, this time showing the Hall of Supreme Harmony (太和殿) in the Forbidden City in Beijing, part of the Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang UNESCO World Heritage site. The Hall was the site of public ceremonies such as enthronements and weddings. It is the largest wooden building in China and was originally built in 1406, although rebuilt following fires several times thereafter.

Stamp on the left is from a 1994 set of six featuring famous scenic places in China. Pictured here is Goddess Peak (神女峰), which is where the goddess Yao Ji is believed to be immortalized in stone, watching over the Yangtze River below. Stamp on the right is from the 1989 definitive series featuring folk architecture. Pictured here are traditional houses from Jiangsu Province in eastern China.

Libya

Postcard from the ancient site of Cyrene, one of the oldest and most important ancient Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times. It was founded in 630 BC, becoming an important centre for philosophy and learning. Cyrene's chief local export through much of its early history was the valuable medicinal herb, silphium, which was in such demand that it was harvested to extinction. This, in conjunction with commercial competition from Carthage and Alexandria, and a series of earthquakes led to the city's decline and abandonment by 400 CE. Many thanks and shukran to friend Shadin who toured Libya on holiday.

Stamp on the right from a set of three about Boy Scouts in Libya. Stamp on the right from a 2001 set of six featuring traditional silver horse harnesses from the Tripoli International Fair.

New World Heritage sites 2014

As this year's World Heritage Committee meeting wraps up in Doha, Qatar, a big congratulations to the 26 new sites and four extensions that were inscribed on the World Heritage list, bringing the total number of Sites to 1007, in 161 countries. The 1000th site is the Okavango Delta in Botswana, and special congratulations to Burma for adding its first site to the list, Pyu Ancient Cities.

This is also the first time a Tentative List site featured on my blog has become a full-fledged site. Special congratulations to Erbil Citadel on its graduation.

There was quite a bit of controversy at this Committee meeting as well. Australia's idiot prime minister, Tony Abbot, wanted to delist a large section the Tasmanian Wilderness site (which had, in fact, been added to the List only the year prior), stating that Australia had "too much locked-up forest". The Committee took just seven minutes to consider the delisting bid, which member nation Portugal called "feeble", before rejecting it out of hand. There was also some consternation about the appropriateness of considering a bid from the United States, given the fact the USA has not paid their UNESCO dues for several years now. The Native American Poverty Point site in Louisiana was nevertheless inscribed in the list.

More information all all the new sites from UNESCO's site here.

Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex (Russian Federation)
Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey (Germany)
Caves of Maresha and Bet-Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands as a Microcosm of the Land of the Caves (Israel)
Decorated cave of Pont d’Arc, known as Grotte Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, Ardèche (France)
Erbil Citadel (Iraq)
Great Himalayan National Park (India)
Historic Jeddah, the Gate to Makkah (Saudi Arabia)
Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point (United States of America)
Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (Philippines)
Namhansanseong (South Korea)
Okavango Delta (Botswana)
Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir (Palestine)
Pergamon and its Multi-Layered Cultural Landscape (Turkey)
Precolumbian chiefdom settlements with stone spheres of the Diquís (Costa Rica)
Pyu Ancient Cities (Burma)
Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru)
Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat (India)
Shahr-I Sokhta (Iran)
Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor (Kyrgyzstan, China and Kazakhstan)
Stevns Klint (Denmark)
The Grand Canal (China)
The Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato (Italy)
Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites (Japan)
Trang An Landscape Complex (Viet Nam)
Van Nellefabriek (Netherlands)

Canada – Newfoundland and Labrador II

Postcard of Gros Morne National Park, a world heritage site located on the west coast of Newfoundland. The park was established as a reserve in 1973 and made a national park in 2005. As an outlying range of the Appalachian Mountains, the park provides a rare example of the process of continental drift, where deep ocean crust and the rocks of the earth's mantle lie exposed. It is also notable for its glacier-carved fjords, one of which is pictured here.

Definitive, self-adhesive stamp of blue-flag irises from a 2004 series on flowers.

Egypt

This super disco retro postcard was, without exaggerating, the only one I could find during my holiday there – and even still it took a day of hunting to find it. Looks to be from the mid-1970s judging by the groovy clothes the tourists are wearing. 

