Italy - Veneto - Venice

VENEZIA
Punta della Dogana
Basilica Santa Maria della Salute

Sent by Raffaella from Italy.

Venice (English /ˈvɛnɪs/; Italian: Venezia [veˈnɛttsia] alternative obsolete form: Vinegia; Venetian: Venexia [veˈnɛsja];Latin: Venetia; Slovene: Benetke) is a city in northeastern Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline, between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. The city in its entirety is listed as a World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon. (read further)

Antarctica - The Antarctic Treaty

The Antarctic Treaty
The Treaty was negotiated by the 12 nations present in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) (1957-58).  It is a landmark agreement through which countries active in Antarctica consult on the uses of the whole continent.  The Treaty which applies to the area south of 60°S, is surprisingly short but remarkably effective.  Since entering into force on June 23, 1961, the Treaty has been recognized as one of the most successful international agreements ever negotiated.

The postcard is a SURPRISE, sent by someone from Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. Thank you very much.

Mauritania - Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata (2)

MAURITANIA
Mural decorations at Oualata.

Sent by Floyd of USA who went for a month-holiday in Mauritania. Thank you very much Floyd.

Oualata or Walata (Arabic: ولاته‎) (also Biru in 17th century chronicles) is a small oasis town in south east Mauritania that was important as a caravan city in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the southern terminus of a trans-Saharan trade route. It is a World Heritage Site. (read further)

Mauritania - Assaba

MAURITANIA

Assaba (L'Assaba)

Sent by Floyd of USA who went for a month-long holiday in Mauritania.  Thank you very much Floyd.

Assaba (Arabic: ولاية العصابة‎) is a region in southern Mauritania. Its capital is Kifa. Other major cities/towns include Guerou. The region borders the Mauritanian regions of Brakna and Tagant to the north, the Mauritanian region of Hodh El Gharbi to the east, Malito the south, and the Mauritanian regions of Gorgol and Guidimaka to the west. (Source)

Italy - Puglia - Lecce

PUGLIA
Lecce
Piazza Duomo

Sent by Sergio from Lecce, Italy.

Germany - Bavaria - Munich - Oktoberfest

Munich
View of Oktoberfest

Sent by Birgit from Munich, Germany.

Octoberfest is the world's largest fair held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16-day festival running from late September to the first weekend in October with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year. To the locals, it is often simply called "Wiesn", after the colloquial name of the fairgrounds (Theresienwiese) themselves. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the original Munich event. (read further)

Germany - Thuringia - Erfurt

Multiviews of Erfurt.

Sent by Eric from Erfurt, Germany.

Erfurt (German pronunciation: [ˈɛʁfʊʁt) is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 kilometres (62 miles) south-west of Leipzig, 150 km (93 miles) north of Nuremberg and 180 km (112 miles) south east of Hanover. Together with neighboring cities Weimar and Jena it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants. Notable institutions in Erfurt are the Federal Labour Court of Germany, the University of Erfurtand the Fachhochschule Erfurt as well as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erfurt with Erfurt Cathedral as one of the main sights. Further famous buildings are the Krämerbrücke, a bridge completely covered with dwellings, and Erfurt Synagogue which was established in the 11th century and is the oldest standing synagogue in Europe. Furthermore, the medieval city centre consists of old timber-framed houses and about 25 Gothic churches.

Erfurt was first mentioned in 742, as Saint Boniface founded the diocese. Although the town did not belong to one of the Thuringian states politically, it quickly became the economic centre of the region. Until the Napoleonic era it was part of the Electorate of Mainz and afterwards it belonged to Prussia until 1945. The university was founded in 1392, closed in 1816 and reestablished after German reunification in 1994. It is one of the oldest universities in Germany. Martin Luther was the most famous student of the institution. Other famous Erfurtians are the medieval theologian Meister Eckhart, the Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel, the sociologist Max Weber and Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, the most successful speed skater of all time. (read further)

Greenland - South Greenland

GREENLAND
South Greenland.

Sent by the Official Tourism Site of Greenland from Nuuk, Greenland.

South Greenland was a Danish colony on Greenland consisting of the trading centers and missionary stations along the southwest coast of the island. Its capital was at Godthaab (modern Nuuk).

In 1911, as the administration of the colony was removed from the Royal Greenland Trading Department and folded into the Danish Ministry of the Interior, a provincial council (Danish: landsråd) was established. It was elected indirectly from the local councils and had little say in the management of the colony. (Source)

Italy - Puglia - Porto Cesareo

PUGLIA
Porto Cesareo

Sent by Sergio from Lecce, Italy.

Porto Cesareo is a town and comune in the Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of south-east Italy.

