Mali - Timbuktu

Timbuktu (Tombouctou), Mali.

Sent by Jean-Joseph Diarra from Bamako, Mali,

Home of the prestigious Koranic Sankore University and other madrasas, Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and a centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its three great mosques, Djingareyber, Sankore and Sidi Yahia, recall Timbuktu's golden age. Although continuously restored, these monuments are today under threat from desertification. 

Located at the gateway to the Sahara desert, within the confines of the fertile zone of the Sudan  and in an exceptionally  propitious site near to the river, Timbuktu is one of the cities of Africa whose name is the most heavily charged with history.

Founded in the 5th century, the economic and cultural apogee of Timbuktu came about during the15th and 16th centuries. It was an important centre for the diffusion of Islamic culture with the University of Sankore, with 180 Koranic schools and 25,000 students. It was also a crossroads and an important market place where the trading of manuscripts was negotiated,  and salt from Teghaza in the north, gold was sold, and cattle and grain from the south.

The Djingareyber Mosque, the initial construction of which dates back to Sultan Kankan Moussa, returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, was rebuilt and enlarged between 1570 and 1583 by the Imam Al Aqib, the Qadi of Timbuktu, who added all the southern part and the wall surrounding the cemetery located to the west. The central minaret dominates the city and is one of the most visible landmarks of the urban landscape of Timbuktu (read more).

Finland - Old Rauma (3)

Sent by Outi from Helsinki, Finland.

Situated on the Gulf of Botnia, Rauma is one of the oldest harbours in Finland. Built around a Franciscan monastery, where the mid-15th-century Holy Cross Church still stands, it is an outstanding example of an old Nordic city constructed in wood. Although ravaged by fire in the late 17th century, it has preserved its ancient vernacular architectural heritage (read more).

My other two postcards of Old Rauma are here and here.

Italy - Dolomiti (The Dolomites)

The  Dolomites - World Heritage Site

The Three Peaks 2,999m - Sassolungo Group 3.181m - Catinaccio 2,981m - Carezza Lake 1,534m with Latemar 2,864m - Geisler Group 3,025m.

Sent by Claudia from Erlangen, Germany.

The site of the Dolomites comprises a mountain range in the northern Italian Alps, numbering 18 peaks which rise to above 3,000 metres and cover 141,903 ha. It features some of the most beautiful mountain landscapes anywhere, with vertical walls, sheer cliffs and a high density of narrow, deep and long valleys. A serial property of nine areas that present a diversity of spectacular landscapes of international significance for geomorphology marked by steeples, pinnacles and rock walls, the site also contains glacial landforms and karst systems. It is characterized by dynamic processes with frequent landslides, floods and avalanches. The property also features one of the best examples of the preservation of Mesozoic carbonate platform systems, with fossil records (read more).

USA - Ohio - Hopewell Culture National Historic Park (Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks)

Hopewell Culture National Historic Park
Chillicothe, Ohio
From about AD1-400, the Ohio River Valley was a focal point of the prehistoric Hopewell Culture. The American Indians of the Hopewell culture left behind great geometric earthworks and burial mounds. Many of these sites were built to a monumental scale, within earthen walls up to 12 feet high, outlining geometric figures more than 1,000 feet across.

Sent by Tammy from Dayton in Tennessee, USA.

This property is a series of eight monumental earthen enclosure complexes built between 2,000 and 1,600 years ago along the central tributaries of the Ohio River. They are the most representative surviving expressions of the Indigenous tradition now referred to as the Hopewell culture. Their scale and complexity are evidenced in precise geometric figures as well as hilltops sculpted to enclose vast, level plazas. There are alignments with the cycles of the Sun and the far more complex cycles of the Moon. These earthworks served as ceremonial centres and the sites have yielded finely crafted ritual objects fashioned from exotic raw materials obtained from distant places (read more).

Croatia - Old City of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Sent by Maris, whose hometown is Dubrovnik, Croatia.

