Pakistan Painting Postcard - Girls Sitting Together

Hi Pals!
Here's just another painting postcard from Pakistan to share with you.

I really like the smile on the face of the girl in pink dress. With the backdrop of Malala Yousafzai fame, this postcard becomes a real special one.
Just in case you do not know Malala Yousafzai's story, here's a re-cap.
Malala Yousafzai was a small girl living in Swat Valley which was under occupation of Taliban terrorists some years ago. While Talibans opposed girls' education, Malala raised her voice as a 9-year old and started writing her online diary at BBC Urdu Website, by the nick name of Gul Makai.

Malala Yousafzai

After a long and strenuous fight, Pakistan Army cleared Swat Valley from terrorist elements and life came back to normal. Malala Yousafzai became a national symbol of girl education and Pakistan's then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani re-named Pakistan Peace Award as Malala Peace Award.
In Oct 2012, some Taliban miscreants stopped Malala's school van and fired at them from point blank ranges. Malala suffered a head injury along with some of her friends too. She remained under-treatment in Pakistan and then in England.
Lately Malala Yousafzai was invited by United Nations to address the Youth General Assembly on the eve of her 16th birthday. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and the Ex-British PM Gordon Brown were also there to wish her a happy birthday.
Malala Yousafzai has definitely become a symbol of struggle against the oppressors and a source of inspiration for everyone around the globe.
Although the above postcard does not have any direct link with Malala's story but still these cute girls and their smiles make me think of them as small Malalas.
May God bless them with endless smiles and very happy lives. Amen!

P is for Pakistan Postcards

As a matter of fact, most of you must be knowing that this blog is dedicated to my postcards collection and taking part in ABC Wednesday is really fun especially when I came across the latest post, it was evident that today's post is dedicated to Postcards of my beloved PAKISTAN.
In this post, I shall share 3 of my favorite postcards with you, so that you can enjoy a glimpse of my beautiful Pakistan. To know more about these places, you can either click on the photo or visit the link at the bottom of the post.

K-2 is Pakistan's Highest Mountain and the World's 2nd Highest Mountain after the majestic Mount Everest. Standing tall at 8,611 meters, K-2 is a mighty mountain which is much more difficult to climb than its elder brother, Mount Everest.
As per Wikipedia: "K2 is known as the Savage Mountain due to the difficulty of ascent and the second-highest fatality rate among the eight thousanders. For every four people who have reached the summit, one has died trying. It is more hazardous to reach K2 from the Chinese side; thus, it is mostly climbed from the Pakistani side. Unlike Annapurna, the mountain with the highest fatality-to-summit rate, K2 has never been climbed in winter."

Lahore Fort - One of Pakistan's marvellous pieces of architecture and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Danger.
You can read more at one of my previous posts here: Lahore Fort or at Wikipedia here: Lahore Fort at Wikipedia

Takht Bhai (or Takht Bahi) is a Buddhist monastic complex dating to the 1st century BCE. The complex is regarded by archaeologists as being particularly representative of the architecture of Buddhist monastic centers from its era. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
You can read more about these fascinating ruins at Ruins of Buddhist Monastery at Takht-e-Bahi, Swat Valley  in another post at my UNESCO blog.
Having said that its your turn to share your opinion in the comments section below. I would love to hear your thoughts about this post!!!

Slovenian Map Postcard - Slovenia at a Glance

A beautiful postcard from Slovenia depicting the Slovenian Country Map along with different multi-views of buildings and landscapes from the beautiful European country.

This marvellous postcard was sent inside an envelope by Karmen.
This postcard is uploaded specifically for Postcard Friendship Friday!!