Mozambique

MOZAMBIQUE
African Life

Sent by Cheyanne from Maxixe, Mozambique.

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: Moçambique or República de Moçambique, is a country in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. The capital and largest city is Maputo (previously called Lourenço Marques before independence). (read further)

Madagascar - Antananarivo

MADAGASCAR
Multiviews of Antananarivo.

Sent by Miora from Antananarivo, Madagascar.  Misotra betsaka.

Antananarivo (/ˌæntəˌnænəˈriːvoʊ/; Malagasy [antaˈnanaˈrivʷ], from Tanànan'ny Arivolahy), formerly Tananarive (/təˌnænəˈriːv/ or /təˌnɑːnəˈriːv/), is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana. The larger urban area surrounding the city, known as Antananarivo-Renivohitra ("Antananarivo-Mother Hill" or "Antananarivo-Capital"), is the capital of Analamanga Region. The name roughly translates to "City of the Thousand". (read further)

French Polynesia - Tahiti (2)

Tahiti and its islands.
View of Bora Bora, taken from Tahaa.

Sent by Laura, who lives in Tahiti of French Polynesia.

Bermuda

WARWICK LONG BAY, BERMUDA

Sent by Davis (TravBuddy) from Bermuda.

Bermuda /bɜrˈmjuːdə/, in full The Islands of Bermuda, also referred to as the Bermudas or the Somers Isles, is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, located off the east coast of the United States. Its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres (640 mi) to the west-northwest. It is about 1,239 kilometres (770 mi) south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, and 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami. Its capital city is Hamilton (read further).

Montserrat

Montserrat, West Indies
Aerial of Montserrat from South of island.

Sent by unknown sender. Thank you very much.

Montserrat /mɒntsəˈræt/ is a British Overseas Territory located in the Caribbean. The island is located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands known as the Lesser Antilles, in the West Indies. Montserrat measures approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, with approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline. Montserrat is nicknamedThe Emerald Isle of the Caribbean both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of some of its inhabitants.

On 18 July 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano, in the southern part of the island, became active. Eruptions destroyed Montserrat's Georgian era capital city of Plymouth and two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee. The volcanic activity continues, currently mostly affecting the vicinity of Plymouth, including its docking facilities, and the eastern side of the island around the former W. H. Bramble Airport, the remnants of which were buried by flows from volcanic activity on 11 February 2010.

An "exclusion zone" extending from the south coast of the island north to parts of the Belham Valley has been imposed because of the size of the existing volcanic dome and the resulting potential for pyroclastic activity. Visitors are generally not permitted entry into the exclusion zone, but an impressive view of the destruction of Plymouth can be seen from the top of Garibaldi Hill in Isles Bay. Relatively quiet since early 2010, the volcano continues to be closely monitored by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory.

A new town and port is currently being developed at Little Bay, which is on the northwest coast of the island. While this construction proceeds, the centre of government and businesses rests at Brades. (read further)

French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF)

French Southern and Antarctic Lands
Port Alfred (Alfred-Faure)

Sent by Philippe, the Mail Manager of Crozet. Thanks to François ZABROT, the Chief District of Crozet for the arrangement.

The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (French: Terres australes et antarctiques françaises, TAAF), in full the Territory of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (French: Territoire des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises) is an overseas territory (French: Territoire d'outre-mer or TOM) of France. It consists of:

1. Kerguelen (Archipel des Kerguelen), a group of volcanic islands in the southern Indian Ocean, southeast of Africa, approximately equidistant between Africa, Antarctica and Australia;
2. St. Paul and Amsterdam islands (Îles Saint Paul et Amsterdam), a group to the north of Kerguelen;
3. Crozet Islands (Îles Crozet), a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south of Madagascar;
4. Adélie Land (Terre Adélie), the French claim on the Antarctica continent;
5. the Scattered Islands (Îles Éparses), a dispersed group of islands around the coast of Madagascar.

The territory is also called the French Southern Lands (French: Terres australes françaises) or French Southern Territories. The latter excludes Adélie Land, where French sovereignty is not widely recognized. The lands are not connected to France Antarctique, a former French colony in Brazil.

The territory has no permanent civilian population. Those resident consist of visiting military personnel, officials, scientific researchers and support staff. (read further)

French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) - Crozet Islands

French Southern and Antarctic Lands

Crozet

King Penguins at Marin Bay. In the background is Marion Dufresne II.

Sent by Philippe, the Mail Manager of Crozet. Thanks to François ZABROT, the Chief District of Crozet for the arrangement.

The Crozet Islands (French: Îles Crozet; or, officially, Archipel Crozet) are a sub-antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Ocean. They form one of the five administrative districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.