Samarqand , Uzbekistan

One day as I was browsing some rare countries on "postcrossing" hoping to find somebody who is not fed up with swap requests, I came across Vera from Uzbekistan who was not only into swapping but also a fan of everything greek and she also can speak our language. Me on the other hand have always have felt a special attraction for countries in Middle Asia and as you can understand we very easily agreed on swapping :) Two ultra beautiful cards came all way from Uzbekistan thanks to my dearest Vera . First one is from Samarkand , a place that I really really really want to see one day . So here you are the mausoleum of Amir Temur or as we in Europe know him , Tamerlane ! It contains the tomb of Tamerlane , of his sons Shah Rukh and Miran Shah as well as his grandsons' Ulugh Beg & Muhammad Sultan! The constraction begun in 1403 after the sudden death of Muhammad Sultan for whom it was originally intended. Timur had built a small tomb for himself in Shahrisabz near his Ak Saray palace! However when he died in 1405 on his military expendition to China the passes to Shahrisabz were snowed in so he was buried here instead. Mausoleum was finished during the reign of Ulugh Beg. Vera dear I cannot thank you enough :))

Tashkent , Uzbekistan

and the 2nd card from my dear Vera came from the capital city of Tashkent ( Stone city ). It depicts Mustaqillik Meydoni ( Independnce Square ). It is the former Ploshad Lenina which during the Soviet era had the tallest statue of Lenin. In 1991 Uzbekistan declared it's independence , the Lenin satue was of course demolished and was replaced with the Monument of Independence,  a largen golden globe with Uzbekistan map on it . In the collonade storks and crane birds can been seen as they are the birds symols of happiness and prosperity. Tashkent has a long history being an important point on the Silk Road but little can be seen from it as a strong earthquake hit the city in 1966 destroying it . A typical Soviet style city was build then and later after their independence it changed drastically again, remaining nonethe less very beautiful !  Rahmat Vera :)

United Kingdom

This super cool map card came as official from United Kingdom. It is showing the area of Lancashire & Merseyside. 2 of the most impotrand UK cities Manchester and Liverpool are located there. Many thanks to Andrya !

Vienna , Austria

A lovely card from Austria as a result of another arranged swap. You are seeing Vienna of course and one of its most famous landmarks Stephansdom. A short intro from Wikipedia for it :

St. Stephen's Cathedral (German: Stephansdom) is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. Its current Romanesque and Gothic form seen today, situated at the heart of Vienna, Austria in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Rudolf IV and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first being a parish church consecrated in 1147. As the most important religious building in Austria's capital, the cathedral has borne witness to many important events in that nation's history and has, with its multi-colored tile roof, become one of the city's most recognizable symbols.

Vielen Dank an Anna :)

Passau , Germany

This card comes as a proof that no matter how many cards you might have from a particular country , there is always room for more that will make you discover new places . In my case I have lot of German cards ,from the past when I had a lot of German penfriend and some new ones from official postcrossing procedures! So one might have wondered why I accept private swaps with Germany ..That's why .. This adorable card ( I really love cards that involve water , sea , lakes , rivers doesn't really matter ) came as a private swap and that's how I got to know Passau. Passau is located in Bavaria, it's the seat of Passau University founded in the late 70's as the extension of Institute for Catholic Studies (1622). It is renowned in Germany for its institutes in Economics, Law , Theology, Computer Sciences and Cultural Studies. As a matter of fact 10.000 people out of a total population of 50.000 in Passau are students. What makes it uniquely beautiful to my eyes is that it's the place where three rivers ( Danube , Inn & Ilz ) are joined , hence its nicname " Drei-Flusse-Stadt" ( Three Rivers city ) . Vielen , vielen Dank an Kirsten.

Wroclaw , Poland

Here is another card of Wroclaw city in Poland thanks to private swap . You can see the local University , the Swordsman monument, the Town Hall , the Cathedral and the National Museum !Seems like really a nice city , thank you Wiktoria :)

Australia

This one came from a direct swap from Australia showing Eastern Clownfish ( Amphiprion percula ) from Grand Barrier Reef in Queensland , Australia :))) Thanks Shirley

Hong Kong

My first official from Hong Kong. It is showing a Chinese opera and their really wonderful costumes, People used to wear this clothes in the past except that make up which is unique for the opera artists ! Thank you Mandy for this wonderful card!

Nordsee, Germany

An official one from Germany showing images from North Sea in a 2011 calendar!

