Tanzania - Ngorongoro Conservation Area

"A large permanent concentration of wild animals can be found in the huge and perfect crater of Ngorongoro. Nearby, the crater of Empakaai, filled by a deep lake, and the active volcano of Oldonyo Lenga can be seen. Excavations carried out in the Olduvai Gorge, not far from there, have resulted in the discovery of one of our more distant ancestors, Homo habilis. Laitoli Site, which also lies within the area, is one of the main localities of early hominid footprints, dating back 3.6 million years." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

Postcard # 1
Ngorongoro Conservation Area is based on the largest crater (Inactive one). It is unique for the perfect combination of the crater, exclusive landscapes, diverse species of animals and plants, and the presence of Masai tribes in the area.
It is also called "8th Wonder of the World" or "Cradle of Mankind" as printed on the postcard as well.

Both the stamps used on the card are from the "Wild Life of Tanzania" Series issued on 31 Aug 2009. The complete series had 18 stamps in it.
The two stamps pasted on the cover show a Pensive Water Buck (1000 Tanzanian Shillings TZS) and Grant's Red Colobus Monkeys (600 Tanzanian Shillings TZS).

Posted from Dar es Salaam, it is an amazing postcard to have in my collection. Thanks a lot Yue.

Tanzania - Kilimanjaro National Park

"At 5,895 m, Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa. This volcanic massif stands in splendid isolation above the surrounding plains, with its snowy peak looming over the savannah. The mountain is encircled by mountain forest. Numerous mammals, many of them endangered species, live in the park." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

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Mount Kilimajaro National Park is one of the seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in United Republic of Tanzania. It is also the highest mountain in the African continent with a height of 5,895 ms above sea level.  

Mount Kilimanjaro is one of the largest volcanoes in the world. Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira are its three volcanic peaks. With its snow-capped peak and glaciers, it is the highest mountain in Africa. The mountain has five main vegetation zones from the lowest to the highest point: Lower slopes, montane forest, heath and moorland, alpine desert and summit. The whole mountain including the montane forest belt is very rich in species, in particular mammals, many of them endangered species. For this combination of features but mostly its height, its physical form and snow cap and its isolation above the surrounding plains, Mount Kilimanjaro is considered an outstanding example of a superlative natural phenomenon.

The stamps used on the postcard were as follows:-

• The right-most stamp shows a beautiful Pensive Water Buck from the series: Wild Animals of Tanzania. It is one stamp from a set of 18 Wild Animals stamps issued on 31 August 2009.
• The stamp in the centre shows a cute bird named Gurney's Pitta.
• The left-most stamp shows a flower and insect. The names of both as mentioned on the stamp are Golden Ray Lily (Lilium Auratum) and South African Longhorn Beetle (Tragocephala Variegata).

Thanks a lot Yue for such a lovely addition in my UNESCO collection.

Azerbaijan - Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower

"Built on a site inhabited since the Palaeolithic period, the Walled City of Baku reveals evidence of Zoroastrian, Sasanian, Arabic, Persian, Shirvani, Ottoman, and Russian presence in cultural continuity. The Inner City (Icheri Sheher) has preserved much of its 12th-century defensive walls. The 12th-century Maiden Tower (Giz Galasy) is built over earlier structures dating from the 7th to 6th centuries BC, and the 15th-century Shirvanshahs' Palace is one of the pearls of Azerbaijan's architecture." 
Source: UNESCO World Heritage

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A lovely postcard from Azerbaijan's capital city Baku showing an ensemble of Shirvanshah's Palace.

Beautiful stamps were pasted at the back of the postcard.

• The two stamps on the left side featuring cats were issued in 2014 as a part of a set of 5 definitive stamps showing cats.
• The stamp on the right side features a photo of an Azarbaijani poet Mammad Araz (1933-2004). Some of Araz's famous works include:-
• If There Were No War
• The World is Yours, The World is Mine
• The Sound Written on the Rocks
• Father of Three Sons
• One of his famous poem goes like this:-

If There Were No War (1956)

If there were no war,

We could construct a bridge between Earth and Mars

Melting weapons in an open-hearth furnace.

