Cover from Liechtenstein／enveloppe du Liechtenstein

FDC from Bulgaria／FDC de la Bulgarie

Ecology - Balkan Mountains, Joint issue Bulgaria - Serbia／
L'écologie - Balkans, l'Articulation publie la Bulgarie - la Serbie


0.60 Leva - Eurasian Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola)

"The Eurasian Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola, is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes are set far back on its head to give it 360-degree vision and it probes in the ground for food with its long, sensitive bill, making it vulnerable to cold weather when the ground remains frozen.

The male performs a courtship flight known as 'roding' at dusk in spring. When threatened, the female can carry chicks between her legs, in her claws or on her back while flying, though this is rarely witnessed. The world population is estimated to be 15 million to 16 million birds.

The Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush or just Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis) is a member of the thrush family Turdidae."-wiki

1.00 Leva - Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush (Monticola saxatilis)

"It breeds in southern Europe across central Asia to northern China. This species is strongly migratory, all populations wintering in Africa south of the Sahara. It is an uncommon visitor to northern Europe. Its range has contracted somewhat at the periphery in recent decades due to habitat destruction. For example, in the early 20th century it bred in the Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska (Poland) where none occur today, but it is not considered globally endangered.

This is a medium-sized but stocky thrush 17-20 cm in length. The summer male is unmistakable, with a blue-grey head, orange underparts and outer tail feathers, dark brown wings and white back. Females and immatures are much less striking, with dark brown scaly upperparts, and paler brown scaly underparts. The outer tail feathers are reddish, like the male.

This species breeds in open dry hilly areas, usually above 1500 m. It nests in rock cavities, laying 4-5 eggs. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of insects and berries. The male Rock Thrush has a clear and tuneful song."-wiki

FDC from Japan／FDC du Japon

The 50th anniversary of Japanese weekly comic books for boys／
Le 50ème anniversaire de livres de bandes dessinées hebdomadaires japonais pour les garçons.


Thank Ms.Lin!

FDC from Algeria／FDC de L'Algérie

Islamic heritage／Patrimoine Islamique


15DA: Mausoleum of Sidi Abderrahmane (Algiers)
20DA: Mausoleum of Sidi Ibrahim, El Atteuf (Ghardaïa)

Mausolée Sidi Abderrahmane (Alger)
Sidi Abderrahmane Ethaâlibi, de son vrai nom Abou Zeid Abderrahmane Ibn Mohamed Ibn Makhlouf Ethaâlibi, est un penseur algérien et maître fondateur de l'école Ethaâlibia. Il est né en l'an 786 de l'hégire (1384 de l’ère chrétienne) à Oued Isser, dans la wilaya de Boumerdès. Durant les multiples voyages qu'il effectua en quête de connaissances et de savoir, d'abord à l'intérieur du pays, puis à Tunis, au Caire et aux Lieux saints de l'islam, il côtoya de grands penseurs. Après avoir passé une vingtaine d'années de sa vie dans l'acquisition du savoir et l'enseignement, Abderrahmane Ethaâlibi revient en Algérie où on lui confia la magistrature suprême du pays, mais il préféra se consacrer à l'enseignement et à l'écriture.

Il décède le 23 Ramadhan 875 (15 mars 1471) et est enterré au cimetière des Thaâlba à Alger où se trouve son mausolée. Il laissa plus de quatre-vingt-dix ouvrages liés à la religion. Le mausolée de Sidi Abderrahmane, situé à Bab El Oued à Alger, a été édifié en 1696. Il comprend un cimetière où sont inhumées des personnalités illustres. Dans la coupole de la mosquée, à l'architecture maghrébine, repose Sidi Abderrahmane Ethaâlibi, sous une châsse de bois sculpté et doré. Le sol de la salle est couvert de tapis et les murs sont vêtus de faïences et ex voto. Un haut minaret carré, reconnaissable de loin, rangé d'arcatures et encadré de bandeaux de faïence, se dresse sur une construction ornée d'un auvent de bois de cèdre. Le mausolée de Sidi Abderrahmane Ethaâlibi a été classé patrimoine national en 1987.