Portugal

When you get lazy about writing updates in your blog, you end up with huge pile of cards and have to spend a full day in front of your pc trying to catch up :D Many great cards have arrived in the past weeks or so  and I had finally sit down and share them with you ! So here we start with a card from the beautiful country of Portugal . Even though it doesn't show any cityview/landscape or such , this card immediately drow my attention and I arranged a swap for this because it simply "screams" that it is Portuguese :D
Not only for the big "PORTUGALIA" sign on the top but because this facade is decorated with the world famous Portuguese tiles . This is the facade of the old factory of "Portugalia Brewery" build in Lisbon in 1913.

Muito obrigada a Susana !

Luxembourg

Yuppie , another country added to my collection. Luxembourg or as it is officially named "The Grand Douchy of Luxembourg. It is a small landlocked country but that doesn't prevent it from being one of the world's most developed countries , with the world's 2nd highest GDP per capita. The capital city with the same name is the seat for many EU institutions. Luxembourg is rich in culture as well because due to its geographical postition it has been the melting pot of Romance and Germanic cultures borrowing elements of both traditions ! Despite its small size is an officially TRIlingual country with French , German as well as Luxembourgish being the official languages .So here you are some views of Luxembourg thanks to Anne . Merci / Danke/ Villmols merci

Salt Lake City , USA

Another beautiful card came all the way from Utah , thanks to Sierra. After her breathtaking card of Monument Valley in the Utah Desert , she sent me the most famous landmark of her city and that is the main LDS ( Mormon ) temple . I'm not very religious person myself but I always have a fascination for religious buildings, no matter which religion/denomination they represent. And this temple looks indeed amazing.  It looks very different from "mainstream" Christianity churches . No crosses, no icons , no statues, only an angel with a trumpet on the top. If I remember correctly it's the angel Moroni who according to LDS faith appeared to Joseph Smith Jr and revealed the Golden Plates to him and from these plates J. Smith translated the Book of Mormon into English. As for the interior , not much can be said as it is not open for the public , only LDS members and not even all of them , just the "worthy" ones can enter this building ( and any other LDS temple oround the world )

Detroit , USA

Detroit is the largest city in the state of Michigan. I always somehow confuse which one is bigger with Chicago , reminding then to myself that Chicago is at the shores of Lake Michigan and not in the State of Michigan , but in Illinois :D

So here you are one card with some views of the city ( I chose this for the bridges :D) plus a card showing some really beautiful lighthouses in MIchigan . In top row : Whitefish Point- Point Betsie- Grand Traverse-White Shoal &in Bottom row Presque Isle -Tawas Point &Round Island. Many many thanks to Rachel

Parnu , Estonia

Yayyy ! One card from Estonia ! This is my first ever as I had never had a penfriend from there, or I maybe I had one but our penfriendship didn't last long ! Whatever , the fact is that I didn't have an Estonian card until now. This came as an official from a very sweet person who decided to send me two instead of one ! So here you can see some views from the seaside city of Parnu which is a very popular resort in the Baltic Sea among Estonians of course  &Finns. I would be curious how it would be for a Mediterranean person -me- to swim so far north in Baltic Sea. Who knows I might try it in the future ! Thanks to Hellen for the card :)

Pszow , Poland

Dear Hellen from Estonia was kindly enough to include an additional one to her official Estonian one ! So here it is.. the cathedral of Pszow in Poland . Thank you Hellen 

Odessa , Ukraine

My 2nd official for Ukraine but the first actually depicting an Ukraine city ... Odessa. The city located in the north shore of Black Sea . Odessa has a long history and it has been a cosmopolitan city being home exept Ukrainians of course for Russians, Jewish , French , Italian , Romanian, Tatar , Turkish , Greek , Armenian and Bulgarians which all have influenced a part of that city . Card is showing Spasso -Preobragenskij Dom the main Cathedral . Spasibo Maksim

Chicago , USA

Chicago is located on the southwestern shores of Lake Michigan. It is the 3rd most densely populated major city in the US . The city is also known as a center for businessand financeand is listed as one of the world's top ten Global Financial Centers. This according to the back of the card .... and for Chicago Bulls I would add :) Many many thanks to Dylan for this card of "the Windy city " :)

Belarus

After joining postcrossing I think I'll soon become an expert on Belarus since the project seems to be very popular there . No complaints though , I love learning new things :)) So shall we start the class? Here you are  the map of Belarus sent as an official by Olia ! Spasibo bolshoe