If there were no war,

The harvest of a thousand years could grow in one day.

Scientists could bring the moon and stars to Earth.

Vietnam - Hoi An Ancient Town

"Hoi An Ancient Town is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique heritage site." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage 

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Here's my first postcard from Hoi An Ancient Town. It has beautiful buildings, shrines and beach. The back of the postcard reads,
"The historic town of Hoi An breathes a charm quite unlike other places in Vietnam. The late afternoon sunlight plays with shadows on an old Chinese house".

The postcard was sent to me by Andrew and Elizabeth from Vietnam.
The stamp used on the postcard is part of a set of 6 Definitive stamps showing landscapes. The stamp also shows a scene from Hoi An Ancient Town. The postcard is marked from a post office in Saigon!

Ethiopia - Simien National Park

"Massive erosion over the years on the Ethiopian plateau has created one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world, with jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys and sharp precipices dropping some 1,500 m. The park is home to some extremely rare animals such as the Gelada baboon, the Simien fox and the Walia ibex, a goat found nowhere else in the world." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

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What a surprise it was!
An official Postcrossing postcard from one of the rarest countries in Africa and that too with a lovely Postcrossing ID. Above all, it was a UNESCO postcard. Kate definitely made my day super bright.

The Simien National Park is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ethiopia. The postcard shows a view of Chennek and Imet Gogo.

Kate also used some very beautiful stamps on the cover.

• The top two stamps showing Menelik's Bushbuck (Tragelaphus Scriptus Meneliki) are part of definitive stamps issued in 2000
• The stamp at left top shows the photo of a running Ethiopian athlete named Haile Gebrselassie. The stamp is part of a set of 4 stamps issued in 2000.
• The bottom stamp shows a "critically endangered" Black Rhinocerous (Diceros Bicornis) species. The stamp is part of a set of 10 definitive Black Rhino stamps issued in 2005, all showing the same photo of the rhino with different back ground colours.

By the way, the Postcrossing ID of the postcard is ET-1244. I simply loved the ID!

Thanks a lot Kate for this lovely postcard!

DR Congo - Salonga National Park

"Salonga National Park is Africa's largest tropical rainforest reserve. Situated at the heart of the central basin of the Congo river, the park is very isolated and accessible only by water. It is the habitat of many endemic endangered species, such as the dwarf chimpanzee, the Congo peacock, the forest elephant and the African slender-snouted or 'false' crocodile" 

Source: World Heritage Site List

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DR Congo - Virunga National Park

"Virunga National Park (covering an area of 790,000 ha) comprises an outstanding diversity of habitats, ranging from swamps and steppes to the snowfields of Rwenzori at an altitude of over 5,000 m, and from lava plains to the savannahs on the slopes of volcanoes. Mountain gorillas are found in the park, some 20,000 hippopotamuses live in the rivers and birds from Siberia spend the winter there." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

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DR Congo - Garamba National Park

"The park's immense savannahs, grasslands and woodlands, interspersed with gallery forests along the river banks and the swampy depressions, are home to four large mammals: the elephant, giraffe, hippopotamus and above all the white rhinoceros. Though much larger than the black rhino, it is harmless; only some 30 individuals remain." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

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DR Congo - Kahuzi-Biega National Park

"A vast area of primary tropical forest dominated by two spectacular extinct volcanoes, Kahuzi and Biega, the park has a diverse and abundant fauna. One of the last groups of eastern lowland (graueri) gorillas (consisting of only some 250 individuals) lives at between 2,100 and 2,400 m above sea-level." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

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Here's an original postcard from Kahuzi-Biega National Park. It was bought directly from Kahuzi-Biega National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo.

(The postcard is 4" x 6" in size!)
I did buy some extra postcards for friends but due to high cost of postcards I may be able to sell only and not be able to swap them with ordinary postcards. If interested, please leave a message below. I also bought some more postcards showing the 3 other UNESCO sites from DR Congo named Garamba National Park, Salonga National Park and Virunga National Park.