A Piece Of Pakistan's Philately For Viridian's Sunday Stamps # 117

While thinking about something to match the today's theme for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog, which is "minerals, rocks, geology, environment" I immediately thought of a couple of recent postage stamps issued by Pakistan Post regarding these themes.
The first issue is related to "minerals, rocks, geology" and features a set of 4 stamps showing the precious stones found in Pakistan. These 4 stamps include the following rocks:-

• Emerald
• Ruby
• Sapphire 
• Peridot

 The second set of stamps issued by Pakistan Post shows 4 postage stamps commemorating "40th Anniversary of United Nations Environment Programme". The 4 stamps show the following:-

• Lake Saif-ul-Muluk in Kaghan Valley which is so beautiful that Fairies visit there on Full-Moon Nights to take a bath - According to a local folk tale. You can read see some more photos/ read more details at A Lake which Fascinates Fairies (Top Left)
• Polo Match on the World's highest polo ground - Shandur, Gilgit Baltistan  - More photos can be seen @ Shandur Polo Festival at World's Highest Polo Ground (Top Right)

• Khyber Gate - the gateway to the mountainous Khyber Pass connecting Pakistan and Afghanistan (Bottom Right)

 

 Hope to see your comments regarding this post and these amazing stamps too!
Feel free to speak your heart out!!! ;-)

Slovenia - An Amazing Cover From The Beautiful European Country

After a long time, when I decided to share a new cover from my collection, I decided to share a real-posted cover from a new country, therefore I selected this cute cover from Slovenia or Slovenija, as they spell it on the stamps.
The envelope is a made up of beautiful dull blue-coloured paper and the stamps really emboss on dull blue background.

 The cover was sent to me by Karmen from Slovenia alongwith a couple of postcards and coins too.

 The cover is posted with 3 stamps on the face.

• The left-most Slovenian souvenir sheet featuring a flower was issued in 2009 and shows a Ranunculus Arvensis.

• The stamp on the right side was also issued in 2009 at the moment of "World Cup Athletes, Berlin". The stamp shows various athletes in action in different coloured silhouettes. It is really a very beautiful and coloured stamp and I absolutely love it.

You can leave your comments below!

A Box Full Of On-Paper Stamps - A Dream-Come-True For A Philatelist

Today was a dream-come-true day for me as I received a huge box of stamps that I bought about 15 months ago. For the first time I laid my hands on these stamps and they are amazing.
I am sure that it is strange to hear about this story of receiving stamps 15 months after buying them but I assure you that the seller did a magnificent job of sending the stamps on the same day that I sent the money and the stamps were delivered to the address that I mentioned.

 The box is almost 20" x 20" x 8" and its all full of on-paper stamps from Australia. The box contains almost 9 kgs of on-paper stamps.

 The first look inside the box of stamps was simply amazing. I bought these stamps in kiloware from Glen Stephens Web Store and am highly thankful to Glen for sending me such a nice bunch of Australian stamps. These include commemoratives as well as definitives.
Below are some of the photos of the stamps that I could find at the very top:-

  The box of stamps is full of stamps featuring dogs, birds, fishes, cats, cars and above all Nicole Kidman ;)

  All sorts of varieties of lovely stamps and I am very happy to receive them,

 I am sure that these will be enough to keep me busy for a life time.
I am still wondering how to sort them out and what to do with them? If you have any suggestions, please share in Comments Section below the post.

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.

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!

Historic Center Of Yaroslavl, Russia - A Fairy Tale Land

At first sight, I thought that this fairy tale castle is depicted from Narnia or bears a close resemblance with Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - as mentioned in Harry Potter Books by JK Rowling, but the actual story is slightly different.

 The postcard is from the beautiful city of Yaroslavl in Russia, which is a major commercial center in the area since 11th century. The castle shown on the card is absolutely awesome. The clouds and the yellowish trees make the scenery even more charismatic. It is infact a painting, but I believe that the actual scenery would be as beautiful as it is shown here.
You can read more about the Historic Areas of Yaroslavl in Russia on my UNESCO Sites Blog, as it is also a famous UNESCO World Heritage Site in Russia.

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 Cover From U.S.A

Hollywood Actress Bette Davis