The 'Pearl of the Adriatic', situated on the Dalmatian coast, became an important Mediterranean sea power from the 13th century onwards. Although severely damaged by an earthquake in 1667, Dubrovnik managed to preserve its beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. Damaged again in the 1990s by armed conflict, it is now the focus of a major restoration programme co-ordinated by UNESCO (read further).

Thailand - Historic City of Ayutthaya

WAT PHRA SI SANPHET AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL PARK AND WORLD HERITAGE.

Sent by Elisabeth from Bangkok, Thailand.

The Historic City of Ayutthaya, founded in 1350, was the second capital of the Siamese Kingdom.  It flourished from the 14th to the 18th centuries, during which time it grew to be one of the world’s largest and most cosmopolitan urban areas and a center of global diplomacy and commerce. Ayutthaya was strategically located on an island surrounded by three rivers connecting the city to the sea. This site was chosen because it was located above the tidal bore of the Gulf of Siam as it existed at that time, thus preventing attack of the city by the sea-going warships of other nations. The location also helped to protect the city from seasonal flooding.

The city was attacked and razed by the Burmese army in 1767 who burned the city to the ground and forced the inhabitants to abandon the city. The city was never rebuilt in the same location and remains known today as an extensive archaeological site.  

At present, it is located in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province.  The total area of the World Heritage property is 289 ha (read further)

Laos - Town of Luang Prabang (2)

Buddha images at Vat Vixoun, Luang Prabang, LAO P.D.R.

Sent by myself. This postcard was written and stamped in Vientiane, but was postmarked in Luang Prabang. I met Edith, a German lady in Vientiane and she assisted me in mailing the postcard from Luang Prabang. Thanks Edith for the postmark of Luang Prabang.

My first postcard of  Town of Luang Prabang is here.

Laos - Town of Luang Prabang (1)

Vat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang - Laos.

Sent by myself to my wife. This postcard was written and stamped in Vientiane, but was postmarked in Luang Prabang. I met Edith, a German lady in Vientiane and she assisted me in mailing the postcard from Luang Prabang. Thanks Edith for the postmark of Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is an outstanding example of the fusion of traditional architecture and Lao urban structures with those built by the European colonial authorities in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its unique, remarkably well-preserved townscape illustrates a key stage in the blending of these two distinct cultural traditions (read further).

India - Tamil Nadu - Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram

VARAHA PANEL

MAHABALIPURAM

Sent by Sashreek from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

This group of sanctuaries, founded by the Pallava kings, was carved out of rock along the Coromandel coast in the 7th and 8th centuries. It is known especially for its rathas (temples in the form of chariots), mandapas (cave sanctuaries), giant open-air reliefs such as the famous 'Descent of the Ganges', and the temple of Rivage, with thousands of sculptures to the glory of Shiva (read further).

Vatican City - Saint Peter's Basilica (2)

Saint Peter's Basilica.

This is my second postcard of Saint Peter's Basilica. My first is here.

Sent by Roberto, from Italy.

India - Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area

Great Himalayan National Park in the Kullu region of Himachal Pradesh, is characterized by high alpine peaks, alpine meadows and riverine forests. The 90,540 ha property includes the upper mountain glacial and snow-melt water source origins of several rivers, and the catchments of water supplies that are vital to millions of downstream users. It is part of the Himalaya biodiversity hotspot and includes 25 forest types along with a rich assemblage of fauna species, several of which are threatened. This gives the site outstanding significance for biodiversity conservation (read further).

Sent by Begum, a Postcrosser from India.

Laos - Ponsavanh - Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang – Plain of Jars

I bought this postcard during my visit to Vientiane, the capital of Laos (12th - 15th January 2025). The stamp was cancelled at the Post Office (HQ) in Vientiane. All the postcards from Laos during this trip (except two Luang Prabang postcards) were brought home myself.

The Plain of Jars, located on a plateau in central Laos, gets its name from more than 2,100 tubular-shaped megalithic stone jars used for funerary practices in the Iron Age. This serial property of 15 components contains large carved stone jars, stone discs, secondary burials, tombstones, quarries and funerary objects dating from 500 BCE to 500 CE. The jars and associated elements are the most prominent evidence of the Iron Age civilization that made and used them until it disappeared, around 500 CE (read further).