Mausolée Sidi Ibrahim, El Atteuf (Ghardaïa)
Cheikh Ibrahim Ibn Manade fait partie de la gent docte des années 500 de l'hégire. Considéré comme un savant des plus importants d'El Atteuf à l'époque, il est d'origine zénète (Berbères qui ont habité l’Afrique du Nord). On lui attribua beaucoup de réalisations dans le domaine de la cohésion sociale. A cet effet, il occupe une place de choix dans la mémoire des gens.

Au sud du Ksar El Atteuf se trouve le mausolée de Sidi Ibrahim, à l'intérieur de l'un des plus anciens cimetières du la région de Oued M'zab. Le mausolée est composé d'une petite salle de forme arrondie dont la moitié est enfoncée dans le sol et constitue le noyau de la construction. C'est dans cette salle, qui fur élargie par la suite, que le Cheikh prodiguait l'enseignement. La bâtisse, de forme architecturale simple, est caractérisée par des couleurs éclatantes. Le mausolée est ouvert sur une esplanade par des arcades aux formes différentes. Ces arcades ont une certaine hauteur et sont en harmonie avec les diverses ouvertures et autant de formes opérées au-dessus de larges étals, construits sur les façades extérieures des murs de la tombe du Cheikh. Les techniques de fabrication du mausolée se caractérisent par l'usage du matériau local telle la pierre cimentée à l'aide d'un mélange de chaux et de sable pour la construction de murs porteurs, ainsi que l'usage de troncs de palmiers comme charpente de dallage du toit des arcades.

Cette œuvre architecturale n'a pas cessé d'inspirer de nombreux chercheurs et artistes réputés, à l'exemple de Le Corbusier qui concevra la chapelle de Ronchamp, en France, et qui a été classée œuvre mondiale.

FDC from North Korea(DPRK)／FDC de Coree du Nord(RPDC)

Celebration of 20th Anniversary of Nomination of Jong Il Peak／
La célébration de 20ème Anniversaire de Nomination de Pic de Jong Il

"The Korea Stamp Corporation has issues the souvenir sheet to mark the 20th anniversary of nominaltion of Jong Il Peak.
Jong Il Peak, which was named after the Korean leader Kim Jong Il, is the peak of the Korean revolution and the most meaningful peak of Korean as well as the peak of hope and leading which leads rhe entire Party, the whole army and all the people all the way to the eternal victory and glory."-Korean Stamp Co.,

PS: The cover is get serious damage when it arrive Taiwan, and it been re-cover by Taiwan Post.

FDC from North Korea(DPRK)／FDC de Coree du Nord(RPDC)

Korean Folk Customs (furniture)／
Douane de Gens coréenne (meubles)



"The stamp show the furniture, which had been widely used by the Korean people in Ri Dynasty.
The furniture, which shows the Korean traditional customs, reflects the then people's lifestyle and cultural hobby.
50 won stamp: Haeju Small Table with Patterns of Chrysanthemum.
70 won stamp: Inkstone Table with Patterns of Mother-of-Pearls.
120 won stamp: Red-Iacquered Collapsible.
170 won stamp: Jewel Container made of Cow Horn."-Korean stamp Co.,

FDC from Bulgaria／FDC de la Bulgarie

120th anniversary of the Orient Express／
120ème anniversaire de L'Orient-Express



"The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. Its route has changed many times, and several routes have in the past concurrently used the name (or slight variants thereof). Although the original Orient Express was simply a normal international railway service, the name has become synonymous with intrigue and luxury travel. The two city names most intimately associated with the Orient Express are Paris and Istanbul, the original endpoints of the service.

