1487 ABKHAZIA - Pitsunda, the kingdom of the sea and pines

Located in South Caucasus, on the north shore of the Black Sea, on the western end of Georgia, Abkhazia has a varied topography, from the ranges from the lowlands around the sea to the high peaks of the Caucasus Mountains in the north, but however the region is mainly mountainous and settlement is largely confined to the coast and a number of deep, well-watered valleys. One of the mountains range is Gagra Range, which runs between the valleys of the Bzyb and Psou rivers to the south of the Caucasus Major. It approaches to the Black Sea close to the city of Gagra and plays an important role in moderating the climate of that resort by blocking cold, continental winds from the north and east.

Situated at 22km from Gagra, on the sandy cape formed by the deposits of the river Bzyb flowing nearby, Pitsunda is a famous resort, a kingdom of the sea and pines. The wide sandy beaches are washed by transparent and quiet sea - the purest of all the Black Sea coasts of the Caucasus. It is also famous for pure environment and beautiful microclimate, which is humid subtropical. The name “Pitsunda” means “pine" in ancient Greek, and it says that when the city was founded by ancient Greeks in the 5th century BC there were already thick pine woods in place. The resort symbol, the pine tree, is carefully protected by the pine reserve of Pitsunda (since 1926). Its territory of 200 hectares has more than 30 thousand trees - the representatives of the rare species of Pitsunda pine, distinguished by unusually long needles. The greatest pine in the grove is called "Patriarch" (50m in height, 7.5m in girth).

About the stamps
The first stamp is part of a series of churches, issued on May, 31, 1994:
• 30+10 RUB
• 50+20 RUB
• 120+40 RUB
• 500+200 RUB - it's on the postcard

The second stamp is part of the series of two depicting statesmens (both with the same face value, 3.70 RUB):
• Vladimir Tania - it's on the postcard
• Victor Tvanba

References
Abkhazia - Wikipedia
Cities and Resorts of Georgia - Pitsunda - advantour.com

Sender: Stephanie
Sent from Sukhumi (Abkhazia), on 29.01.2015