Finland

A slightly older card for a change... I was supposed to become postcard pals with the girl who sent me this card, but I only ever received this one postcard from her and never heard from her again. At least it's a very nice card.. :)

I have no idea where in Finland this image was taken, there is no description whatsoever on the card. This could be anywhere... I've really started to enjoy views like this after moving to England. I guess I do get a little homesick at times...

animals of Costa Rica

This is an official I received almost six years ago. I thought it was really sweet of the sender to send this to me from her trip to Costa Rica. I certainly don't mind the country ID not matching the picture or the stamps. ;)

  US-395952   I do hope I got the species right here... This is what a quick google search and Wikipedia gave me:

The white-headed capuchin (Cebus capucinus), also known as the white-faced capuchin or white-throated capuchin, is a medium-sized New World monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae. Native to the forests of Central America and the extreme north-western portion of South America, the white-headed capuchin is important to rainforest ecology for its role in dispersing seeds and pollen.

The Central American squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii) is a squirrel monkey species from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and Panama. It is restricted to the northwestern tip of Panama near the border with Costa Rica, and the central and southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, primarily in Manuel Antonio and Corcovado National Parks.

Spider monkeys of the genus Ateles are New World monkeys in the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil. The genus contains seven species, all of which are under threat; the black-headed spider monkey, and brown spider monkey are critically endangered.

The mantled howler (Alouatta palliata), or golden-mantled howling monkey, is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is one of the monkey species most often seen and heard in the wild in Central America. It takes its "mantled" name from the long guard hairs on its sides.

a tiny post office, North Carolina, USA

This is a slightly older card, received six year ago as an official. I'd been meaning to post it here for ages but something was always playing up with Flickr when I tried. Well, here it is now.

  US-356730   What a cute little post office! It's located in Salvo in North Carolina, USA. The sender told me that it looks more like a child's playhouse and the post mistress is an elderly lady.

Salvo is a census-designated place located in Dare County, North Carolina, on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Originally (with Rodanthe and Waves) part of the settlement of Chicamacomico, Salvo was originally known as Clarks or Clarksville.

The name "Salvo" allegedly stems from the American Civil War, during which a passing Union vessel spotted the settlement, which was not marked on their maps. The commanding officer ordered an attack, and a sailor marked the site on his map with the word "Salvo." The name was formally given to the town when it received a post office in 1901. The Salvo post office, zip code 27972, one of the smallest postal facilities in the United States, was damaged by an arsonist in 1992. A new post office was constructed later in the decade for all of Chicamacomico. Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 damaged much of the Outer Banks area including Salvo.

Zhetysu, Northern Tian Shan, Kazakhstan

This is a pretty old card in my collection, received back in 2009 from Jo, who was still living in Kazakhstan at the time but has since moved to Vietnam (not sure if she still lives there??). It's such a nice view, too!

Zhetysu is a historical name of a part of Central Asia, corresponding to the South-Eastern part of modern Kazakhstan. It owes its name, meaning "seven rivers" (literally "seven waters") in Kazakh, to the rivers which flow from the south-east into Lake Balkhash. When the region was incorporated into the Russian Empire in the 19th century, it became known in Russian (and, to an extent, in European languages) as Semirechye, which is a Russian calque of the Kazakh "Zhetysu". Zhetysu falls into today's Almaty Province, which is part of Kazakhstan. However, the Semirechye Oblast, as an administrative unit of the Russian Empire, included not only Zhetysu proper but also lands that now constitute parts of northern Kyrgyzstan and adjacent provinces of Kazakhstan as well.

The Tian Shan is a large system of mountain ranges located in Central Asia. The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Victory Peak (Jengish Chokusu), 7,439 metres.

Amish Country, USA

I seem to remember there was a documentary series on TV here last (?) year about the Amish. I didn't watch too much of it but I did find it kind of interesting. I've got a couple of postcards about the Amish, one an official and one that I received as part of a swap so I thought I'd include them both here. The first one is from Pennsylvania and the second one from Indiana.

  US-194987
The Amish are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships, closely related to but distinct from Mennonite churches, with whom they share Swiss Anabaptist origins. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish.