The current Orient Express does not serve Paris or Istanbul. Its immediate predecessor, a through overnight service from Paris to Vienna ran for the very last time from Paris on Friday, June 8, 2007. Since then, the route, still called the "Orient Express", has been shortened to start from Strasbourg instead,occasioned by the inauguration of the LGV Est which affords much faster travel times from Paris to Strasbourg. The new curtailed service leaves Strasbourg at 22.20 daily, shortly after the arrival of a TGV from Paris, and is attached at Karlsruhe to the overnight sleeper service from Amsterdam to Vienna."-wiki

"L'Orient-Express est un train de luxe qui, depuis 1883, assure la liaison entre Paris (gare de Paris-Est), Vienne et Istanbul, desservant plusieurs capitales européennes. Dans les années 1920, avec des artistes-décorateurs comme Prou ou bien René Lalique, le style « Orient-Express » atteignit son apogée. C'est après plusieurs changements d'itinéraire, de guerres et enfin par l'abaissement continu de son prestige pendant la Guerre froide, que le service régulier vers Istanbul et Athènes cessa en 1977, vaincu par la faiblesse de sa vitesse commerciale (à peine 55 km/h vers la fin), due aux interminables arrêts douaniers dans les pays communistes traversés, et malmené par la concurrence grandissante de l'avion.

Depuis 1982, un nouveau train de luxe régulier, assuré par compagnie privée, a pris le relais sur le trajet Boulogne-sur-Mer (désormais Calais)-Paris-Venise, via Milan ou Innsbruck, avec parfois un prolongement vers Istanbul. L'Orient-Express d'origine continue en outre son service régulier entre Paris et Vienne, la section Paris-Strasbourg étant désormais assurée par le TGV Est, en correspondance."-wiki

FDC from South Korea／FDC de Coree du Sud

Bicentennial of Louis Braille’s Birth Commemorative Stamp／
Le bicentenaire de la Naissance de Braille Louis le Timbre Commémoratif



"The Braille characters used by blind people across the world were created by Louis Braille of France. January 4, 2009 is a meaningful day that celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille. Born in 1809 at Coupvray, a small country village near Paris, France, Louis Braille lost his eyesight at age 3 when he pricked one of his eyes with an awl in his father’s workshop and lost the other eye to infection. When he was 12, he was exposed to the system designating letters with 12 raised dots at a blind and dumb school. They were developed for nighttime military communication purpose by a commissioned officer named Barbier. In 1824, based on these raised letters, Louis Braille created a new system of representing letters with 6 raised dots that was both simpler and easier to read and write. Later on, he also devised mathematical symbols and musical signs into raised letters and announced them. Being more systematic and easier to learn, the raised letters created by Braille started to spread to more and more people. Even though Louis Braille unfortunately died early at age 43 without seeing his raised letters being formally adopted and used, the raised letters developed by him became a door to the outside world for blind people across the world who used to be locked in the dark. The Braille points comprise the 6 dots that are the most beautiful in the world. His name Braille is now referred to mean raised letters. On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, a new stamp is issued to commemorate his great achievements. The stamp features Louis Braille, the phrase meaning “the world seen by hands” and the image of the raised letters that expresses this phrase."-Korea Post

Japanese anime maxi card

Gundam Series

FDC from Japan／FDC du Japon

GeGeGe no Kitaro／Kitaro le repoussant

FDC from Lin Yu, Thanks!

"GeGeGe no Kitaro (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎, GeGeGe no Kitarō) is a manga series created in 1959 by manga artist Shigeru Mizuki. It is best known for its popularization of the folklore creatures known as yōkai, a class of spirit-monster to which all of the main characters belong. It has been adapted for the screen several times, as anime, live-action, and video games.

The actual title of the original manga is Hakaba Kitarō (墓場鬼太郎), literally meaning "Graveyard Kitaro". "Ge Ge Ge..." only applies to the anime. However, the manga was later republished under the anime title. In January, 2008, the original manga was finally adapted into an anime, running in Fuji TV's Noitamina slot."-wiki

"Kitaro le repoussant (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎, GeGeGe no Kitarō) est une série de manga créée en 1959 par le japonais Shigeru Mizuki. Il est principalement connu pour avoir popularisé les yōkai, des créatures du folklore japonais. Il a été adapté plusieurs fois à l'écran sous forme d'anime, ou en jeu video."-wiki