Monte Carlo Out, Park MGM In

Postcard US-1987880 to Brazil shows the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, a 3,000-room, AAA-Four-Diamond rating megaresort in Las Vegas. Named to invoke the Place du Casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco, it opened to the public on June 21, 1996.

MGM Resorts International has recently announced a plan to renovate the resort and to re-brand it as the Park MGM. A smaller, 292-room spin-off will be created as the NoMad Las Vegas, in partner with the Sydell Group who had built the NoMad in New York City. The NoMad will be independently operated, featuring a dedicated lobby, swimming pool as well as separate gaming and food venues.

Remnants of Turkish Fortress in Anapa, Russia

Postcard RU-3004438 from Russia shows remnants of Turkish Fortress in Anapa, a Russian resort town with a population of 58,990 as of 2010 on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. It is 333 kilometers from Sochi, another resort city along the Black Sea coast and the site of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in 2014.

Anapa was once a Turkish city and subject to the constant battles with Russia. Ottomans started to built a fortress in 1783 to defend against the Russian threat and completed it in 1791, consisting of seven bastions that were connected by a 8-meter-tall 3200-meter-long high wall with three gates. When Anapa was handed over to Russia under the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829, the fortress had undergone repeated attacks by Russia and was all but destroyed during its last siege. The commemorative plate on the wall reads "Gate remnants of the Turkish Fortress, built in 1783, named in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Russian liberation from the Turkish control of Anapa in 1828."

Antalya, Turkey

Postcard TR-195334 from Turkey shows multiple views of Antalya, a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey on the Asia side with a population of 964,886 in 2011. As Turkey's largest sea resort town, Antalya was the third most visited city, behind Paris and London, in the world in 2013 in terms of the number of international arrivals. Major attractions include Düden Waterfalls and Yivliminare Mosque, as shown on the card.