Postcard #6: Water Skiing Resort, Kaptai Lake, East Pakistan (Bangladesh)

Here I have a beautiful vintage post card from East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh). The postcard shows a beautiful scene of water skiing at Lake Kaptai. It is a very old card as the back of the card reads: "Issued by Department of Tourism, Government of Pakistan, Club Road, Karachi". 

East Pakistan got separated from West Pakistan(Presently "Pakistan") and became Bangladesh in 1971. So it obviously is a postcard from 1971 or pre-1971 era. I don't know whether the water ski resort still exists there or not? Can a friend from Bangladesh enlighten all of us on the issue???

Kaptai Lake is a man-made lake in South-eastern Bangladesh. The H-shaped lake was created as a result of building of Kaptai Dam on the Kamaphuli River. The dam construction project started in 1956 and finished in 1962. The palace of the king ofthe Chakmas also came under water as a result of filling of the dam.

Is this how a Parrot looks like???

It is said, "Much talking is the cause of danger. Silence is the means of avoiding misfortune. The talkative PARROT is shutup in a cage. Other birds without speech, fly freely about".

Here is another one of my die-hard efforts in the field of Origami - A parrot. I made the parrot while trying to spend some cool time with my daughters. Both of them enjoyed the making part but when it was completed, my elder daughter Noor (then 3 years old) exclaimed, "Dad! This is not how a parrot looks like". 

I was stunned to hear the comments about my masterpiece. Then I realized that it was constructed with white paper. So I coloured it in green and red. Thank God! She agreed that it was really a PARROT.

A Fish From the Local Pond

Here is just a beautiful piece of Origami which I made for my cute little sparrows. They love fish after watching "Finding Nemo". Can someone from Taiwan get me a set of two miniature sheets with "Finding Nemo" theme? The miniature sheets were issued in 2008. I am dying to lay my hands on them.....

Are there any other friends who like to create crafts by using paper or anything? If yes! What all? Just leave a comment.

Postcard #5: The Great Mosque of Herat, Afghanistan

Here is another amazing, unique, gorgeous and hard-to-find postcard from a hard-to-find country Afghanistan. Afghanistan is located in the North-West of my beloved country Pakistan. Because of the decades long fighting in the country, millions of Afghans have migrated to Pakistan and most of the country has turned to ruins.  There are hardly any collectors or swappers left in the country.

The Afghanistan postcard features the beautiful "Great Mosque of Herat" or "Friday Mosque of Herat". Herat is a city located in Western Afghanistan and because of its fertile land, Herat is traditionally known for its wine. Its is the 2nd largest city of Afghanistan after Kabul. The city of Herat was also sumbitted as one of the properties on the tentative list for registeration as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

The back of the above Afghanistan postcard shows that the postcard was published in 2001 by Afghan Art & Culture Saloon (AACS) in Kabul, Afghanistan. It is my first postcard from Afghanistan on the blog. I have some others as well including a beautiful Afghan postcard of a Buddha Statue in Bamiyan Valley, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. I will soon be sharing that postcard as well with you. If any of you want any Afghanistan Postcards for their collection, I can give it a try to find some for them. "Which one" remains an answered question till the time when any of you need it. ;)

Does anyone of you want a postcard from Afghanistan for your collection???

The construction work on the present Great Mosque of Herat was started initially by Ghurid ruler Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad b. Sam in 1200AD and afterwards completed by his successor and brother Shihab al-Din. In 13th century Cengiz Khan pillaged the province and the building fell to ruin. Rebuilding and renovations work/ programs were undertaken by the Kart rulers in 1306AD and again after the devastating earthquake in 1364AD.  It was repeatedly repaired, renovated by various rulers until a new mosque was built in Herat and the importance of the old mosque was over-shadowed. Little was left of the "Great Mosque of Herat" by the mid of twentieth century when a major reconstruction and renovation work was carried out after 1945AD. The mosque was expanded and decorated in its present shape. 

I hope that I have done some justice with this beautiful piece of architecture by searching hard and adding the above details about it.

