PANAMA - Ruins of Archo Chato in San Felipe

Another wonderful card from Anyi, thank you very much!

"Built in 1678, it thrived until a fire devastated the building in 1756. Unfortunately, all that remains today is an outer shell that was never rebuilt. For more than three centuries, its entrance included an interesting flat arch known as the Arco Chato. At a height of approximately 35 feet with a 49-foot span, it was mostly noted for its lack of external support. This structure was so impressive that it was constantly cited as a powerful example of the country’s seismic stability when the United States considered taking over the Panama Canal project. But in November 2003, after centuries of neglect, the arch finally gave in and collapsed. Today, the ruins are being restored with eventual plans that include cultural and artistic presentation space for the public."

GUADELOUPE - Market view

Country #132 is Guadeloupe. Thank you Muriella for the nice card and stamps.

"Guadeloupe is a group of Caribbean islands located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 405,739 inhabitants.

It is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. Guadeloupe is an integral part of France, as are the other overseas departments."

SHANGHAI - City View

"Shanghai is the largest Chinese city by population and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of the People's Republic of China, with a population of more than 24 million as of 2013. It is a global financial center, and a transport hub with the world's busiest container port. Located in the Yangtze River Delta in East China, Shanghai sits on the south edge of the mouth of the Yangtze in the middle portion of the Chinese coast."

CALIFORNIA - Castro Street, Monntain View, Cal.

NEPAL - Patan Durbar Square

"Patan Durbar Square is situated at the centre of Lalitpur city. It is one of the three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of its attraction is The Ancient Royal Palace where Malla Kings of Lalitpur resided. The Durbar Square is a marvel of Newa architecture. The Square floor is tiled with red bricks. There are many temples and idols in the area."

CANADA

Penpal cover letter for Canada with a nice goat stamp.

CHINA - Jin Hongjun painting

Thank you Cai Jing from Zhenjian, Jiangsu Province, China, for the nice card.

"Mr. Jin Hongjun / 靳洪軍 was born in 1937 and is a native of Beijing. His family are descendants of the Emperors of the Qing Dynasty. He studied Chinese painting with many well-known artists such as Li Kuchan and Li Keran in the Chinese Painting Department, Central Art College of China. As a professional artist at the Beijing Painting Institute, Professor Jin particularly specialized in fine brushwork. His paintings have been collected by the China National Art Museum and by the Chinese government and many important organizations."

AZERBAIJAN - Traditional Crafts of Azerbaijan

Thank you to Maryam for my first card from Azerbaijan, country #131.

"Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası), is a contiguous transcontinental presidential republic in the Caucasus region, situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short border with Turkey in the northwest."

BHUTAN - Paro Valley

Happy mailbox today, 5 wonderful written and stamps cards from Bhutan arrived in my mail box. New country in my list, country #130.  Kezang used Hotel Migmar stamps on his cards. Thank you so much Kezang for the great cards showing Bhutan village and tradition.

"Paro District (Dzongkha: སྤ་རོ་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: Spa-ro rdzong-khag) is the name of a district (dzongkhag), valley, river and town (population 20,000) in Bhutan. It is one of the most historic valleys in Bhutan. Both trade goods and invading Tibetans came over the pass at the head of the valley, giving Paro the closest cultural connection with Tibet of any Bhutanese district."

BHUTAN - Druk Wangyal Chorten, Dochula

"Dochula pass is located on the way to Punakha from Thimphu. The pass is a popular location among tourists as it offers a stunning 360 degree panoramic view of Himalayan mountain range. The view is especially scenic on clear, winter days with snowcapped mountains forming a majestic backdrop to the tranquility of the 108 chortens gracing the mountain pass." - See more here 

BHUTAN - Village boy

BHUTAN - Tashichhodzong, Thimphu

"Tashichhoedzong བཀྲ་ཤིས་ཆོས་རྫོང is a Buddhist monastery and fortress on the northern edge of the city of Thimpu in Bhutan, on the western bank of the Wang Chu. It has traditionally been the seat of the Druk Desi (or "Dharma Raja"), the head of Bhutan's civil government, an office which has been combined with the kingship since the creation of the monarchy in 1907, and summer capital of the country."

BHUTAN - Traditional Zhey Performer

"The Kingdom of Bhutan is located in the eastern Himalayas. Comprised of an area of 46,500 square kilometers, Bhutan borders Tibet to the north and India to the south. The Bhutanese landscape is protected under government mandate, ensuring that 68% of the country must remain under forest cover, thus protecting the regional variety of flora and fauna. Bhutan is sparsely populated with roughly 700,000 people, the majority of whom ascribe to Mahayana Buddhism."

RUSSIA - The House of Officers of Russian Army (Soviet Army in the past), Ussuriysk city

The postcard shows a building of The House of officers of Russian Army (of Soviet army in the past).  According to Ksenia, here you can see theater performance, ballet, performances of singers etc.

"Ussuriysk (Russian: Уссури́йск) is a city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located in the fertile valley of the Razdolnaya River, 98 kilometers north of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai, and about 60 kilometers from both the China–Russia border and the Pacific Ocean."

ISRAEL - Oxana Zaika Art

A swap with Sana from Israel, thank you for very nice card.

RUSSIA - The Tower on Mount Akhun

"Mount Akhun is the highest Greater Sochi coastal point, famous as the best panoramic view of the city. The castle-looking tower on its 700-meter top gives a perfect overlook of the city. It is probably even possible to see the remote Turkish coast,"

ETHIOPIA - Crowd of Shopping People

Thank you Ziqian for the card showing daily life in Ethiopia.

KAZAN - Kul-Sharif Mosque

Thank you Angie for the wonderful card showing Kul Sharif Mosque in Kazan, one of the biggest mosque in Europe.

KAZAN - Marjani Mosque

Another great card from Angie, card showing Marjani Mosque with rainbow at the background. Such a great card.

"The Märcani Mosque Cyrillic: (әл-)Мәрҗани мәчете; formerly Äfände, i.e. Seigniorial, The First Cathedral Mosque, The Yunısovs' Mosque), also spelled al-Marjani, Mardjani and Mardzhani (Russian: Мечеть (аль-)Марджани́) is a mosque in Kazan, Russia, built in 1766-1770 by Catherine the Great's authority and on the city's population's donations.

After several decades of persecution of the Muslims in Imperial Russia the Märcani Mosque was the first mosque, built in Kazan. It is the oldest acting mosque in Tatarstan and it was the only mosque in Kazan that escaped closure during the Soviet period. The mosque was built in traditions of the Tatar medieval architecture combined with provincial baroque style, and it represents a typical Tatar mosque."

MOSCOW - View of the Arch of Triumph and Poklonny Hill

"The third and the oldest surviving Triumphal Arch in Moscow was built in 1829–34 on Tverskaya Gate Square to Joseph Bové's designs in order to commemorate Russia's victory over Napoleon. It replaced an earlier wooden structure built by the veterans of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814."

Poklonnaya Gora (Russian: Покло́нная гора́, literally "bow-down hill"; metaphorically "Worshipful Submission Hill"') is, at 171.5 metres, one of the highest spots in Moscow. Its two summits used to be separated by the Setun River, until one of the summits was razed in 1987. Since 1936, the area has been part of Moscow and now contains the Victory Park with many tanks and other vehicles used in the Second World War on display."