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?

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? 

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!!!

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?

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

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.

Aeroplane Restaurant on the Lake Side; Shangrila; Pakistan

Here is a beautiful postcard from Pakistan. The card features a beautiful aeroplane which is being used as a restaurant at the magnificent hill resort of Shangrilla near Skardu in Northern Pakistan.

Shangrila Resort Skardu, also known as "Heaven on Earth", is nestled amongst some of the world's highest peaks. It encircles the heart shaped "Kachura Lake" and is surrounded by fruit laden orchards and flower filled gardens.

The DC- 3 Cafe, which is shown on the postcard is a unique and one of its kind cafe. The code name of original DC-3 Aircraft was Alpha Alpha Foxtrot (AAF) . Situated in an airplane, which crash landed on the riverbed and was brought to the present site in the 50's. It offers a variety of snacks and cabin crew hospitality . 

Elephants Postcard from Kenya

A beautiful postcard from Kenya featuring some wild elephants. Absolutely great!!!

Postcard from Rottnest Island in Western Australia

Here is a nice postcard to share with you.The beautiful postcard from Australia features an aerial photo of the Rottnest Island in Western Australia.

Rottnest Island is located 18 km off the coast of Western Australia, near Fremantle. It is called Wadjemup by the Noongar people, which means "Place across the water". The island is 11 kilometres long, and 4.5 kilometres at its widest point with a total land area of 19 km². It is classified as an A Class Reserve and is managed by the Rottnest Island Authority. No private ownership of land is allowed. It is antipodal to the island of Bermuda. It has been an important local holiday destination for over 50 years.

As per Wikipedia, the local population of the island is just 300 people but up to 500,000 visitors travel to the island every year. The major tourist attractions are fishing, swimming, diving and cycling.

I won this postcard in a Monthly Draw along with 4 others. The draw was conducted by "Postcard Interactive Company of Sydney (PICS)"....... Lucky me!!!

Facebook's Farmville Postage Stamps

Have you played Farmville on Facebook ever?

Farmville is definitely the latest online farming craze....

I just thought that it would be fun sharing these beautiful stamps with you. I am sure that you will love these beautiful Farmville Postage Stamps. 

To see the remaining stamps and read more about them; Click here: Farmville Postage Stamps

The Land of Wild Animals - Postcard from Kenya in East Africa

A lovely postcard from Kenya. Kenyan Postcards are as beautiful as ever. I love these wild animals and adore their bravery and couage. Lion, Leopard and Rhino are definitely some of the most fearsome creatures on Earth.
I don't know why the postcard says "Jambo from East Africa". What is Jambo? Any suggestions???

#23: Most-Interesting Story Behind a Great Postcard From Afghanistan

he back of the postcard reads: "Afghanistan: Tattered clothing and fear-filled eyes of an Afghan refugee reveal war-zone trauma".
It is an old vintage postcard of the era of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and as far as I remember the above photo of a young Afghan girl with hypnotizing deep sea-green eyes was featured on the cover of National Geographic magazine, June 1985 issue. Photographer Steve McCurry took the shot at Nasir Bagh Refugee Camp in Pakistanduring December 1984, while Afghanistan was still at war with the huge Soviet Union. She was among the many faces that McCurry photographed.

Her photo was later selected for the magazine's cover. There was NO name to the face though.

Seventeen years later, McCurry joined a National Geographic Television crew on a journey through Pakistan and Afghanistan to search for the ‘cover girl’. There were questions to be answered: Did she survive the war? If she’s alive, she’d probably have returned to Afghanistan and be in her late 20s or early 30s.

The name of the girl was a secret till now. The team started their journey from Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan where the initial photo was shot in 1984. The team found her to be living in a remote region in Afghanistan. Her identity was confirmed using Biometric technology which matched her IRIS patterns to those of the photograph with almost full certainty. She vividly recalled being photographed.

The fame and symbolic character of her portrait were completely unknown to her. Modern pictures of her were featured as part of a cover story on her life in the April 2002 issue of National Geographic and was the subject of a television documentary entitled Search for the Afghan Girl, which aired in March 2002. In recognition of her, National Geographic set up the Afghan Girls Fund, a charitable organization with the goal of educating Afghan girls and young women. In 2008, the scope of the fund was broadened to include boys and the name was changed to Afghan Children's Fund.

So here is the photo of the cover of National Geographic Magazine, April 2002 Issue just for your interest:

#21: Winter Scene in Shogran; Kaghan Valley; Pakistan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another nice postcard from the “Forest in the Sky” – Shogran. It feels nice to see such a postcard in summers only. The postcard says that it is a winter scene in Shogran where as I am sure that it is nothing but an “Early Summer” view of the hotel in Shogran. It is almost inaccessible in winters due to heavy snow fall and strong winds.

#20: Mist in Shogran Forest; Kaghan Valley; Pakistan

Here I have another lovely postcard to share with you. A misty postcard from Pakistan featuring the beautiful pine forests of Shogran in Kaghan Valley. Shogran is one of the most beautiful tourist attraction in Pakistan in general and Kaghan Valley in particular. Located at the daunting height of 2,362 meters (or around 7,000 feet) above mean sea level. From Kiwai, you have to travel on a 7 km long steep road climbing towards the sky to reach the magnificent plateau of Shogran. The plateau offers mind-boggling views in all directions. Shogran literally means “Forest In The Sky”. The road further leads to the summer settlements of Paya and Siri.