#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.

#19: Kenya: King of the Beasts

A Lovely postcard from Kenya and a magnificent animal. The King of the Jungle and the Beast of the Beasts - The Lion is a superb creature of God. This lion is definitely a monarch somewhere deep in the woods. What do you say?

#18: Sunset at 3000+ metres at Paya in Kaghan Valley, Pakistan

Here is a beautiful postcard from my beloved homeland Pakistan. The postcard features a magnificent sunset at a hill station - Paya in Kaghan Valley.

Paya is located at a height of approx 3080 m. It is a vast expense of undulating alpine meadows in the lower part of Kaghan Valley. Standing well above the valley in the dense pine woods, this high summer pasture offers excellent views of neighboring peaks. It is located at a distance of 24 kms from Balakot and 7 kms from Kawai (This place name always reminds me of the great movie - Bridge On River Kwai, but it has nothing to do with the movie). From Kawai, a road starts climbing upwards to a lovely hill station of Shogran. It is a steep climb from Kawai to Shogran and even steeper ahead of it. Paya can be reached from Shogran by jeep (4x4) on a track which leads to the summer settlements of Siri and Paya.

The entire Kaghan Valley is a beautiful place to spend your summer or at least a part of it. Nature can be found at its best here.

Postcard #17: A sweet owl from Liberia

What a lovely and innocent Owl is it from Liberia!!! A beautiful owl postcard from Liberia with a sober and nice-looking owl sitting in a tree. The back of the postcard tells us that the postcard is issued by "Liberia Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications". The back side of the postcard describes the picture on the postcard in just one word - "OWL", as if the viewers will think that it is a SPARROW. hehehe :)

I am absolutely clueless about the species of this sweet owl. Do you have any idea???

Postcard #16: Buddha Statue in Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley

Hello!

A beautiful postcard from Afghanistan which is rich with cultural heritage and is definitely a history lesson. The Afghanistani postcard features one of the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the country - "Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of Bamiyan Valley". The postcard shhows the landscape of Bamiyan Village with a huge Buddha statue of Bamiyan Valley in the background.

There are two statues in Bamiyan Valley which were built during 6th century. The statues represent a classic blended style of Indo-Greek art. The two giant statues, named Vairocana and Sakyamuni, measure 55 and 37 metres high respectively and are the largest examples of standing Buddha carvings in the world.

The Buddha statues of Bamiyan Valley gained World fame when Taliban Government in Afghanistan destroyed the Buddhas using demolitions and tank barrages. The re-construction of the Buddhas is on the cards but nothing has been done so far. After the destruction of Buddha statues, 50 caves were also revealed. 12 of these caves wall oil-paintings have been discovered. Japanese experts believe that these oil-paintings were painted between 5th and 8th century.

In Sep 2008, another statue of 19-metre-long "Sleeping Buddha" has been found nearby. It depicts the pose known to Buddhists as the scene where Buddha passed into Nirvana.