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.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

This card shows Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque – originally known as Saint Nicholas's Cathedral – in Famagusta, Northern Cyprus. It was consecrated as a Catholic cathedral in 1328 and was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman Empire captured Famagusta in 1571. It remains a mosque to this day. The building strongly resembles Reims Cathedral and its Rayonnant Gothic style is quite rare outside of France.

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has eluded me for quite a long time, so a massive "thank you" is due to Rosaleen and John, my better half's mother's neighbours, who took time out of their holiday and looked past our very tenuous connection to send this card to me. And another big thanks to Annette for talking me up to the neighbours and arranging for this card to be sent. I'm forever grateful to you all.

Information about Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus stamps is rather hard to come by. Beyond saying that they were released in 2015 and, quite clearly, feature a dog, not much more I can add. Cute dog though.

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.

Palestine

Multiview postcard showing various sites around the Palestinian city of Hebron, an ancient city dating back to the Early Bronze Age. It is also the second largest city in Palestine, after Gaza.

Many thanks and a big shukran to Zahra for helping me scratch Palestine off my list. Nearly collected all of Asia now! :-)

Stamp from a 2013 (though actually released in 2014) set  of four commemorating Palestinian Police Day.

Kuwait

Postcard of "Donkey cart with enjoyment of the Children". Surely, one of the fugliest postcards in my collection. Out of all of the things one could photograph in Kuwait, a sickly donkey pulling a mobile child-prison past a death trap-slash-funfair can't possibly be very high on the list. Even just some sand dunes or a traffic intersection would be better.

I am nevertheless very grateful to my friend Jennifer who sent this to me while on a long layover in Kuwait Airport. Shukran!

Stamp from 2003 commemorating the 42nd anniversary of independence from the United Kingdom in 1961. 

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.

Oman

Apologies to all for my overly extended hiatus from the bloggosphere. I was busy with work and then moved house right before leaving for Christmas holidays. Am only now starting to get back to the normal order of things. Starting off the New Year on the right foot, however, with a new country for the collection: OMAN! Woots are in order, as are many thanks to friend Ceri who was in Oman on holiday (and reports loving it immensely).

Card shows the Omani traditional dagger, called the khanjar (خنجر‎). It is a symbolic weapon, worn by men after puberty and carried in an ornamental, filigree silver scabbard. It's of such importance to the national culture that it even appears on the flag and in the national emblem.

Definitive stamps from the set issued in 2001, again featuring the khanjar.

Qatar II

Card from Doha, the capital city of Qatar. On the left, the cucumber lookalike Doha Tower, designed by my least-favourite "starchitect" Jean Nouvel and completed in 2012. In the centre, the Zigzag Towers, a residential development. On the left, the Aspire Tower, which, at 36 floors, is currently the tallest building in Qatar.

Many thanks and shukran to Salah for sending it.

Stamp on the left is from a 2009 set of 13 on the birds of Qatar. It features the lesser grey shrike, Lanius minor, a common bird in South and Central Europe and western Asia that migrates to southern Africa in the early autumn. Stamp on the right is from a 1998 set of 20 about insects; featured here is the epaulet skimmer, Orthetrum chrysostigma, a common dragonfly found in Africa.

United Arab Emirates

Long skinny postcard showing Dubai's famous Burj Al Arab Hotel. The hotel is renowned for being highly luxurious and is sometimes billed as the world's only "seven star" hotel. The Royal Suite, billed at US$18,776 per night, is one of the most expensive hotel rooms in the world.

Many thanks to Salah for swapping cards. You can check out Salah's postcard blog, ASDF Postcrossing.

Joint stamp set commemorating Arab Postal Day 2008, which highlights cooperation and communication among Arab States in the field of postal services.

Yemen

Woohoo! Following hot on the heels of Kurdistan is another new country to add to my list, also courtesy of Oliver who was travelling in Yemen on holiday. Many, many thanks to him. Card shows some traditional buildings in the capital city of Sana'a. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and, at an altitude of 2,300 metres, is also one of the highest capital cities in the world. The Old City of Sana'a is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its distinctive and unique architecture, most notably its multi-storey buildings decorated with geometric patterns.

Two somewhat older stamps, from 1995 and 1996 respectively. Left stamp features a caracal, a common desert and savannah animal ranging throughout Africa and the Middle East, in promotion of the World Environment Day (I think) on 5 June. Stamp on left features Old Sana'a.

Kurdistan

WOOOHOOO!!! Just a few days after complaining about getting several cards in a row from countries that "didn't count" for my every country goal, I get a card from a place I thought, quite frankly, I would never get a card from: Kurdistan! It is a semi-autonomous region of northern Iraq that's taken increasing steps towards full independence following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, who was very hostile towards the Kurdish people. Postcard shows the Citadel of Erbil, in the eponymous capital city. Evidence of human habitation goes back to 4,000 BC and may even go as far back as the Neolithic Period, making the Citadel one of the oldest continually occupied sites in the world. Part of the Erbil Citadel site on the Tentative World Heritage List that was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2014. The first card displayed here to move from the tentative list to inscription.

