GREECE - Meteora: Monasteries of Varlaam and Metamorfoseos

Vlad of Romania, my postcard pals sent me this card of Meteora, Greece. Thank you for the nice card, Vlad.

"Varlaam Monastery (or Barlaam Monastery) in the Meteora is named for the monk who first built a tiny chapel on this rocky promontory in the 14th century. It has an elegant church with 16th-century frescoes by a well-known iconographer and other notable buildings."

GUERNSEY - Christmas Card 2014

Thank you Denise of Guernsey for the nice Christmas Card.

ETHIOPIA - Simen Mountain National Park

"Simien Mountains National Park is one of the national parks of Ethiopia. Located in the Semien (North) Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, its territory covers the Simien Mountains and includes Ras Dashan, the highest point in Ethiopia. It is home to a number of endangered species, including the Ethiopian wolf and the walia ibex, a wild goat found nowhere else in the world.

It was one of the first sites to be made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (1978). However, due to serious population declines of some of its characteristic native species, in 1996 it was also added to the List of World Heritage in Danger."

The stamps was issued in 2003 and is 1 of 25 in definitive set.

NEW JERSEY - New Jersey Map Card

New Jersey map card from Papa Plus. Thank you!

"New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by New York State, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania, and on the southwest by Delaware. New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state, but the 11th-most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States."

UTAH - Box Death Hollow

"Box-Death Hollow Wilderness is a 25,751 acres (104 km2) wilderness area located in south-central Utah, United States, on the Dixie National Forest. Vertical gray-orange walls of Navajo sandstone stand above two canyon tributaries of the Escalante River in Box-Death Hollow. The name Death Hollow gives reference to a number of livestock that plunged to their death trying to cross the steep canyon."

INDONESIA - Borobudur

Thank you Herlina my postcard penpals for the Borobudur card.

"Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues each of which is seated inside a perforated stupa. It is the world’s largest Buddhist temple, as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world." WIKI

TATARSTAN - Kazan. V I Ulyanov-Lenin University

This card shows an old picture of Kazan, V I Ulyanov-Lenin University. Thanking Tatiana from Ukraine for the great swap.

"Kazan (Volga region) Federal University (Russian: Казанский (Приволжский) федеральный университет; Tatar Cyrillic: Казан (Идел Буе) федераль университеты, Latin: Qazan federal universitetı) is located in Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia. It was established in 2010 on the basis of the former Kazan State University, originally founded in 1804 as Kazan Imperial University. Kazan University is the second oldest of the current Russian universities. The famous mathematician Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky was its rector from 1827 until 1846. In 1925, the university was renamed in honour of its most famous alumnus, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin)."

CHINA - Sun Yat-Sen

"Sun Yat-sen (12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary, first president and founding father of the Republic of China, and medical practitioner. As the foremost pioneer of Republic of China, Sun is referred to as the "Father of the Nation" in the Republic of China (ROC), and the "forerunner of democratic revolution" in the People's Republic of China. Sun played an instrumental role in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty during the years leading up to the Double Ten Revolution.

He was appointed to serve as Provisional President of the Republic of China, when it was founded in 1912. He later co-founded the Kuomintang (KMT), serving as its first leader. Sun was a uniting figure in post-Imperial China, and remains unique among 20th-century Chinese politicians for being widely revered amongst the people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Although Sun is considered one of the greatest leaders of modern China, his political life was one of constant struggle and frequent exile."

PALESTINE - Panoramic view of Palestine Jerusalam

This is my first card from Palestinian Authority sent by Hazim.  Thank you very much Hazim.

"Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is sometimes considered to include adjoining territories. The name was used by Ancient Greek writers, and was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine Palaestina Prima and the Umayyad and Abbasid province of Jund Filastin. The region is also known as the Land of Israel, the Holy Land or Promised Land,  Situated at a strategic location between Egypt, Syria and Arabia, and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the region has a long and tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics. 

