Saturday, December 4, 2010

Disneyland Postcard from USA

I have always been an avid fan of Disney Cartoons and films. Mickey and Minnie Mouse have been one of my favorite cartoons of all time. Despite having grown older, I am still a kid at heart as far as my love for Mickey is concerned. 
This is my first Disney Postcard from USA. It is sent to me by an employee of Disneyland, who has been very kind in our conversations.
Two of the three stamps used on the postcard are from zazzle.com; while the third stamp is on Scouting. Its a really beautiful stamp. The two stamps from zazzle.com feature a dog and a Mickey Mouse sketch.
It has been a very beautiful addition in my Disney Collection. Thanks a lot!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Hannah Montana and Sony PSP go Postal!

What a beautiful postcard it is!!! Hannah Montana joins hands with Sony PSP back in 2009 to feature the release of a girly PSP. Here is a cool postcard issued on the event.

"Sony's Hannah Montana version of PSP is one of the most prominent examples of the tech products going girly nowadays. The device contains a number of things that attract girls.
Sony announced the "lilac"-colored Hannah Montana PSP version at Sony Computer Entertainment of America's annual conference, Destination Playstation."
 Although the postcard is printed in USA, it was sent to me by a collector friend from Pakistan.
Did you like the postcard?

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Official Postcrossing Postcard from North Carolina

A beautiful postcard from North CarolinaUSA showing a romantic sunset at the coast. The back of postcard says: "From sunrise to sunset, the picturesque beauty of the coast of the Carolina's will delight you with fabulous visions".
Interestingly, the postcard is "Made in Italy". The postcard was sent to me by Vicki from North Carolina which is a Southern state on the Eastern seaboard of US.
The cool postage stamp used on the postcard features a magnificent Red Fox. I absolutely adore this nice postcard.

Did you like the postcard, stamp and post?

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Lansdowne Bridge and Ayub Arch - Railway Bridges on Indus River linking Sukkur-Rohri, Pakistan

Today I would like to share this lovely postcard from Pakistan with you. The postcard features the famous Sukkur Bridge in Sindh Province, Pakistan.
By looking closely, you can see that these are two different bridges - The old one (Brown in color) was built in 1889 and is named as Lansdowne Bridge while the new one (Silver in color) is called Ayub Arch and it was built in 1962. Both bridges are Railway Bridges and link the twin cities of Sukkur and Rohri over the mighty Indus River.
You can read the detailed account of the bridges at Wikipedia and Lansdowne Bridge Sukkur.

These two bridges are worth a look and are absolutely gorgeous - Truly a pair of architectural wonders. Do you like them?

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

UNESCO WHS Postcard from Athens, Greece - Parthenon in Athenian Acropolis

Hi!
I never knew that I had this magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site in my collection until today. The postcard was sent to me by a lovely phonecard collector from Greece - Makis. Since it came to me with a package of used phonecards therefore it was placed in my phonecards collection portion. It in indeed a magnificent postcard depicting Parthenon in Athens, Greece.
Interestingly, Parthenon has served the purpose of being a treasury, a Christian temple, a Muslim Mosque and an Military Ammunition Dump in the past.

Brief History as per Wikipedia
  • The Parthenon is a temple in the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their protector. 
  • Its construction began in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC, although decorations of the Parthenon continued until 431 BC
  • It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order
  • Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art
  • The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments. 
  • The Parthenon itself replaced an older temple of Athena, which historians call the Pre-Parthenon or Older Parthenon, that was destroyed in the Persian invasion of 480 BC
  • Like most Greek temples, the Parthenon was used as a treasury
  • For a time, it served as the treasury of the Delian League, which later became the Athenian Empire
  • In the 6th century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary
  • After the Ottoman Turk conquest, it was turned into a mosque in the early 1460s, and it had a minaret built in it. 
  • On 26 September 1687, an Ottoman Turk ammunition dump inside the building was ignited by Venetian bombardment. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures. 
  • In 1806, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed some of the surviving sculptures, with Ottoman Turk's permission. These sculptures, now known as the Elgin Marbles or the Parthenon Marbles, were sold in 1816 to the British Museum in London, where they are now displayed. 
  • The Greek government is committed to the return of the sculptures to Greece, so far with no success.
Thanks a lot Makis for such a magnificent postcard.
Do you like the postcard? 
What do you think: Is there any other building which has been used so diversely? 

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Greetings from Malacca - UNESCO World Heritage Site

I love postcards from Malaysia and here is one of my magnificent ones. This cool postcard comes from the historic city of Malacca in Malaysia. The civilization in this region started somewhere in 13th century. Malacca has a lot of signs of Portugese, Dutch and British colonization from the past centuries.
This cultural and historical city centre was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 7 July 2008.
The stamp featured on the postcard shows a scene from Malaysian cartoons.
This magnificent postcard was sent by Ilyani from Imagica. Thanks a lot pal!!!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Kenyan Giraffe with her Child - Postcard from Kenya

A beautiful postcard from Kenya filled with motherly love of a female Giraffe for her young lad is evident. Isn't it magnificent?
Do you like Animal Postcards from around the Globe?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

#22: Pakistan; Shalimar Gardens – A UNESCO World Heritage Site (In Danger)

Picture 023
Here is my first UNESCO World Heritage Site postcard from Pakistan. In the UNESCO World Heritage Site List they are mentioned as “Fort and Shalimar Gardens in Lahore”. Since the sites are located right in the middle of the second largest city of Pakistan – Lahore, thus at present, most of the area in the surroundings of the Lahore Fort and the Gardens is covered with civilian population. Even most of the portion of the fort is being used by civilian population. The main parts of the fort including main entrance and the important buildings have been kept in a better condition by the concerned departments. It is still a worth visiting place and a must-see for any foreign or local tourist visiting Lahore City.
Shalimar Garden is located at some distance form the Fort. The gardens are as beautiful as they are shown in the postcard. The gardens were built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The construction started in 1641 AD and completed in 1642 AD. The gardens measure 658x258 meters in size. The gardens are laid out in the shape of an oblong paralellogram and is surrounded by a high brick wall.
The garden consists of three terraces which are elevated by 13-15 feet above each other. The three terraces are named in Urdu. Their names and meanings are as follows:-
  • Top-most Terrace is named Farah Bakhsh meaning Bestower of Pleasure
  • Middle Terrace is named Faiz Bakhsh meaning Bestower of Goodness
  • Lowest Terrace is named Hayat Bakhsh meaning Bestower of Life
The garden has a total of 410 fountains and five water cascades including The Great Marble cascade and Sawan Bhadoon.
The site was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 1981. In 2000, the site was included in the Endangered UNESCO Sites List. I shall soon be sharing a postcard featuring Lahore Fort as well.