Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, Brunei

well, my plans for tonight were somewhat different...but then this weather outside decided to take things in its own hands...and of course mess up with my plans.....so instead of having a few glasses of Yeni Raki with a friend, here I am with my cup of coffee, rambling...

And first comes a card from Brunei that Lai sent me as a surprise from his trip last year :)  This card is actually designed by him, while the image is by some guy, called Fairus Khafiz

- a trip to Brunei wouldn't be complete if one does not pay a visit to the magnificent Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, located in the capital of the country, Bandar Seri, Begawan. The most distinguishable feature of the mosque is its gold-plated main dome. Other materials used for the building include marble imported from Italy and carpets brought in from Saudi Arabia (from the back of the card...)


I have posted a similar Brunei card here, but I think it is from some different side...and I must admit I prefer the colours of the one above! just beautiful!!

Lai used a number of stamps, all featuring the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah - if this guy is not on a separate stamp, he like appears in some corner on almost all the other Brunei stamps...and I complained about the Queen...the blue and the pink/violet ones were issued in 2007 in a set of 12 stamps.....the year of issue on the other stamp unfortunately remains a mystery to me...


thank you Lai for this lovely surprise and for taking the time to send me this card! :)

The Sabah State Mosque, Malaysia

Ive received a number of great cards from Malaysia lately, so it was a bit hard to pick just one for today...but after some eeny meeny miny mo, we'll go with this one

I was actually amazed to see such a grand building being a mosque...reminds me of the majority of cards ive seen from Brunei in way...
It is considered as one of the most outstanding pieces of architecture in Sabah and is a unique combination of prevailing Islamic architecture and contemporary design.
It was constructed in 1974 and can accommodate up to 5,000 worshippers at one time. There is also a special balcony exclusively allocated for Muslim women during prayer time, with room for up to 500.
In case you want to visit it, avoid doing that on Fridays, which is the day of prayer for Muslims.

and im in love with these new Malay stamps...they are just soo cute! The set has 3 stamps, issued this year, under the title 'Yes to life, no to drugs'. They are indeed a number of happy stamps :)

Thanks a lot to Erica for this card!

The Old KhamisMosque, Bahrain

4th December....the date of my last post....uhmm...could have sworn, I made an update just yesterday :)
Well, without further ado, let's see what do we have for today...and I cant help it but start with something I received recently...a new w/s country...:D :D :D

when someone from Bahrain asks you for a swap, you certainly can't say no, right? I mean, it would be silly to refuse such a proposal :P  So here it is, my first card from the Kingdom of Bahrain!! Yippie!!! :D

And it is a really great card, since the Khamis mosque is believed to have been the first mosque in Bahrain, built during the era of the Umayyad caliph Umar II, some say around 692 AD; some mention the 11th century as the time when its foundation has been established. The mosque has two identical minarets in the front and is also considered as one of the oldest relics of Islam in the region.

there are two stamps on the card...the right one is from a set of 16 stamps issued in 2002 portraying the King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The other stamp is said to be a charity stamp...Im not really sure what falls under 'charity' here...if someone's familiar with these Bahrain stamps, please tell me a bit more about them

Dubai, UAE

Another country which can be considered as rare...but as I had told you above....while keeping these rare countries for not-everyday postings, i eventually obtained some more cards from these places, so I thought it was about time to bring them to life.

and a card which doesnt show that pompous, million-dollar side of Dubai, but something totally different, and thats why I love it!
This is the Jumeirah Mosque, which is the largest and one of most beautiful ones, presenting a spectacular example of modern Islamic architecture, built in the medieval Fatimid tradition combined with modern building materials. This is the only city mosque that accepts non-Muslim visitors and only through organized Jumeirah Mosque tours. The only way for visitors to tour the mosque is to join one of the Jumeirah Mosque tours led by the Sheikh Mohammed Center for Cultural Understanding. The organization’s goals are directed at nurturing cultural awareness through direct experiences and promoting first-hand insight into Islam.

So if you ever find yourself in Dubai, you are not a Muslim and are curious to see this mosque, here you will be given the chance.

the stamp on the left is from a set of very well-known defintiives, issued in 2009, in a set of 7, presenting birds. The other stamp comes from a set of 2 issued this year, with regards to Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

Thats all for today...hope you liked the choice of cards...till next time :)

Aşgabat, Turkmenistan

It's amazing how many nice and kind people ive met in the past few years since i got seriously involved into this postcard exchange stuff and since Ive opened this postcard blog....I dont know if id ever be able to thank them all appropriately enough!