The region has been controlled by numerous peoples, including Ancient Egyptians, Canaanites, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, the Sunni Arab Caliphates, the Shia Fatimid Caliphate, Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mameluks, Mongols, Ottomans, the British and modern Israelis and Palestinians. The boundaries of the region have changed throughout history. The modern definition of the region was fixed in the North and East by the 1920–23 Paulet–Newcombe Agreement and British Mandate for Palestine, and on the South by the 1906 Turco-Egyptian boundary agreement. Today, the region comprises the State of Israel and Palestinian territories in which the State of Palestine was declared. - Wiki-"

USA - Michelle Obama

"Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American lawyer and writer. She is the wife of the 44th and current President of the United States, Barack Obama, and the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, she is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, and spent the early part of her legal career working at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met Obama. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center."

GERMANY - Munchen

"Munich is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria, on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg."

INDONESIA - Raja Ampat Islands in Papua

Thank you Yanita for the wonderful card of Raja Ampat Islands in Papua. I earn a nickname from her!

"Located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's West Papua province, Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo, and the smaller island of Kofiau."

RUSSIA - Coffee

FRANCE - Mona Lisa

CHINA - Walk to Tibet

Thank you Ziying for the nice swap.

"Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas, in China. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people. Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 metres (16,000 ft)."

Provinces of  China

PANAMA - City View

 Another great card from Anyi, Thank you!

"Bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica. Panama occupies the southeastern end of the isthmus forming the land bridge between North and South America."

ENGLAND - Northhumberland National Park

This card shows Hadrian's Wall and Housesteads Crags in winter. Thank you Alison Claire for the stunning card.

"Northumberland National Park is the northernmost national park in England. It covers an area of

more than 1030 km² between the Scottish border in the north to just south of Hadrian's Wall. It is one of the least populated and least visited of the National Parks. The park lies entirely within Northumberland, covering about a quarter of the county."

Lake Michigan Lighthouse, Chicago,IL

 Card shows Lake Michigan Lighthouse, Chicago, IL sent from Australia.

Northern Ireland - Belfast Castle

Thank you to Gordon for this wonderful card and stamps from Northern Ireland.

"Built in the late 12th century by the Normans,[1] was located in the town itself, flanked by the modern day High Street, Castle Place and Donegall Place in what is now Belfast city centre. This was the home of Sir Arthur Chichester, baron of Belfast, but was burned down in 1708, leaving only street names to mark the site. Rather than rebuild on the original site, the Chichesters decided to build a new residence in the city's suburbs, today's Belfast Castle emerging as a result. The building that stands today was built from 1811–70 by the 3rd Marquess of Donegall. It was designed in the Scottish baronial style by Charles Lanyon and his son, of the architectural firm Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon. After Donegall's death and the family's financial demise, the 8th Earl of Shaftesbury completed the house.

It was his son, the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, who presented the castle to the City of Belfast in 1934. In 1978, Belfast City Council began a major refurbishment over a period of ten years at a cost of over two million pounds. The architect was the Hewitt and Haslam Partnership. The building officially re-opened to the public on 11 November 1988."

GEORGIA - Svaneti

This card shows the upper Svanet, famour with its towers.  To the left you can see Skhera Summit and to the right Tetrnuldi Summit.  Thank you Khatuna for helping me with my collection.

"Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources) (Georgian: სვანეთი Svaneti) is a historic province in Georgia, in the northwestern part of the country. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of the Georgians."

MOLDOVA - Chisinau

Thank you Tanya for the great card and stamps.

"Chișinău, historically also known as Kishinev, is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. It is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc."

RUSSIA - Domes of the Annunciation Cathedral

"The Cathedral of the Annunciation (Russian: Благовещенский собор, or Blagoveschensky sobor) is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Annunciation of the Theotokos. It is located on the southwest side of Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia, where it connects directly to the main building of the complex of the Grand Kremlin Palace, adjacent to the Palace of Facets. It was originally the personal chapel for the Muscovite tsars, and its abbot remained a personal confessor of the Russian royal family until the early 20th century." WIKI 

GERMANY - Thatched House in Zingst on the Darss

USA - Cumberland River, Nashville

"The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The 688-mile -long river drains almost 18,000 square miles  of southern Kentucky and north-central Tennessee. The river flows generally west from a source in the Appalachian Mountains to its confluence with the Ohio River near Paducah, Kentucky, and the mouth of the Tennessee River. Major tributaries include the Obey, Caney Fork, Stones, and Red rivers."