 In the early 18th century, many Amish and Mennonites immigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons. Today, the most traditional descendants of the Amish continue to speak Pennsylvania German, also known as "Pennsylvania Dutch". However, a dialect of Swiss German predominates in some Old Order Amish communities, especially in the American state of Indiana. As of 2000, over 165,000 Old Order Amish live in the United States and about 1,500 live in Canada. A 2008 study suggested their numbers have increased to 227,000, and in 2010 a study suggested their population had grown by 10 percent in the past two years to 249,000, with increasing movement to the West.

Amish church membership begins with baptism, usually between the ages of 16 and 25. It is a requirement for marriage, and once a person has affiliated with the church, he or she may marry only within the faith. Church districts average between 20 and 40 families, and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member's home. The district is led by a bishop and several ministers and deacons. The rules of the church, the Ordnung, must be observed by every member and cover most aspects of day-to-day living, including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles, as well as regulations on clothing. Most Amish do not buy commercial insurance or participate in Social Security. As present-day Anabaptists, Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service.

Amish children in straw hats and bonnets are a common sight during school days in Northern Indiana Amish Country. One room Amish schoolhouses dot the countryside along the 90-mile Heritage Trail audio tour route.

Falafel - Israel's national snack

Another postcard from 2009. I'm not sure why I don't post more food and drink related postcards in this blog as I really like them and have a rather large collection of them. Hmm....

I really like falafels but don't have them very often as the fast-food places around here don't really do them and there are no restaurants like that around, either. Maybe I should just make them myself - and NOT use the mixes where you only need to add water and possibly a bit of something else. :P There's a recipe on the back of this postcard which sounds pretty tasty. :P

Choirokoitia, Cyprus

An older card for now from my Unesco collection. This is one of the surprise postcards I received from Maria in Cyprus back in 2009.
 

The Neolithic settlement of Choirokoitia, occupied from the 7th to the 4th millennium B.C., is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the eastern Mediterranean. Its remains and the finds from the excavations there have thrown much light on the evolution of human society in this key region. Since only part of the site has been excavated, it forms an exceptional archaeological reserve for future study.

Nunavut, Canada

A lovely card from back in 2009. Alas, this wasn't mailed from Canada but I don't really mind too much when the card is this beautiful and I had had it in my favourites for a while.

Clockwise from top left: The Inuksuk, Purple Saxifrage, Canadian Inuit Dog, The Rock Ptarmigan.

Nunavut is the largest, northernmost and newest territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the boundaries had been contemplatively drawn in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the first major change to Canada's political map since the incorporation of the new province of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949.

Nunavut comprises a major portion of Northern Canada, and most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Its vast territory makes it the fifth-largest country subdivision in the world, as well as the second-largest in North America after Greenland. The capital Iqaluit (formerly "Frobisher Bay") on Baffin Island, in the east, was chosen by the 1995 capital plebiscite. Other major communities include the regional centres of Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay. Nunavut also includes Ellesmere Island to the far north, as well as the eastern and southern portions of Victoria Island in the west and Akimiski Island in James Bay to the far south. It is the only geo-political region of Canada that is not connected to the rest of North America by highway.

Nunavut is both the least populous and the largest in area of the provinces and territories of Canada. One of the most remote, sparsely settled regions in the world, it has a population of 31,906, mostly Inuit, spread over a land area the size of Western Europe. Nunavut is also home to the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world, Alert. A weather station farther down Ellesmere Island, Eureka, has the lowest average annual temperature of any weather station in Canada.

Luang Prabang, Laos

This was a bit of a surprise in my mailbox back in 2009... A postcard from Laos! ...and with such a small postcard ID as well. It's just a shame that the card wasn't actually mailed from Laos but from Thailand, it would've been nice to get a stamp and cancellation from Laos as well.. :/ Incidentally, a friend of mine in Finland received a postcard from the same person around the same time! What are the chances?!?

  LA-61   If I understood the description on the back of the card, this is a photo from a Lao New Year's festival ('Pii Mai', taking place in April.

Luang Prabang is a city located in north central Laos, at the confluence of the Nam Khan river and Mekong River about 300 km north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province. The population of the city is about 50,000. The city was formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It had also been known by the ancient name of Chiang Thong. Until the communist takeover in 1975, it was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Its population was estimated to be around 6.5 million in 2012.

