Finland

Here's a creative envelope from Finland. This envelope is made our of magazine; the first of its kind I have received so far! I think its a pretty cool idea, though the envelope feels a little flimsy.

The back of the envelope was sealed with a priority sticker.

 This is the postcard in the envelope. It shows two Christmas stamps issued in year 1980. I really like the theme of Christmas and stamps being put together! It just looks so beautiful!

The stamp on the right is designed by renowned postcard artist Kaarina Toivanen. It was released on 7th November 2011, along with another stamp with a Christmas theme.

Punakha Dzong, Punakha, Bhutan

A postcard from Bhutan. Peaceful, serene with it's lush mountains, it just looks like a fantastic getaway destination! Or at least that is my first impression from this wonderful postcard.

This postcard shows Punakha Dzong. It was known in ancient times Druk Pungthang Dechhen Phrodang or “the palace of great happiness”. It is a fortress built in 1638. Pretty historical no? Today, it houses administrative offices and several religious sites.

The stamps used commemorates Teacher's Day 2012 in Bhutan. It was released on 2nd May 2012.

Thank you Tashi for the lovely postcard and stamps!

Iraq

Finally! I thought my postcards from Iraq were never going to arrive, but they came today! Here is the manila envelope.

The postmarks on the envelope bore Arabic characters, which were pretty interesting since I don't see these characters often. The back of the envelope is below.

Bilal and I agreed to swap 5 postcards, so here's the first. This is a view of Mosul, a city in northern Iraq. The city has a large university, the University of Mosul.

The next card shows the Al-Hadba Minaret in Mosul.

This is the Al-Masqa Gate in Neneveh.

The next postcard shows the Relief in the Palace of Ashurnasserpal II. Ashurnasserpal II was king of Assyria from 883 to 859BC. 

The last card shows the entrance to Ashurnasserpal's Palace in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud.

The stamps are pretty special. The stamp on top is one of two from the series commemorating Matyr day in Iraq. The 2 stamps at the bottom commemorate Iraqi post day.

It has really been my privilege to see a small part of Iraq through these postcards. Thank you Bilal for all the postcards and stamps!

Batumi City, Gerogia

Here's a postcard I thought to be very rare. How often does one get to receive a postcard from Georgia?

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. The capital of Georgia is Tbilisi. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 km square and its population is almost 4.7 million. This postcard, however, shows Batumi City. According to Anina, who sent me the card, this photo was taken 100 years ago! The postcard has a really nice brownish colour that gives it an aged feel.

 The stamps are from a series depicting Georgian Manuscript monuments.

Here are the rest of the stamps.

Thank you Anina for the beautiful addition to my collection!

Luxembourg

This is one of the less common cards that come along. It features various places in the landlocked country of Luxembourg. I've never had the chance to visit it, but I do hope I can one day!

The stamp here is part of the series commemorating the London Olympic games 2012. It was issued on 15th May 2012 along with another stamp.