This time the big thank you goes to Alvin, who came across this blog and kindly enough offered me to send me several cards he had from Turkmenistan...and you know me, modesty at those times doesnt seem to exist in my dictionary and I cant say, no thanks...but say, YES PLEASE THANK YOU!!!! And eventually an envelope arrived with not one but FIVE Turkmenistan postcards!! Ahhhhhhhhhh

Alvin says that it was really hard to get cards in Turkmenistan due to lack of tourism...well, Im not surprised honestly...cards and people exchanging cards from Turkmenistan, have always been a real rarity...

This card here show the Mosque of spirituality of Saparmurat Turkmenbashi the Great, in Turkmenistan's capital, Aşgabat. (you read that as Ashgabat)

If im not mistaken, and I might be, this should refer to Turkmenistan's former President, Niyazov....and when I read a few words about him, I must say I was rather surprised...I didnt really expect to come across something which would sort of remind me of North Korea's regime...I extracted a number of examples, which I dont know if I should call bizarre or what....but they certainly can leave one speechless, wondering, what the hell?!!.....

- he was known for renaming renaming the days of the week and of the months to Turkmen heroes, poets, historical events, his family members, and himself, and recoining the Turkmen word for bread by the name of his mother.

- all hospitals outside Aşgabat were ordered shut, with the reasoning that the sick should come to the capital for treatment.

- All libraries outside of the capital were also closed, as Niyazov believed that the only books that most Turkmen needed to read were the Koran and his Ruhnama.

- Dog and cat ownership in the capital is restricted to one animal by a law restricting the keeping of herds of animals in Ashgabat

- Niyazov requested that a palace of ice be built near the capital, though Turkmenistan is a desert country with a hot and arid environment. The palace was never built.

- In February 2004 he decreed that men should no longer wear long hair or beards

- He also banned news reporters and anchors from wearing make-up on television, apparently because he believed Turkmen women were already beautiful enough


Yeah, Im having a number of question marks banging against my head....for the end, here is one BBC video about the above mentioned Ruhnama....




Thank you again Alvin. Apart from getting such a rare country, I also got to learn some totally new things.
-

Karbala, Iraq

Oh, yes, NEW country :D

Im not really sure until which number i have arrived but its not as if its something of crucial importance either way.
As a country, Iraq is abundant with many Muslim mosques and shrines and these are the golden shrines of Imam Hussein & Abbas in Karbala. These two are located one across from another.
Karbala is considered to be as one of the holliest places after Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem and Najaf. The city (unfortunately) is best known as the location of the Battle of Karbala. I dont like it when the impression of a certain place is something with a negative connotation...

There are several theories as to the origin of the name Karbala. One traditional hypothesis is geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi's belief that the name is an alternate Arabic feminine version of karbalah "soft earth". Another theory is that the name came from the Aramaic root Karb or Qarb; meaning "Near", and Alah; meaning God. Hence, the word 'Karbala' signifies 'Near God'.

According to Shī‘ah belief, the true meaning of the name Karbalā was narrated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel as being, "the land which will cause many agonies (karb) and afflictions (balā).

the stamp is from a set of 3 issued in 2008 called One Nation

Abu Dhabi, UAE

As announced, here is the UAE card I said i was gonna post....for the wrong reasons probably :)

Well, postcards should be posted due to what they represent and show to the viewer...but sometimes...more than often..I just want to deviate from all that....and as I already said, Im dedicating this card to Nadal's win of the Abu Dhabi tournament ten days ago. It was some sort of a mini tournament, I didnt even have a chance to watch it, but I was more than delighted to see him win the title. After a really odd year last season, winning the first place on ATP, than falling back second, with his knee problems and his tendinitis...and what I found out just recently, his parents' divorce..Nadal certainly had a tough year...and it was a quite disappointing one for his fans...esp. watch him at the end of the year lose all three matches in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals...so Rafa, winning a title after all that, was pure delight....so thats why I felt I needed to make a post related to it...and since I had this Abu Dhabi card, none other could have been more perfect.

here is a short preview of Rafa's final played against Soderling:

isnt he just adorable? :P :D

I just really hope i would have the chance to get to see more of Nadal in situations like this, this season.

And lest not forget the card coz it certainly is an amazing one.
It shows the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, which is one of the largest mosques in the world and can accommodate more than 30,000 worshipers.
On the inside it is filled with swarowski crystals and 24k gold....and if to some it looks familiar, the building was inspired by the palace in the Aladin cartoon.
Dont really remember Aladin so I cant confirm if this is true or no....

the stamp is from 2007 from an issue of 7 stamps from thr 5th definitive series.