Laos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang, which existed from the 14th to the 18th century when it split into three kingdoms. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three kingdoms — Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak — uniting to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a long civil war ended the monarchy, when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975.

Laos is a single-party socialist republic. It espouses Marxism and is governed by a single party communist politburo dominated by military generals. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Army continue to have significant influence in Laos. The capital city is Vientiane. Other large cities include Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Pakse. The official language is Lao. Laos is a multi-ethnic country with the politically and culturally dominant Lao people making up approximately 60% of the population, mostly in the lowlands. Mon-Khmer groups, the Hmong, and other indigenous hill tribes, accounting for 40% of the population, live in the foothills and mountains.

Malaysian treats

This is an official I received back in 2009, and SUCH a lovely card! I had actually had this one in my favourites for quite a while before then so I was super excited to receive it as an official Postcrossing card.

  MY-15053   The cakes and cookies look totally mouthwatering! Zia, the sender of this card, tells me that 'kuih' is the general name for these cookies and cakes. They are usually made with rice flour, coconut milk, sugar and various flavourings. They can be prepared in many different ways - steamed, boiled, baked or deep fried. Mmmmm....! The pink ones with white stripes on the left are called 'lapis'.

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

I posted a card from the British Virgin Islands yesterday.. well, I have one from the US Virgin Islands as well so I thought I'd post that one here as well :D I have to admit, though, that for such a long time I thought that this was just a regular postcard from the USA... How embarrassing!

I received this postcards some years ago from Kristy from the US, she sent me this card from her holidays to the Caribbean. We were supposed to become penpals but I think we only ever wrote each other two letters if that... Which is a shame because she seemed like a really nice person. I'm a rubbish penpal these days, though, and tend to take ages to write back to people. I feel really guilty about it but it just keeps happening :/

The Virgin Islands of the United States (commonly called the United States Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Virgin Islands or USVI) are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.

 The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas, along with the much smaller but historically distinct Water Island, and many other surrounding minor islands. The total land area of the territory is (346.4 km2. The territory's capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of Saint Thomas.

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 106,405, mostly composed by those of Afro-Caribbean descent. Tourism is the primary economic activity, although there is a significant rum manufacturing sector.

I love it how the stamp actually matches the card! The larger one shows St. John on the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Brei Roub Temple, Cambodia

Another fairly old card, this is actually an official Postcrossing card! It's also one of my only postcards received from Cambodia so it's pretty special to me.

KH-186 

Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia and once known as the Khmer Empire, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Its total landmass is 181,035 square kilometres, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

With a population of over 14.8 million, Cambodia is the 70th most populous country in the world. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, which is practiced by approximately 95% of the Cambodian population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural center of Cambodia. The kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving non-royal leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years.

Cambodia's ancient name is "Kambuja". In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king marking the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years allowing successive kings to dominate much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the spread of first Hinduism, then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia. After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, Cambodia was ruled as a vassal between its neighbors until it became a protectorate by the French in the mid-19th century. Cambodia gained independence in 1953.

The Vietnam War extended into Cambodia, during which the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carried out the Cambodian Genocide from 1975-1979 when they were ousted by Vietnam and then fought against the Vietnamese backed People's Republic of Kampuchea in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979-1991). Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992-1993). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90% of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of President Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party who remain in power as of 2013.

Cambodia has since had one of the best economic records in Asia, with economic growth averaging 6 percent for the last 10 years. Strong textiles, agriculture, construction, garments, and tourism sectors led to foreign investments and international trade. Oil and natural gas deposits found beneath Cambodia's territorial waters in 2005 remain mostly untapped, due in part to territorial disputes with Thailand.

This cancellation really confuses me - it clearly says 2008 but the card was actually mailed in 2009! Also, it looks like it says 'May' but the card was sent in April. Someone in the post office wasn't paying attention??

a street vendor, Vietnam

Most of my Vietnam postcards are from Jo; I've had some real treats from her. This one is from a swap in 2009.

I don't have much to say about this card except that I really like it, it's always great to see postcards showing ordinary people. I wonder how heavy that tray of sugar cane is...