Postcard #4: Lake Piso, Liberia

A nice gift from a lovely brother. Thank you Adeel Bhai for this nice postcard from Liberia. Its a view postcard with a very nice scenic view of Lake Piso in Liberia. Lake Piso is also known as Lake Pisu and Fisherman's Lake. It is a oblong tidallagoon in Grand Cape Mount County in Western Liberia. Located close to the town of Robertsport, it is the largest lake in Liberia with an area of 103 sq km. 

The name of the lake originates from a local term which means "Pigeon's Hole" - A reference to the flocks of pigeons that once came to Lake Piso to drink water.

The postcard will also help me to add to the Postcard Friendship Friday at another friend's blog.

Best Regards

2009 Native American Dollar - Won in a competition

Here is my prize. It is an uncirculated 2009 Native American Dollar (US Mint image included below). It looks amazingly beautiful.

Underneath are the scans of both sides of the coin as scanned by me. Thanks again to the site organizers. What do you say about this beautiful coin?

In fact I am still waiting for 25 more such coins as I was also one of their 5 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS. You can also keep your fingers crossed as I will be able to swap some of those duplicate coins with you people as and when I receive them.  Leave a comment here if you want one (subject to the fact that I receive them).

Best Regards

Some Cool Places To Visit During A Journey To Gilgit

A beautiful Buddha statue carved on the face of a rock at Karga Nullah near Gilgit. 

Its a unique place on the face of the Earth. At this point, three of the mightiest mountain ranges of the World meet, making a knot. These mountain ranges are Karakoram, Himalayas and the Hindukush ranges.

The place is well-defined with a plaque mentioning the place as:-

THE JUNCTION POINT OF THREE GREATEST MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD

It narrates, " FROM HERE YOU ARE SEEKING THREE MIGHTIEST MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD. GREAT HIMALAYAS END IN THE SOUTH AND EAST OF INDUS RIVER. KARAKORUMS ARE ENDING IN THE NORTHEAST OF GILGIT RIVER. KARAKORUMS ARE ENDING IN THE NORTH EAST OF GILGIT RIVER. WEST OF GILGIT / INDUS RIVER IS THE HINDU KUSH RANGE".

The photo below shows the Rupal Face of the Nineth highest mountain peak of the World - Nanga Parbat. Nanga Parbat is commonly known as "The Killer Mountain". The height of Nanga Parbat is 8126 meters or 26660 feet and is the 9th highest peak of the World and the 2nd highest peak of Pakistan after K-2.

Nanga Parbat was one of the deadliest of the Eight-Thousanders for climbers in the first half of the 20th century; since that time it has been less so, though still an extremely dangerous and serious climb. It is also an immense, dramatic peak that rises far above its surrounding terrain.

A nice view of a medium-sized town Besham on the way back to Rawalpindi.

Some snowy pictures of Kaghan Valley

Just a few more pictures of the Kaghan Valley during my cool heli ride. Enjoy!!! Aren't they cool???

A Helicopter Joy ride to Naran Valley

A broken river between Gilgit and Danyore- A town across Indus river near Gilgit. The bridge on KKH is broken for the last 7-8 months. I don't know for how long it will remain as such. It is a huge inconvenience to the travelers as they have to cross the river from another bridge after traveling a long distance cross country.

An aerial view of Karakoram Highway. A treat to watch from above.

Deep-Green River Indus and a cool suspension bridge - What else can you wish to give a treat to your eyes??? 

A great view of the snow-coated Babusar Pass - A mountainous pass connecting Kaghan or Naran Valley to Indus Valley. The height of Babusar pass is 13,691 feet above mean sea level.

A snow-quilted view of Kaghan Valley near Lulusar Lake. The lake can not be seen at this time of the year as it is completely frozen.

Some more interesting pictures

Another old but nice-looking suspension bridge on River Indus.

Here are some pictures of "Sulphur Springs" - a beautiful diversity of nature. These springs are located at about two hours drive from Gilgit to Rawalpindi. Due to the presence of Sulphur underground, the water of the springs is hotter than the boiling water. Absolutely hard to touch even!!!