Postcard is of Abu Simbel temple in southern Egypt. The temples were originally carved out of a mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the thirteenth century BC. However, the complex was relocated in its entirety in 1968 to an artificial hill high above the Aswan High Dam reservoir. The relocation of the temples was necessary to avoid their being submerged when Lake Nasser was formed following the construction of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River.

The temple complex is part of the "Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae" World Heritage site. In fact, UNESCO was instrumental in moving of the temples to a new site and the safeguarding campaign they spearheaded made the importance of protecting our planet's heritage very clear. It led to the mobilisation of international resources to create the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was adopted in 1972.

Stamps are from the 2002 definitive issue featuring Egyptian Archaeology.

Canada – Nova Scotia

Postcard from the East Coast fishing town of Lunenburg. The town is the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America and, as such, is a World Heritage site, Old Town Lunenburg. Established in 1753, it has retained its original layout and overall appearance, with preserved wooden architecture dating, in some cases, from the eighteenth century. The town is also known for its flat-bottomed wooden boats, seen here in the foreground.

 Previously featured definitive stamp series featuring baby animal.

A not often seen Canadian air mail label.

United States of America – California II

A postcard of loggers and a California redwood tree; must be a rather old photo too as redwood have been protected species for a long time. Giant redwoods, Sequoia sempervirens, are very tall, long-lived trees that can grow more than a hundred metres high and live more than 1,000 years. In the past they were distributed across most of coastal California, although they were heavily logged (as seen in the postcard photo) from the 1850s with the arrival of European goldminers and pioneers. It's estimated that as little as 5% of the original old-growth redwood forest remains, almost half of which is protected in Redwood National and State Parks, a UNESCO World Heritage site and part of the California Coastal Ranges Biosphere Reserve.

Thanks to friends David and Cormac who were on a road trip holiday!

This is the first American international rate "Forever" stamp in my collection. It's pretty dull, if you ask me. Everyone is probably already bored to death of it and I won't go to the bother of uploading any future copies I receive. 

Canada – British Colombia VI

Postcard of Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park with an X-marks-the-spot showing the ultimate destination of my stepmother and family on their recent hiking trip. Many thanks to her for sending the card.

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park as established in 1922 and, despite the fact that there is no road access to the park at all, is home to the first ski lodge established in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Mount Assiniboine Lodge. Mount Assiniboine is named after the teepees of the Assiniboine native people of the Prairies whose shape resembles the mountain's peak. Part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage site.

Stamp is previously featured definitive of baby moose with unlovely laser cancellation.

Canada – Alberta VII

Postcard of the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, a World Heritage site in the Rocky Mountains straddling the Canadian–American border. The transnational park is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and is the first transboundary site in my collection of World Heritage sites. The union of Waterton (Canadian) and Glacier (American) National Parks was achieved in 1932, although the parks had been established earlier, in 1895 and 1910 respectively.

The Prince of Wales Hotel has a rather interesting history as well. Constructed between 1926 and 1927, the hotel was built by the American Great Northern Railway to lure American tourists north of the border during the prohibition era. The hotel was named after the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), in an attempt to entice him to stay in the hotel during his 1927 Canadian tour, but the Prince stayed at a nearby ranch instead! It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada by the Canadian government in 1995.

Previously featured baby Arctic hare definitive stamps used.

Canada – Alberta VI

Postcard from Canada's third World Heritage site, Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, inscribed on the List in 1981. The site is a buffalo jump, used by the indigenous people of the prairies for more than 5,000 years to drive bison over cliffs in large numbers for food, leather, and hides. The name of the site come from a Blackfoot legend, whereby a young Blackfoot wanted to watch the bison plunge off the cliff from below, but was buried underneath the falling bison. He was later found dead under the pile of carcasses, where he had his head smashed in.

Many thanks to friend Paul for send this card during his holiday.

Previously featured self-adhesive, permanent rate, definitive stamp from a series on baby animals. Seen here, the Arctic hare, Lepus arcticus, with a rare-for-Canada hand cancellation.