The World in My Mailbox

TAIWAN

Thank you soo much Spring Chiang for you lovely card and stamp :) like this card very much

RUSSIA

Thank you soo much Uliya for your beautiful card and stamp.this is really lovely card :)

Anapa (Russian: Ана́па)

Anapa (Russian: Ана́па) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. Population: 58,990 (2010 Census); 53,493 (2002 Census); 54,796 (1989 Census).
The area around Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was originally a major seaport (Sinda) for the Natkhuay tribe of the Adyghe people[citation needed] and then the capital of Sindica. The colony of Gorgippia was built on the site of Sinda in the 6th century BCE by Pontic Greeks, who named it after a king of the Cimmerian Bosporus. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries BCE, Gorgippia flourished as part of the Bosporan Kingdom, as did its guild of shipowners, which controlled maritime trade in the eastern part of the Black Sea. A fine statue of Neokles (a local potentate, son of Herodoros) was unearthed by Russian archaeologists and is now on exhibit at the Russian Museum. Gorgippia was inhabited until the 3rd century CE, when it was overrun by nomadic tribes. These tribes are a Circassian or Adyghe origin, gave Anapa its modern name. Anapa was part of Sarmatians, Ostrogoths, European Huns, Avars, Gokturks, Khazars, Circassians and Golden Horde.
Anapa was conquered by the Genoese in 1300 and was renamed Mapa. Genoese possession of it lasted until Ottoman conquest in 1475. Ottomans completed a fortress to defend against the Russian threat in 1791. The fortress was repeatedly attacked by the Russian Empire and was all but destroyed during its last siege in 1829. The town was passed to Russia after the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829. It was included in Black Sea Okrug of Kuban Oblast and was granted town status in 1846.[citation needed]
It was occupied by Ottomans between 1853-1856 during the Crimean War. It became part of Black Sea Governorate in 1896. Elizabeth Pilenko, later named as a saint in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, was the mayor during the Russian Revolution. It became part of Kuban-Black Sea Oblast in 1920. During World War II, it was occupied and totally demolished by Nazi Germany with the help of Romanian troops between August 30, 1942 and September 22, 1943.

Thank you soo much Svetlana for your nice card and stamps :)

Erding

Erding is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district Erding. It had a population of 34,122 in 2004. It is twinned with Bastia in Corsica.
The original Erdinger Weissbier is a well-known Bavarian specialty. Grünbacher is one of the better-known local brands.
Erding is located around 45 kilometers northeast of central Munich, about a 40-minute drive by car. Regular S-Bahn trains connect to Munich and beyond.
Evidence of prehistoric hunter/gatherers in the Erding area dates to c. 6000 BC, findings including an axe made of deer antler. Excavations of 2 dwellings of at least 6.5 metres in length near Altenerding from c. 2500 BC provides the first evidence of permanent agricultural based inhabitants, while some 20 early Bronze Age graveyards from c. 1800 BC have been found in Langenpriesing.
Erding was founded in 1228-1230 AD, developing as a township as an alternative route from Landshut to Munich. Erding became known as a border town, midway between the two rival cities. During the Thirty Years' War, Erding was taken twice by Swedish troops, who plundered it and set it on fire.
In 1945, several Allied air raids on the nearby military airport damaged the city and killed numerous inhabitants.
On March 24, 1950; three Douglas DC-3s from Czechoslovakia were simultaneously hijacked. All three planes landed in Erding, West Germany. 26 of 85 passengers stayed in West Germany to escape from the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
In 1972 Erding was connected to the Munich’s S-Bahn network. In 1992 the Franz Josef Strauss Airport – more commonly known as Munich airport – was opened. The decision to build a major airport on the ecologically sensitive Erdinger Moos was a source of controversy during the previous decade. The airport has attracted new businesses and additional population to the area since it was opened.
2005 - Felix Schutz was selected in the 2006 NHL entry draft 4th round (117th overall) making history as the first person from Erding ever drafted.

Thank you soo much Theo fo your nice car like this very much :)

The Tulip

The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, of which around 75 wild species are currently accepted[1] and which belongs to the family Liliaceae.[2]
The genus's native range extends west to the Iberian Peninsula, through North Africa to Greece, the Balkans, Turkey, throughout the Levant (Syria, Israel, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Jordan) and Iran, North to Ukraine, southern Siberia and Mongolia, and east to the Northwest of China.[1] The tulip's centre of diversity is in the Pamir, Hindu Kush, and Tien Shan mountains.[3] It is a typical element of steppe and winter-rain Mediterranean vegetation. A number of species and many hybrid cultivars are grown in gardens, as potted plants, or as cut flowers.