Another wonderful view of KKH. Isn't this road leading to heaven? Beautiful snow-covered mountains in the background can give you a feeling of the altitude at which this highway is built.

Some amazing pictures on the way to Gilgit

Have you ever seen a river so green. It is the mighty "River Indus" with water coming straight from the melting glaciers and mountain peaks. It is really a beautiful view. Also check the Karakoram Highway running along the river.

A nice suspension bridge on river Indus.

A beautiful road with a magnificent Indus River.

A bus crossing the land slide. Check a huge bus crossing over the muddy landslide to keep itself on route to its destination. A steep cliff on one side and a sheer fall on the other, but fortune favors the brave only.

What a long line of traveling vehicles struck in the middle of nowhere because of the anger of nature - A landslide.

This is the view of the blocked road due to a land slide. You can see the difficulties faced by the drivers traveling on the road and above all by the engineers trying to keep it open 365 days a year.

A Brief Account Of My Recent Journey To Gilgit

My dear friends!

Hello!

I hope and pray that you all are fine and happy.

I happened to visit Gilgit which is the Capital of "Northern Areas" of Pakistan due to some professional commitment. The highlight of the trip included the journey from Rawalpindi to Gilgit and back on the world-famous "Karakoram Highway (KKH)", a beautiful view of Nanga Parbat - 9th highest peak in the World, a trip to Kargah Nullah, a Helicopter ride to snow-covered Naran Valley, a on-the-route stop at "Sulphur Springs" and a memorable hospitality by my hosts in Gilgit.

Karakoram Highway or Friendship Highway was built during 1966-1986 and is the highest paved international roar in the World. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram Highway at an unbelievable altitude of 4,693 meters or 15,397 feet above mean sea level. Most of the countries in the world DO NOT even have a peak at that altitude. According to Wikipedia "Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions in which it was constructed, it is also referred to as the 'Ninth Wonder of the World'".

Total Length of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) is 1300 kms (806 kms in Pakistan and 494 kms in China). The road mainly travels along the side of Indus River.

Its construction took the toll of 810 Pakistani and 82 Chinese workers mainly due to land slides, falls and extremely harsh weather conditions during its construction.

I would love to share some nice pictures with all of you here. The first one is a town-view of a medium-sized town Dassu on the KKH with a beautiful bridge on the Indus River. 

The second picture is a view of the KKH. You can see the harsh and difficult terrain on which it is built.

Back On The Scene

Hi Pals!

I hope and pray that all of you are fine, happy and in high spirits.

I have been roaming around for a while now in connection with my professional commitments. 

Hopefully I am back on the scene of stamp collecting for a while now. I started a few swaps before my departure which are still under process. I would like to finish them as soon as possible. I have already sent many packets to friends but some are still in my court. I handed over some packets to a friend before my departure for posting as registered packets but he is also out of contact being at a place with no telephonic contact. I will make my last try to contact him and if I fail to do so then I will prepare new packets with stamps, cards (or whatever was promised) for all of you and will confirm their posting by tomorrow evening. I will publish a list of stamp collector friends tomorrow night whom I will send packets in the day. I am planning to complete all stamp, post cards, covers, etc swaps by tomorrow. At least those swaps against which I have already received stamps, post cards, covers, etc. I will confirm sending packets to Nicole Schmitt, Bellini Ezio, Johnny, Josephine Smith, Tomislav Dolar, Kristiina, Contesse Eric, Michael Chapeau, Carolina Chia, Milos Leng, Glenn Moores, and a couple of other friends from postcrossing.com. 

I have tried to jot down all the swap friends from whom I have already received collectibles except a couple of them whom I promised to send first. 

I am extremely sorry for the delay in completion of these swaps and I promise to send a couple of extra items to all friends whom I will be sending packets. I hope that you will like these collectible items.

You can send me a note on faisalcheema44@gmail.com

Best Regards

Yours Cheema