Note : Laos Post Office do not have variety of stamp(s). The cost for international postcard is Kip40,000.00. The Post Office only have Kip2,500.00 which value was upgraded (by red marking the stamp) to Kip40,000.00 on February 2024. 

Laos - Champasak - Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape

Wat Phu, Champasak, LAO P.D.R.

I bought this postcard during my visit to Vientiane, the capital of Laos (12th - 15th January 2025). The stamp was cancelled at the Post Office (HQ) in Vientiane. All the postcards from Laos during this trip (except two Luang Prabang postcards) were brought home myself.

The Champasak cultural landscape, including the Vat Phou Temple complex, is a remarkably well-preserved planned landscape more than 1,000 years old. It was shaped to express the Hindu vision of the relationship between nature and humanity, using an axis from mountain top to river bank to lay out a geometric pattern of temples, shrines and waterworks extending over some 10 km. Two planned cities on the banks of the Mekong River are also part of the site, as well as Phou Kao mountain. The whole represents a development ranging from the 5th to 15th centuries, mainly associated with the Khmer Empire (read further).

Note : Laos Post Office do not have variety of stamp(s). The cost for international postcard is Kip40,000.00. The Post Office only have Kip2,500.00 which value was upgraded (by red marking the stamp) to Kip40,000.00 on February 2024. 

Germany - Wartburg Castle

Wartburg Castle.

Sent by Dagmar from Mühlhausen, Germany.

Wartburg Castle blends superbly into its forest surroundings and is in many ways 'the ideal castle'. Although it has retained some original sections from the feudal period, the form it acquired during the 19th-century reconstitution gives a good idea of what this fortress might have been at the height of its military and seigneurial power. It was during his exile at Wartburg Castle that Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German (read further).

Germany - Aachen Cathedral (3)

Sent by Cardeaux, a Postcrosser from Boltrop, Germany.

My previous postcards of Aachen Cathedral are HERE and HERE.

Russia - Kul Shariff Mosque (2)

An illustration of Kul Shariff Mosque in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. I was in this mosque in July 2024, wearing national costumes of Malaysia, praying Zohor and Asar, met an Imam's mosque, and had video recording for Malaysian Independence Day (31st August).

Sent by Galina, a Postcrosser from Moscow, Russia.

My other Kul Shariff Mosque postcard is HERE.

Russia - Karelia Republic - Chapel Of The Three Saints

Kizhi. Chapel of the Three Saints from the village Kavgora. The second half of the 18th century.  Sent by Stanislav, a Postcrosser from Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The Chapel of the Three Sanctifiers, also known as the Chapel of the Three Saints or Prelates, is an old wooden chapel on Kizhi Island in Russia. The island is part of the Kizhi Pogost, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

USA - New Mexico - Carlsbad Caverns National Park (2)

Located in the Guadalupe Mountains of southern New Mexico, Carlsbad Caverns National Park contains over 120 limestone caves in a fossil reef laid down 265 million years ago. American Indians lived in the area twelve to fourteen thousand years ago; their cooking ring sites and pictographs have been found within the park's boundaries.

Sent by Erica, a Postcrosser from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

Thanks for getting the postcard stamped by the Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

USA - Kentucky - Mammoth Cave National Park (3)

MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK - The 400-mile cave system in central Kentucky is the heart of this park wth underground treasures including the stunning Frozen Niagara - named so because it looks like a waterfall.

Sent by Karen, a postcrosser from Ohio, USA.

China - Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City

Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City.

Sent by a Postcrosser from China.

Located in the Yangtze River Basin on the south-eastern coast of the country, the archaeological ruins of Liangzhu (about 3,300-2,300 BCE) reveal an early regional state with a unified belief system based on rice cultivation in Late Neolithic China. The property is composed of four areas – the Area of Yaoshan Site, the Area of High-dam at the Mouth of the Valley, the Area of Low-dam on the Plain and the Area of City Site. These ruins are an outstanding example of early urban civilization expressed in earthen monuments, urban planning, a water conservation system and a social hierarchy expressed in differentiated burials in cemeteries within the property (read further).