Phi Phi Islands, Thailand - A Paradise in South-East Asia

Phi Phi Island is undoubtedly Thailand's island-superstar. It's been in the movies. It's the topic of conversation for travellers all over Thailand.
For some, it's the only reason to touchdown in Phuket. Even with all the hype, it doesn't disappoint. Phi Phi's beauty is a large chunk of the allure. The islands, when approached by boat, rise from the sea like a fortress. Sheer cliffs tower overhead, then give way to beach-fronted jungle. It's love at first sight. The second part of the why-we-love-this-place story is attitude: few places on the planet are this laid-back. Of the two islands, one is completely free of human inhabitants (Phi Phi Leh), and the other is without roads (Phi Phi Don). There's no schedule, no hustle-and-bustle, no reason to be in a hurry.

Near Phi Phi, one beach stands above the rest: Phi Phi Ley. The island was the backdrop for Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Beach" and is one of the most beautiful and majestic places you will ever lay your eyes on.   Much of the movie was filmed in Maya Bay, a main location for Phi Phi daytrips and longtail hires from nearby Phi Phi Don Village. Also, the main ferry from Phuket passes this spot from afar to give you a short glimpse.
James Bond Island is also not far away from Phi Phi Island which is famous for filming of the James Bond movie - The Man with the Golden Gun.
This magnificent postcard was brought to me by my dear colleague and younger brother Wasif from his trip to Thailand. Thanks a lot dude :)
Please feel free to leave your comments below!

A Winter Postcard from St. Petersburg in Russia

Recently I received a beautiful postcard from Russia showing a winter scene and a Parland Railing of the "The Church of the Resurrection of the Christ"

St. Petersburg is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites from Russia and you can read my detailed post at my UNESCO Postcards Blog here.
Two beautiful stamps showing a castle and a boat have been used by the sender - Katya.

Katya has also written "Happy Postcrossing" in a lovely way, accompanied by a Smiley.

 Thanks a lot Katya for this amazingly beautiful postcard and Happy Postcrossing.
If you have any question/ observation/ suggestion, please leave a comment below.

Kids of Hunza - A Postcard from North of Pakistan

Sharing a postcard after such a long time made me think that which postcard should I choose to share with my followers and friends. Finally I picked up this beautiful postcard as it is one of the most-favorite postcard on my Postcrossing profile by friends.
This cute postcard comes from the Northern part of Pakistan, Gilgit Baltistan which is a beautiful place covered with mountains and valleys.

Hunza (Burushaski: ہنزہ, Urdu: ہنزہ‎) is a mountainous valley in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan. The Hunza is situated north/west of the Hunza River, at an elevation of around 2,500 metres (8,200 ft). The territory of Hunza is about 7,900 square kilometres (3,100 sq mi). Aliabad is the main town, while Karimabad is a popular tourist destination because of the spectacular scenery of the surrounding mountains like Ultar Sar, Rakaposhi, Bojahagur Duanasir II, Ghenta Peak, Hunza Peak, Passu Peak, Diran Peak and Bublimotin (Ladyfinger Peak), all 6,000 metres (19,685 ft) or higher.

A 'Lost' Zebra in Kenya

Zebra is one of my favourite animals. It is everything from being cute, innocent and cuddly to being an amazing sight in the wild.
This beautiful postcard shows a 'lost' zebra in the wilderness of Kenya. Kenya probably has the largest population of zebras in the world.

Amazing Fact: Like human finger-prints, no two zebras have the same pattern of  stripes on their skin and these stripes can be used as their biometric identification too.

Liberia: Bat Snoozing in Sapo National Park, Sinoe County

Another beautiful postcard from Liberia showing a tired bat snoozing in Sapo National Park (As mentioned on the back of the postcard). It is an official postcard issued by Liberia Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications (Also mentioned at the back).

Sapo National Park is a national park in Sinoe County, Liberia. It is the country's largest protected area of rain-forest and its only national park, and contains the second-largest area of primary tropical rain-forest in West Africa after Taï National Park in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire. Agriculture, construction, fishing, hunting, human settlement, and logging are prohibited in the park.
Sapo National Park is located in the Upper Guinean forest ecosystem, a biodiversity hotspot that has "the highest mammal species diversity of any region in the world", according to Conservation International.
The postcard was brought for me by one of my sweet brothers Adeel, during his stay in Liberia, as a part of UN Peace Keeping Mission.
What do you think about this lovely postcard?

