Historical Legacy of Oman!

Asalam daykum! This postcard arrived from a distant wonderful country Oman. Johann, a teacher, lives in Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman. He finds Oman a very nice country to live and work in. He himself has been working here since August.

Oman is a country in Asia. The capital is Muscat. The population is about 2,967,717. Official language is Arabic. Oman is the oldest Arab state. The Sultanate of Oman long served as a hub on the Indian Ocean trade routes, and it has ancient ties that reach from Pakistan to the island of Zanzibar.  Today, Oman is one of the wealthiest nations on Earth. Oman is known for its oil reserves, agriculture and fishing. Oman's low-rise towns retain their traditional charms and Bedouin values remain the same.

Enjoy the anthem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIqy7Kz_cSI

Thanks a lot for the great postcard, Johann!

"Traveller's palm" from Martinique!

This postcard with the view of Martinique I received from France. A charming sender, Patricia, has been living in this place since 11 years and she loves it! She likes to share the beauty of her country throughout the world.

So, what do we know about Martinique? Martinique is a special territory in North America. The capital is Fort-de-France. The population is about 432,900 habitants. Official languages are French and Creole patois. This country in the Caribbean combines a distinctly French air with West Indian warmth. The island is dominated by Mount Pelee. In the South of the island, there are many beautiful beaches, in the North, the rain forests and the black sand beaches are spectacular. Sights include La Pagerie, birthplace of Napoleon's Empress Josephine, and Diamond Rock, a 600-foot pinnacle, once registered as a British warship.

The anthem is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ-ptcdxYOg

The tree, depicted in the postcard, is called Ravenala madagascariensis, or traveller's tree or traveller's palm. It is called "traveller's palm" (though it is not a real palm) because the sheaths of the stems hold rainwater, which supposedly could be used as an emergency drinking supply for travellers. Another possible reason for its name is that the fan tends to grow on an east-west line, providing a crude compass.

And the stamps depict gourgeous flowers by my favourite French impressionists - Gustave Caillebotte and Edouard Manet!

Thank you so much for the beauty, you shared with me, Particia!

Comeback!

Hello, world! I'm very sorry for my long absence, I was too busy and I had no time to share my postcards with you. During 2 months I received a lot of wonderful postcards from wonderful people all over the world. I decided to make my blog more, so to say, personal. I will write less bare facts, but more my emotions. I hope you will enjoy reading my stories again!

P.S. In the photo you can see my beloved wonderful pet. It is a girl-degus named Gesundheit (which means "health" in German). She is going to help me in writing my posts:) 

A postcard from exotic Bali!

This is my second swap with wonderful Anis from Indonesia. The postcard depicts traditional rice harvest on Bali, an island and province in Indonesia. Rice is Indonesian staple food.
The stamps are dedicated to the year of horse.
Thanks a lot, Anis!

A postcard from beautiful Myanmar!

Myanmar is a country in Asia. The capital is Nay Pyi Taw. The population is about 53,414,374. Official language is Burmese. Myanmar, also known as Burma, was long considered a pariah state, isolated from the rest of the world with an appalling human rights record. Myanmar is gradually emerging from its international isolation; China is its main ally. Burman dominance over Karen, Shan, Rakhine, Mon, Rohingya, Chin, Kachin and other minorities has been the source of considerable ethnic tension and has fuelled intermittent protests and separatist rebellions. Myanmar has highly fertile soil and important offshore oil and gas deposits. Nevertheless, the economy is one of the least developed in the world, and is suffering the effects of decades of stagnation, mismanagement, and isolation.

Temples and pagodas found throughout Myanmar were built during the 12th and 13th centuries under the Pagan Empire as Theravada Buddhism spread throughout the country. The country has yet to be completely overwhelmed by Western fashion – everywhere you'll meet men wearing skirt-like longyi, women smothered in thanakha (traditional make-up) and betel-chewing grannies with mouths full of blood-red juice.

The national anthem is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3Ynt9HVMQM

The postcard depicts the Mandalay Palace, which is the last royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy. The palace was constructed between 1857 and 1859 as part of King Mindon's founding of the new royal capital city of Mandalay. Throughout the British colonial era, the palace was seen by the Burmese as the primary symbol sovereignty and identity. Much of the palace compound was destroyed during World War II by allied bombing; only the royal mint and the watch tower survived. A replica of the palace was rebuilt in the 1990s with some modern materials.

Thanks a lot, CharlesLing-ChihWong!

Wonderful scenery from Mongolia!

A wonderful young lady Viola from Hong Kong, who is having her internship as a teacher in Mongolia, sent me a postcard from there!

Mongolia is a country in Asia. The capital is Ulan Bator. The population is about 3,086,918. Official language is Mongolian.

Once the heartland of an empire stretching to Europe under Genghis Khan, Mongolia is a landlocked country dominated by sparsely populated steppe and semi-desert. Mongolia has an extreme climate. Drought and unusually cold and snowy winters have decimated livestock, destroying the livelihoods of thousands of families. A land full of vast emptiness, nearly twice the size of Eastern Europe, it is the least populous country in the world.

There are few countries in the world with such a stark difference between the rural and urban populations. Mongolia's nomadic culture is famous – you can sleep in a herder's ger (traditional felt yurt), help round up the sheep, ride horses and simply 'get back to nature'. Mongolia’s nomads are herdsmen, surviving by farming livestock such as camels, cattle and horses, and moving around to exploit the best conditions for doing so at different times of year. However, 45% of the Mongolian population live in the busy capital, Ulaanbaatar, where life is a lot more up-to-date and you will find ample museums, shops, restaurants, bars and clubs.

The anthem is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs66Jb378wc

Thank you so much for the colorful postcard, Viola!