Fiji Islands

Fiji is an island country, archipelago of 333 tropical islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It’s famed for rugged landscapes, palm-lined beaches and coral reefs with clear lagoons. Fiji’s largest isle, Vitu Levu, is home to the official capital, Suva. Fiji was a British colony for 96 years until it gained its independence in 1970.

Fiji postcard

Fiji stamp

Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands is a self-governing archipelago, part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands located halfway between Iceland and Scotland in the North Atlantic Ocean. The islands were first settled in year 300 AD, although no one knows by whom. The first known settlers, according to stories passed down through generations, were Irish monks in the sixth century. The name Faroe Islands means “Sheep Islands”.

Tórshavn is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands.

Faroe Islands postcard

Faroe Islands stamps

Faroe Islands stamps

Rockhopper penguin, Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean consisting of two main Islands (East and West Falkland) and 778 smaller islands. At various times, the islands have had French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements. Britain reasserted its rule in 1833, although Argentina maintains its claim to the islands. The Falklands are home to five different penguin species, and the rockhopper penguin is pictured on this postcard.

Falkland Islands postcard

Falkland Islands stamps

I also have an envelope from Falkland Islands with these awesome stamps:

Falkland Islands stamps

Harar gate, Ethiopia

Harar is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. For centuries, Harar has been a major commercial center, linked by the trade routes with the rest of Ethiopia, the entire Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and, through its ports, the outside world. The walls surrounding this sacred city, considered “the fourth holy city” of Islam, were built between the 13th and 16th centuries and served as a protective barrier. There were five historic gates, which corresponded to the main roads to the town and also served to divide the city into five neighborhoods, but this division is not functional anymore.

I received this postcard in an envelope, and still looking for a written and stamped postcard from Ethiopia!

Ethiopia postcard

Ethiopia stamps

Girl in traditional dress, Estonia

The culture of Estonia combines an indigenous heritage with Nordic cultural aspects. Due to its history and geography, Estonia’s culture has been influenced by the traditions of the adjacent area’s Baltic Finns, Balts, Germanic peoples and Slavs, as well as by cultural developments in the former dominant powers, Sweden and Russia.

The development of Estonian folk costume was, over the centuries, influenced by the fashions of the upper classes and the traditional costumes of neighboring countries. Clothes were usually made of homespun woolen or linen fabric: shirts and married women’s head-wear were mostly made from linen, while various outer garments, gloves, stockings and socks, were made from wool. Most of the clothes remained undyed: linen garments were bleached white, woolen outer garments were mainly sheep-brown or black. The wool for making skirts was dyed with herbal dyes. The bedstraw root was particularly widely used to produce red coloring. Indigo was the first dye to be widely bought during the 18th century.

Estonia postcard Estonia stamps

View at Nile at Aswan, Egypt

Aswan is a city in the south of Egypt. It is the smallest of the three major tourist cities on the Nile. The Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and most of the population and cities of Egypt lie along those parts of the Nile valley north of Aswan. And nearly all the cultural and historical sites of Ancient Egypt are found along riverbanks.

Egypt postcard

I received this postcard from another country, and unfortunately, it does not have Egyptian stamps.

Svendborg, Denmark

Svendborg is a town on the island of Funen in Denmark. It is built facing the harbor and Svendborgsund – and the harbor front is fused together with the town, where restaurants and cafés stretch all the way down to the quays, with a view of cargo ships, ferries and yachts. Boat builders and wooden vessel shipyards have been located in Svendborgsund for generations, and Svendborg is today the country’s leading modern maritime educational center.

Denmark postcard

Denmark stamp