El Jazzar's Mosque, Acre, Israel

I haven't posted any Israeli postcards here for quite a while now so here's one, received back in 2009. ...and I just realised that this card probably counts towards my Unesco collection as well :)

Acre is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. The city occupies an important location, as it sits on the coast of the Mediterranean, linking the waterways and commercial activity with the Levant Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the world.

Historically, it was a strategic coastal link to the Levant. In crusader times it was known as St. John d'Acre after the Knights Hospitaller of St John order who had their headquarters there. Acre is the holiest city of the Bahá'í Faith. In 2011, the population was 46,464. Acre is a mixed city, 72 percent Jewish and 28 percent Arab.

The Old City of Acre is a Unesco World Heritage site. Acre is a historic walled port-city with continuous settlement from the Phoenician period. The present city is characteristic of a fortified town dating from the Ottoman 18th and 19th centuries, with typical urban components such as the citadel, mosques, khans and baths. The remains of the Crusader town, dating from 1104 to 1291, lie almost intact, both above and below today's street level, providing an exceptional picture of the layout and structures of the capital of the medieval Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem.

La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain

Another postcard from 2009... and another one picked because it's vaguely holiday-related. No, I won't be going to La Palma or even the Canary Islands, but I will be going to Spain at the beginning of September. Me and my husband will be going to Benidorm for a week for holiday. I hope it'll be good and not too much like a touristy hell.. it did sound nice, though, with lots to do, and I'm hoping to visit some of the nearby areas that might seem a bit more "Spanish".. :P And it should be nice and sunny! :D Anyway, I wouldn't mind visiting the Canary Islands at some point, either. My grandma and her husband spent a few months on Tenerife last winter and will be going again this year. I'd love to be able to escape the cold winters as well... :P

La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands, Africa. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands. The total population is about 86,000, of which 18,000 (2003 data) live in the capital, Santa Cruz de la Palma and about 20,000 (2004 data) in Los Llanos de Aridane.

La Palma, like the other islands of the Canary Island archipelago, is a volcanic ocean island. The volcano rises almost 7 km above the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. There is road access from sea level to the summit at 2,426 m, which is marked by an outcrop of rocks called Los Muchachos ("The Lads"). This is the site of the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, one of the world's premier astronomical observatories.

The local economy is primarily based on agriculture and tourism. Platanos (or Bananas) are grown throughout the island with many banana farms on the western side of the island in the valley of Los Llanos de Aridane. Other crops include: Strelitzia (or 'Bird of Paradise') flowers, oranges, avocados and grapes (which grow well in the volcanic soil). The wine from the grapes is prized. Local ranchers herd cows, sheep and goats (from which they make goat cheese).

Helsinki Cathedral, Helsinki, Finland

This is a slightly older card, received about four years ago from dear Marja in Finland. I really like all the postcards I've seen from this particular series, and I just love the design of this card for some reason. Haha, and I wanted to post something Finland-related as I'll be going there in a month. I'll be staying for a week there, visiting family. I'm really looking forward to it, seeing my family again and all the familiar places as well. Hopefully it'll still be nice and warm as well, it seems like this summer has been pretty good over there so far. ...better than here in England at least, although the past few days have been really hot here and I'm boiling at the moment. Still, I much prefer this to the usual cold, miserable weather. :P

Helsinki Cathedral (Finnish: Helsingin tuomiokirkko, Suurkirkko) is the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighbourhood of Kruununhaka in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. The church was originally built from 1830-1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. It was also known as St Nicholas' Church until the independence of Finland in 1917.

 A distinctive landmark in the Helsinki cityscape, with its tall, green dome surrounded by four smaller domes, the building is in the neoclassical style. It was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel as the climax of his Senate Square layout: it is surrounded by other, smaller buildings designed by him. The church's plan is a Greek cross (a square centre and four equilateral arms), symmetrical in each of the four cardinal directions, with each arm's façade featuring a colonnade and pediment. Engel originally intended to place a further row of columns on the western end to mark the main entrance opposite the eastern altar, but this was never built.

Today, the cathedral is one of Helsinki's most popular tourist attractions. More than 350,000 people visit the church each year, some to attend religious events, but mostly as tourists. The church is in regular use for services of worship and special events such as weddings.