Thank you soo much Cabrun for your beautiful card and stamp :)

Gustav Pope

Gustav Pope (1831–1910) was a British painter of Austrian origin. Active in the Victorian era, he incorporated several styles on his work, but in his mature style he showed influences of the second wave of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Little is known about Pope's training as a painter, but he is listed as a regular exhibitor in London from 1852 to 1895, at the British Institution, the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Academy.[2] His work shows the influence of Thomas Seddon, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Frederic, Lord Leighton. English literary sources, classical mythology, portraiture, landscape and idealized images of young women are the most typical subjects in his paintings.
Some sources shows Gustav Pope as deceased by 1895, based on the last year he was exhibiting at the Royal Academy. Nevertheless, we can be certain that the year of his death, in 1910, his widow presented the painting A Rainy Day to the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery in memory of her husband. He was a resident of Chelsea, according to the 1910 Census.(1831–1910) was a British painter of Austrian origin. Active in the Victorian era, he incorporated several styles on his work, but in his mature style he showed influences of the second wave of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Little is known about Pope's training as a painter, but he is listed as a regular exhibitor in London from 1852 to 1895, at the British Institution, the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Academy. His work shows the influence of Thomas Seddon, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Frederic, Lord Leighton. English literary sources, classical mythology, portraiture, landscape and idealized images of young women are the most typical subjects in his paintings.
Some sources shows Gustav Pope as deceased by 1895, based on the last year he was exhibiting at the Royal Academy. Nevertheless, we can be certain that the year of his death, in 1910, his widow presented the painting A Rainy Day to the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery in memory of her husband. He was a resident of Chelsea, according to the 1910 Census.

Thank you soo much Jenya for your valuable card and stamps like this soo much :)

The polar bear

The polar bear is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is a large bear, approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi). A boar (adult male) weighs around 350–700 kg (770–1,540 lb), while a sow (adult female) is about half that size. Although it is the sister species of the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which make up most of its diet. Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time at sea. Their scientific name means "maritime bear", and derives from this fact. Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present.
The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, with eight of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations in decline. For decades, large scale hunting raised international concern for the future of the species but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect.[citation needed] For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural life of Arctic indigenous peoples, and polar bears remain important in their cultures.

Thank you soo much Vladimir for your nice card and lovely stamps :)

Thank you so much Eugenia for ur beautiful card and soo lovely stamp :) :)

The Peter and Paul Cathedral

This is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733 on Zayachy Island along the Neva River. Both the cathedral and the fortress were originally built under Peter the Great and designed by Domenico Trezzini. The cathedral's bell tower is the world's tallest Orthodox bell tower. Since the belfry is not standalone, but an integral part of the main building, the cathedral is sometimes considered the highest Orthodox Church in the world. There is another Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul Church in St. Petersburg, located in Petergof.

Thank you so much Tur for ur nice card like this card very much and stamps :)

GREAT BRITAIN

Thank you soo much Emma for ur beautiful car and stamp

The Ladybird

The Coccinellidae are a family of small beetles, ranging from 0.8 to 18 mm (0.0315 to 0.708 inches).They are commonly yellow, orange, or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, heads and antennae. Such colour patterns vary greatly, however; for example, a minority of species, such as Vibidia duodecimguttata, a twelve-spotted species, have whitish spots on a brown background. Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species described.

Coccinellidae are known colloquially as ladybirds (in Britain, Ireland, the Commonwealth, and some parts of the southern United States), ladybugs (originating in North America) or lady cows, among other names. When they need to use a common name, entomologists in the United States widely prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetlesas these insects are not true bugs.

The Coccinellidae are generally considered useful insects, because many species feed on aphids or scale insects, which are pests in gardens, agricultural fields, orchards, and similar places. Within the colonies of such plant-eating pests, they will lay hundreds of eggs, and when these hatch the larvae will commence feeding immediately. However, some species do have unwelcome effects; among these, the most prominent are the subfamily Epilachninae, which are plant eaters. Usually, Epilachninae are only mild agricultural pests, eating the leaves of grain, potatoes, beans, and various other crops, but their numbers can increase explosively in years when their natural enemies, such as parasitoid wasps that attack their eggs, are few. In such situations, they can do major crop damage. They occur in practically all the major crop-producing regions of temperate and tropical countries.

Thank you soo much Emma for your beautiful car and stamp :)

Paehnoktam Crater on the top of Mt. Halla

Hallasan is a shield volcano on Jeju Island of South Korea. Hallasan is the highest mountain in South Korea. The area around the mountain is a designated national park, the Hallasan National Park . Hallasan is commonly considered to be one of the three main mountains of South Korea, with Jirisan and Seoraksan being the other two.

Hallasan is a massive shield volcano which forms the bulk of Jeju Island and is often taken as representing the island itself. There is a local saying stating that "Jeju Island is Hallasan; and Hallasan is Jeju." The mountain can indeed be seen from all places on the island, but its peak is often covered in clouds. The mountain has been designated Korea's Natural Monument no. 182.Hallasan is a massive shield volcano which forms the bulk of Jeju Island and is often taken as representing the island itself. There is a local saying stating that "Jeju Island is Hallasan; and Hallasan is Jeju." The mountain can indeed be seen from all places on the island, but its peak is often covered in clouds. The mountain has been designated Korea's Natural Monument no. 182.
The volcanic island was constructed starting in the Pliocene epoch atop the continental shelf, which is about 100 m (300 ft) below sea level in that area. Eruptions of basalt and trachyte lava built the island above sea level, and it now reaches a height of 1,950 metres (6,398 ft). A large volcanic crater over 400 m (1,300 ft) in diameter tops the volcano. About 360 parasitic cones, or oreum in the Jeju dialect, are found on the volcano's flanks. Most of them are cinder cones and scoria cones, but there are also some lava domes and about 20 tuff rings near the coast and offshore, which were formed by underwater phreatic eruptions. The most recent eruptions occurred on the flanks in 1002 and 1007.

