Stamps from Jordan

Pope Benedict XVI visit to Jordan

Date of issue: 08\05\2009
Denomination: 0.20, 0.30, 0.40 and 0.50 JOD
Quantity: 15 000

Pope Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican City State. He was elected on 19 April 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on 24 April 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, on 7 May 2005. A native of Bavaria, Pope Benedict XVI has both German and Vatican citizenship. He succeeded John Paul II.

Stamps from Bulgaria

Expo 2010 Shanghai China
Year of the Tiger

Date of issue: 30\04\2010
Denomination: 1.40 BGL
Quantity: 20 000

Expo Shanghai was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in the city of Shanghai, China, from May 1 to October 31, 2010. It was a World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions. The theme of the exposition was "Better City – Better Life" and signifies Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as the "next great world city". The expo Logo features the Chinese character('world', Chinese "shì") modified to represent three people together with the 2010 date. It had the largest number of countries participating and was the most expensive Expo in the history of the world's fairs.

Stamps from Bulgaria

Pandas
Souvenir sheet

Date of issue: 28\10\2010
Denomination: 0.10, 0.60, 1.00, 1.50 BGL
Quantity: 17 000

The giant panda, or panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca, literally meaning "black and white cat-foot") is a bear, native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo.

The giant panda lives in a few mountain ranges in central China, mainly in Sichuan province, but also in the Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Due to farming, deforestation and other development, the panda has been driven out of the lowland areas where it once lived.
The panda is a conservation reliant endangered specie

The red panda (Ailurus fulgens, or "shining cat") is a small arboreal mammal and the only species of the genus Ailurus. Slightly larger than a domestic cat, it has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs. It eats mainly bamboo, but is omnivorous and may also eat eggs, birds, insects, and small mammals. It is a solitary animal, mainly active from dusk to dawn, and is largely sedentary during the day.

Endemic to the temperate forests of the Himalayas, the red panda ranges from Nepal in the west to China in the east. It is also found in northern India, Bhutan and northern Myanmar.

Stamps from Bulgaria

FIFA World Cup South Africa
Souvenir sheet
Date of issue: 10\06\2010
Denomination: 2.10 BGL
Quantity: 15 000

Jules Rimet: (14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He was FIFA's longest serving president, having served for 33 years. He also served as the president of the French Football Federation from 1919 to 1946. He was born in Theuley, France.

On Rimet's initiative, the first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930. The Jules Rimet Trophy was named in his honour. He also founded one of France's oldest teams, Red Star Saint-Ouen.

Postcard from Jordan

An old postcard from Jarash, Jordan (During 80's)

The Forum of Jarash and the Oval Piazza: forum (Latin, "marketplace"; pl. fora) was the public space in the middle of a Roman city. In addition to its standard function as a marketplace, a forum was a gathering place of great social significance, and often the scene of diverse activities, including political discussions and debates, rendezvous, meetings, et cetera.

Postcard from Jordan

An old postcard from Jordan
Jarash, Virgin's bath

Jerash is known for the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River. It is sometimes misleadingly referred to as the "Pompeii of the Middle East or Asia", referring to its size, extent of excavation and level of preservation (though Jerash was never buried by a volcano). Jerash is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East. It was a city of the Decapolis.

Postcard from Jordan

An old postcard from Jordan (during 70's)
Petra, the Monastery (El-Dair)

Giving the Treasury a run for its money as the most impressive monument at Petra is the Monastery (a.k.a. al-Deir or ad-Dayr in Arabic), which is about an hour's climb north of Petra's city center.

The Monastery is beautifully carved, though much less decorated than the Treasury, and so huge that even the doorway is several stories tall. Its name, like most Petra structures, does not reflect reality: it was probably a Nabatean temple.


Like the "Treasury," the name "Monastery" is a rather inaccurate nickname, which is probably based on its remote location and some inscribed crosses in the interior. Althought it may have been later used as a church (or even a hermitage), it was probably a temple. It may have been dedicated to the deified Nabatean king Obodas I, who reigned in the 1st century BC.

Postcard from Jordan

An old postcard from Jordan
General view of Amman's Downtown during the 60's