Masjed-e Jāmé, Isfahan, Iran

This card is a bit older... I received this one back in 2009, from a tag on the Postcrossing forum. I've been reading a Middle East cookbook recently and there are lots of yummy-sounding Iranian recipes in it that I'd love to try, mmmmm... Well, here's a postcard from Iran, then, to keep up with the theme :P

Located in the historic centre of Isfahan, the Masjed-e Jāmé (‘Friday mosque’) can be seen as a stunning illustration of the evolution of mosque architecture over twelve centuries, starting in ad 841. It is the oldest preserved edifice of its type in Iran and a prototype for later mosque designs throughout Central Asia. The complex, covering more than 20,000 m2, is also the first Islamic building that adapted the four-courtyard layout of Sassanid palaces to Islamic religious architecture. Its double-shelled ribbed domes represent an architectural innovation that inspired builders throughout the region. The site also features remarkable decorative details representative of stylistic developments over more than a thousand years of Islamic art.

Timiou Stavrou (Holy Cross), Cyprus

Uh-oh... It's been ages since I last posted here, it seems. I don't want to go into detail here, I'll just say that I haven't really been in the mood for updating this blog (and as a result the pile of cards I WOULD eventually like to post about here is getting bigger and bigger). This first card isn't even all that recent.. I received it back in 2009, from the same woman who sent me this card, and one more that might end up in this blog one day..



Anyway, this card shows the Timiou Stavrou (Holy Cross) church. This small 14th century church was restored in 1995 and has a unique icon of Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. Fine wall paintings blend Byzantine Orthodox and Venetian Catholic influences. It is one of the Painted Churches in the Troodos Region, Cyprus, a Unesco site. This region is characterized by one of the largest groups of churches and monasteries of the former Byzantine Empire. The complex of 10 monuments included on the World Heritage List, all richly decorated with murals, provides an overview of Byzantine and post-Byzantine painting in Cyprus. They range from small churches whose rural architectural style is in stark contrast to their highly refined decoration, to monasteries such as that of St John Lampadistis.

Lappeenranta, Finland

Uh oh.. long time no see. I didn't realise it's been *that* long since I last updated this blog. I don't want to go into details here, let me just say that I haven't really been in the mood for updating this, or doing many other things. I haven't actually sent that many postcards in the past few months, either.. :/ ...and now Christmas is almost here (again)! I'm not very much in a festive mood at the moment and it's not helped by the fact that it's been raining so much for the past few days, and it looks like it's going to be the same over Christmas. I don't normally like snow all that much but it does make the scenery more Christmas-y. :P Therefore I thought I'd post a couple of snowy views of my old hometown Lappeenranta in Finland.

These are actually both Christmas postcards, issued by the local energy company. You couldn't really tell, though, they are REALLY nice. The top one was sent to me and Matt's family by my parents a couple (?) of years ago and shows a view of the harbour, one of my favourite places in the town. The card on the bottom, then, was an official I received in 2009 from a Postcrosser who lives in Lappeenranta! I love coincidences like that :D The picture is from the old fortress, another favourite place of mine and perfect for sliding down the hills with a big bin bag in winters :D (We did that when Matt's family came over some years ago for a visit, hehe.)

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

It is Ramadan at the moment so I thought I'd post something relating to it, and thought a mosque postcard would be appropriate. For some reason I find mosque postcards really fascinating - these buildings always look so impressive and beautiful, with lots of details.

As you can read on the card above, Abu Dhabi's grand mosque is one of the largest mosques in the world and can accommodate more than 30,000 worshippers. Aisha, who sent me this card, tells me that Aladdin's palace from the Disney cartoon was inspired by this mosque! Inside the mosque is heavily ornated with 24Kt gold.

 The mosque's design and construction 'unites the world', using artisans and materials from many countries including Italy, Germany, Morocco, India, Turkey, Iran, China, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Greece and of course the United Arab Emirates. More than 3,000 workers and 38 renowned contracting companies took part in the construction of the mosque. Natural materials were chosen for much of its design and construction due to their long-lasting qualities, including marble, stone, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and ceramics. Construction began on November 5, 1996.