Vitebsk , Belarus

Vitebsk is a beautiful city in Belarus near the Russian border. It has been part of the Lithuanian_Polish commonwealth, then annexed by Russian empire. By the Soviet era was firstly part of SSR Byelorussia then Russian SSR , then of Litbel , until it was finally returned to Belarus. Before WW2 it had a signifigant Jewish population comprising the half of the city's total . In fact the most well-known son of this city -at least to me -was the jewish artist Marc Chagall.  In this card you can see the Town Hall between Holy Assumption Cathedral and Resurrection Church . Spasibo Nadia

Veendam , The Netherlands

All I could learn is that Veendam is located in the northeastern province of Groningen. Lack of further info cannot stop me from liking this place sooo much . Love the canal which is typical for the area , and the orange color prevailing in the top pics ( No wonder why they are called oranje :D ) Dank je wel Alex

Rapallo , Italy

Rapallo is in north Italy very close to Genova, is included in Parco Naturale Regionale di Portofino . The first settlement dates from 8th century BC although it is not clear whether it was Greek or Etruscan .Friedrich Nietsche wrote that the ideas for Zarathustra first came to him as he was walking in Rapallo . One of its main  sights is the "Castello sul mare " (Castle on the sea ) erected in 1551 as a protection against the pirates and beautifully depicted in the card that Laura chose for me ! Grazie carissima !

Samsung Touchnote Promotion

I'm listing this 3 cards together even one is from a far different place than the other two , as they were sent via Samsung Touchnote  free campaign during the Olympic Games ! Even though I'm not sure that I count them as "real" postcards , I mean as collective items. , since they are plastic coated, computer-typed and send from Guernsey with a simple "postage paid" sign ( I wish I had an actual Guernsey card ), they made me day when I received them as I took them as a guesture " I'm thinking of you " from some people we already have exchanged with . One of them was not surprise at all since I send it to my precious self :D

So 1st one is from my dear -ME ! and it is showing a wonderful view from Istinye , Istanbul that I had taken with my own camera and is not available in any postcards . This place has always a special place in my heart and I wanted to have it printed in a card.

2nd one is from Istanbul again , from the center of the city this time in the heart of Beyoglu ! IT shows the facade of the famous Cicek Pasaji in Istiklal Avenue. It is a covered passage first openen in 1876, firstly as Naum theater . 4 years later a fire breaks out , and it was destroyed , a greek banker buys it and a fellow greek architect gives it this look. At that time it was called Cite de Pera or simply Hristaki pasaji by the name of his owner. In 1908 the Ottoman Grand Vizier Sait Pasha is purchasing it , and of course it renames as Sait Pasha pasaji . Following the Russian Revolution , many impoverished noble Russian women were selling flowers there , hence it is final name Cicek Pasaji ( flower passage ). After it's restoration in 1988 it was reopened with many restaurants and cafes in the inside. It sums up the history of Istanbul somehow , how cosmopolitan and metropolitan it has always been. Photo was taken & turned into a card by my dear Belkis

3rd is the famous Iguazu falls in Brazil ( see the story in my other Brazil related post ) " Responsible for this card  is Genesio . Thank you both 

Pamukkale , Turkey

A facebook swap occured here as well , as I can't forgive myself that I have been so many times in Turkey and I still haven't visited to this nature wonder of Pamukkale :P Pamukkale in turkish means "cotton castle" , it is located in southwest Turkey in the Inner Aegean region. It is a major tourist attraction as it combines natural beauty , hot springs combined with the ruins of Graeco-Roman & Byzantine city of Hierapolis ( that means Sacred City in greek ). Pamukkale & Hierapolis as one , were declare by UNESCO as World Heritage Site in 1988!

Melis'cigim cok cok tesekkur ederim

Ali Mountains ,Taiwan

This beautiful card is the income of a facebook swap I had ! Yuyi & I had decided to surprise each other  and she suprised me with this beautiful cherry blossom view in Ali mountains in Taiwan , xie xie Yuyi !

Islamabad , Pakistan

This is the card I initially asked in my swap to have from Pakistan ! It is showing Faisal Mosque in the capital city of Islamabad. It was not a card for card swap , as the other person is a coin collector . I do not collect coins but it happens to have some from some neighbouring countries I have visited. I thought they would fit better in a nice collection rather than being neglected in my own drawers ! So I offered 3 small ones and I asked for 1 Pakistani card having in mind that I prefered it written and stamped! Usman was kind enough to send me 5! Who am I to decline such an offer ? :D All are simply amazing and I can happily overlook the fact that are mint , so here you are Islamabad and the others are following below