Crater lakes on Hallasan.
There is a crater lake on Hallasan called Baengnokdam , literally "white deer lake." There is a legend attributing the name of the lake to otherworldly men who descend from heaven to play with white deer. Depending on the season, the circumference of the lake is up to 2 kilometres with a depth up to about 100 meter

Thank you soo much Pradipta for ur nice card and soo beautiful stamps :)

The Amish

The Amish are a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships, closely related to but distinct from Mennonite churches, with whom they share Swiss Anabaptist origins. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, and reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology. The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann.Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish.
In the early 18th century, many Amish and Mennonites immigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons. Today, the most traditional descendants of the Amish continue to speak Pennsylvania German, also known as "Pennsylvania Dutch". However, a dialect of Swiss German predominates in some Old Order Amish communities, especially in the American state of Indiana.As of 2000, over 165,000 Old Order Amish live in the United States and about 1,500 live in Canada.A 2008 study suggested their numbers have increased to 227,000, and in 2010 a study suggested their population had grown by 10 percent in the past two years to 249,000, with increasing movement to the West.

This is their traditional dress. The Amish are very plain. They don't wear any bright colors usually and they only have a few dresses for the women or outfits for the men. So they would have a nice outfit for church, one for school, one for work and then maybe one or two extra for gatherings

Thank you so much Sarah for your nice card and stamp :) :)

The tomato

The tomato is the edible, often red fruit/berry of the nightshade Solanum lycopersicum,commonly known as a tomato plant. The species originated in the South American Andes and its use as a food originated in Mexico, and spread throughout the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Its many varieties are now widely grown, sometimes in greenhouses in cooler climates.
The tomato is consumed in diverse ways, including raw, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces, salads, and drinks. While it is botanically a fruit, it is considered a vegetable for culinary purposes (as well as under U.S. customs regulations, see Nix v. Hedden), which has caused some confusion. The fruit is rich in lycopene, which may have beneficial health effects.
The tomato belongs to the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The plants typically grow to 1–3 meters (3–10 ft) in height and have a weak stem that often sprawls over the ground and vines over other plants. It is a perennial in its native habitat, although often grown outdoors in temperate climates as an annual. An average common tomato weighs approximately 100 grams

Thank you soo much Cyndi for ur nice card and stamp :)

Thank you soo much Sarah for your beautiful car and stamp .really like this card :)thanks again

The card you can see Mount Rainer which is the tallest Mountain in Washington

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier is the highest mountain of the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, and the highest mountain in the state of Washington. It is a large active stratovolcano located 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Seattle. It is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States and the Cascade Volcanic Arc, with a summit elevation of 14,411 ft (4,392 m).Mt. Rainier is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, and it is on the Decade Volcano list.Because of its large amount of glacial ice, Mt. Rainier could potentially produce massive lahars that could threaten the entire Puyallup River valley.

Thank you soo much Jake for your nice card and stamp :)

USA SOUTH CAROLINA

Thank you so much Joseph for ur nice card and stamps i enjoyed it lot :)

The Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden is a finalist for the 8 Wonders of Kansas because it is a world-renowned grassroots art site with one of the most fascinating (and bizarre) sculpture gardens in the world!In 1907, at the age of 62, Civil War veteran Samuel Perry Dinsmoor began construction of this unusual site by building a structure of limestone logs, (some up to 21 feet long) for the family home. Then, using 113 tons of cement, Dinsmoor built 40-foot tall trees to hold his larger than life figures for his sculpture garden. He stopped working on the sculpture in 1929 because he went blind!Tour guides help an observer become fully aware that every part of every cryptic sculpture has meaning about Populist politics, modern civilization, and the Bible that connect like a dot-to-dot puzzle. The humor and message that he conveys through the sculptures amazes visitors.Dinsmoor also built a mausoleum to house his mummified remains! Always a jokester, he claimed he would wink at anyone who paid to tour the garden. His vision was accurate and today the Garden of Eden supports itself through admissions. While Dinsmoor was building and creating locals tried to run him out of town. Decades later, the Garden of Eden became the town's main attraction and today Lucas is known as the Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas. Visitors to Lucas should take time to visit other grassroots art attractions in town to understand the extent of the legacy left by one of Kansas' most eccentric artists. Start at the downtown Grassroots Arts Center that showcases other grassroots artists. Also find Eric Abraham's Ceramic Flying Pig Studio, Erika Nelson's World's Largest Souvenir Travel Plate, Florence Deebles Sculpture Rock Garden and Mri Pillar's 3D art of recycled products.Location: Kansas and 2nd, Lucas.