China : Laoshan Velodrome, Beijing Olympics 2008

This Olympics Stadium Postcard shows Laoshan Velodrome, which is one of the venues for Beijing Olympics 2008. It is one of the 10 official postcards issued on the occasion by State Postal Bureau in 2007. Another postcard showing Basketball Gymnasium can be seen here.

The Laoshan Velodrome hosted track cycling events during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. It has a capacity of 6,000 spectators. A 250-meter oval shaped track is prepared for cycling events. The total area covered by the Velodrome is 33,320 square metres.

The Laoshan Velodrome is being used for international and national cycling competitions and training after the Olympic Games. The velodrome was designed by Schuermann Architects, designers of the ADT Event Center in Carson, CA and the UCI Cycling Center in Aigle, Switzerland.

The following prepaid stamp was printed on the postcard.

 

Any thoughts on the Postcard or the Laoshan Velodrome design are welcome!

Fighting Elephants - Beauty of Kenya

Here is a beautiful postcard from Kenya showing the rich and exotic wild life of the country.

The postcard shows two African Elephants fighting like humans ;)
I have posted a couple of other postcards from Kenya with elephants in past that you can see here and here.
"Beauty of Kenya" postcard is definitely very eye-catching but I wonder why they are fighting. Are they fighting for something big like a piece of land or may be something smaller like a bag of peanuts? Or may be they are doing "Trunk Wrestling"!
What do you think???

Beijing Olympics 2008 - Basketball Gymnasium

The next in line is an Official Olympics Postcard, issued at the eve of Beijing Olympics 2008, by the State Postal Bureau of  the People's Republic of China. The postcard depicts the grandeur building of Basketball Gymnasium.

The gymnasium covers a total area of 168,000 sq m and is about 7 floors high - with 3 floors underground and 4 above the ground. It has a total capacity of about 18,000 spectators.

One of the best features of the Gymnasium is its Energy Efficiency and it was one of the seven Green Venues for  Beijing Olympics. It has a funnel-shaped LCD Display System which is the first set of comprehensive displays in China that is able to meet the demands of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Not only are the standards met for basketball games, the LED system is also capable of being used for theatrical performances, real-time broadcasts and background imagery.

Furthermore, all audience seats are upholstered for comfort and convenience. On the second floor, there are 45 luxury boxes, with 29 large ones and 16 small ones.

By adopting a rainwater recycling system, easy-to-clean glass and other technologies, the designers fully implemented the idea of "Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics, and People's Olympics" into the construction of Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.

The postcards were sold with a printed stamp of 80 Yuan (If I am not wrong!).
Another postcard of the same set showing Laoshan Velodrome can be seen too!

Thanks Edward for such a magnificent postcard to grace my collection.

Golden Sand Beach from China - A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Here is a Magnificent Postcard from China depicting one of the views of Huanglong: Scenic and Historic Interest Area. The view depicted on the postcard is of Golden Sand Beach.

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site from China, and is popular for its colorful views. You can read more at my UNESCO Postcards Blog here.

Buddhist Monastery and Ruins at Takht-i-Bahi

It is astonishing to know that people from oldest times were more civilized and well-behaved as compared to present times, keeping in mind the technological backwardness and lack of infrastructure. This magnificent piece of architecture of a Buddhist Monastery was discovered in 1st Century and it is quite well-preserved till date.

The complex consists of court of stupas, temple complex, monastical complex and residential cells. All rooms are well-constructed using bricks.
The irony of the time is that, even most of the Pakistanis do not know about this site or have not seen it themselves. A large majority has even not heard about it. It is one of the only 6 UNESCO World Heritage Site from Pakistan included in the UNESCO list.
You can read more on my UNESCO Sites Blog at: "Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Neighbouring City Remains at Sahr-i-Bahlol"