My super-duper huge enormous high-five and bear hug thanks to Oliver for send this to me. 

As Kurdistan has become more (semi-) autonomous, it's begun doing a bunch of State-like things such as issuing own stamps that are recognised for international mailing (unlike other most other breakaway States  – I'm looking at you Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria) and stamping passports at borders (photo). Information about Kurdistani stamps is understandably pretty sparse. On the left, as you can see, a stamp issued in 2010 for the Post Festival Erbil with the logo of the Universal Postal Union. On the right, a coat of arms, but not the national coat of arms, which is different.

Oman

Postcard showing a view of the Omani capital of Muscat. With archaeological dating as far back as 6,000 BC, the city has always been an important trading post between East and West. Controlled by a number of regional powers through its history, by the nineteenth century Muscat and Oman had itself become a regional power, spreading its control over much of the Persian Gulf, southern Arabia, and the east coast of Africa. The capital of Oman was even moved to Zanzibar, in modern-day Tanzania, at one point, but was moved back to Muscat following a split in the royal family in 1856.

Many thanks for this card to Yoann who was in Oman on holiday.

Sadly, the card was not sent from Oman but France and features the French permanent rate, self adhesive stamp. The hunt for a stamped card sent from Oman continues!

Lebanon II

Night view of the Pigeon Rocks, which sit in the Mediterranean Sea just off the coast of Beirut's cliff-side Corniche Road. The shores near the Pigeon Rocks have yielded the area's oldest evidence of human existence, with flints and basic stone tools dating, in some cases, as far back as a million years ago.

Thanks again to Hicham for send me another Lebanon card! :-)

Previously featured stamp of Fayrouz, a Lebanese singer who is widely considered to be the most famous living singer in the Arab World.

Lebanon

Deir el Kamar is a village in south-central Lebanon that was the residence of the governors of Lebanon during the Ottoman period. It is notable for its numerous historical buildings, and also as the birthplace of many well known personalities, such as artists, writers, and politicians. 

Big thanks to Couchsurfer Hicham for sending me my first postcard from Lebanon!

Fayrouz is a Lebanese singer who is widely considered to be the most famous living singer in the Arab World.

Morocco

Dyer's Souk in Marrakesh, one of Morocco's four imperial cities, located in the south central part of the country and was political, economic and cultural centre for a long period in the Middle Ages. Marrakesh's souk is the largest in Morocco and is part of the Medina of Marrakesh UNESCO World Heritage site.

Qatar

An aerial view of Qatar, presumably of the capital Doha, but there is no information on the back of the card to elucidate the situation.

I had a layover at Doha Airport a few months ago and was utterly despondent to find no postcards for sale there whatsoever. A pretty lacklustre airport to be sure! :-)

Thanks to Maff for agreeing to swap.

A stamp from a series of past World Cup posters, here Mexico 1970, issued to commemorate the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan. Confusingly, looks rather more like a Mexico stamp than a Qatar one, if you ask me.

Saudi Arabia

Jizan Folklore Dance, Janadriyah Festival, Riyadh.

Janadriyah Festival is a national heritage and folk cultural festival. Traditional activities, including folk dances, camel races, arts and crafts exhibits as well as poetry readings are showcased during the two-week festival. Jizan is a coastal region in the south-west of Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. 

Sincere thanks to Oliver for the card.

A rather uninspiring postal rate sticker.

Iran

Persepolis was the capital of Persian kings from 550-330 BC and was declared a World Heritage site in 1979. It was purportedly one of the most lavish cities of it's time. It was sacked by Alexander the Great during his Persian campaign and went into decline thereafter. It was one of the first sites added to the World Heritage List.




















Bluestriped angelfish, a reef fish which lives off the coasts of eastern Asia.

Bahrain

Early example of Bahraini architecture – Al Khamis Mosque. The Al Khamis Mosque is believed to be the first mosque in Bahrain. The foundation of this mosque is believed to have been laid as early as 692 AD. An inscription found on the site, however, suggests a foundation date sometimes during the 11th Century.

Definitive stamp showing the King of Bahrain and 2010 stamp to commemorate the World Cup in South Africa.

Algeria

Alger – Capitale d'Algérie et perle du Maghreb. Située au nord centre. Chef lieu de wilaya (préfecture), Superficie : 272,97 km, Altitude : 275 m de Bouzaréah, Population : 2.562.00 h (1998). Le mémorial du martyr superficie 3700m². Érigé en 1982 pour le 20e Anniversaire de l'indépendence, il est formé de trois gigantesques pales de 97 m d'hauteur stylisée au pied desquelles se dressent trois satutues de moudjahidines. Il domine toute la baie d'Alger et le complexe culturel et commerical de Riadh El-Feth le "Parc de la victoire" à l'Est duquel commence à s'édifier Alger du XXI siècle.













Centenary of the University of Algiers.