2013 EUROPA Stamps Competition !

 

2013 EUROPA Stamps Competition !

 

PostEurop presents the 2013 Europa stamps entries for the theme “Van of the Postman” in conjunction with PostEurop’s 20th Anniversary and declares the 2013 EUROPA stamps competition officially open!

Europa stamps emphasize the co-operation between postal operators, particularly in promoting philately to further contribute and raise public awareness on European common roots, culture and history as well as its common objectives.

From now till 31 August, it is now up to you (the voters) to vote for the most beautiful Europa stamp 2013.

For voting, Plz visit  : http://www.posteurop.org/europa2013

World Heritage – China

- Pradip Kumar Malik

On 11th April 2013, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued a set of six commemorative stamps on the theme "World Heritage - China". Since 1984, UNPA has been issuing stamps featuring World Heritage Sites and since 1997 this topic featured in the UN stamps every year. The World Heritage sites depicted on the stamps of the set issued this year are described hereunder.

First two stamps of this year’s set (images shown below) are issued from UNPA, New York in denominations of US$ 0.46 and US$ 1.10. UNPA has three offices located at New York, United States; Geneva, Switzerland and Vienna, Austria. New York office of UNPA issues stamps in denomination of US dollar, whereas the UNPA Geneva and Vienna issue stamps in the denominations of Swiss franc and Euro respectively.

    

The subject of first stamp of this commemorative set is Mogao Caves, situated at a strategic point along the Silk Route, at the crossroads of trade as well as of religious, cultural and intellectual influences, the 492 cells and cave sanctuaries in Mogao are famous for their statues and wall paintings, spanning a thousand years of Buddhist art.

Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing is depicted on the other stamp. This remarkable architectural edifice offers important historical testimony to the history of the Qing Dynasty and to the cultural traditions of the Manchu and other tribes in the north of China.

  

Potala Palace at Lhasa is depicted over the 1.40 Swiss franc stamp issued from UNPA, Geneva. The Potala Palace, an administrative, religious and political complex, is built on the Red Mountain in the centre of the Lhasa valley, at an altitude of 3700 m. The complex comprises the White Palace and the Red Palace, with their ancillary buildings. The Potala, winter palace of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century AD, symbolises Tibetan Buddhism and its central role in the traditional administration in Tibet. The beauty and originality of its architecture, its ornate decoration and its harmonious integration in a striking landscape add to its historic and religious interest.

The other stamp features Mount Huangshan, known as "the loveliest mountain of China", was acclaimed through art and literature during a good part of Chinese history (the Shanshui "mountain and water" style of the mid-16th century). Today it holds the same fascination for visitors, poets, painters and photographers who come in pilgrimage to this enchanting site, renowned for its magnificent scenery made up of many granite peaks and rocks emerging out of a sea of clouds.

  

The stamps issued from UNPA, Vienna feature World Heritages namely – The Great Wall and Mausoleum of the first Qin Emperor.

The Great Wall: In about 220 BC, under Qin Shin Huang, sections of fortifications which had been built earlier were joined together to form a united defence system against invasions from the north. Construction continued up to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when the Great Wall became the world's largest military structure. Its historic and strategic importance is matched only by its architectural value.

Mausoleum of the first Qin Emperor: No doubt thousands of statues still remain to be unearthed on this archaeological site, not discovered until 1974. Qin, the first unifier of China, who died in 210 B.C., is buried, surrounded by the famous terracotta warriors, at the centre of a complex designed to mirror the urban plan of the capital, Xianyan. The small figures, all different, with their horses, chariots and weapons, are masterpieces of realism and also hold great historical interest.

:  Pradip Kumar Malik - email : mallikphila@gmail.com

 

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UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Twyfelfontein

 

Namibia issued this Souvenir Sheet with NVI stamps of Standard Mail Rate in 2008 to commemorate the first anniversary of the inclusion of ‘Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes’ in the World Heritage list of UNESCO.

Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes (Namibia)

Twyfelfontein (uncertain spring), officially known as /Ui-//aes (jumping waterhole), is a site of ancient rock engravings in the Kunene Region of north-western Namibia. It consists of a spring in a valley flanked by the slopes of a sandstone table mountain that receives very little rainfall and has a wide range of diurnal temperatures.

The site has been inhabited first by hunter-gatherers and later by Khoikhoi herders. Both ethnic groups used it as a place of worship and a site to conduct shamanist rituals. In the process of these rituals at least 2,500 items of rock carvings have been created, as well as a few rock paintings. Displaying one of the largest concentrations of rock petroglyphs in Africa, UNESCO approved Twyfelfontein as Namibia's first World Heritage Site in 2007.

Twyfelfontein or /Ui-//aes has one of the largest concentrations of rock engravings in Africa. Most of these well-preserved engravings represent rhinoceros, elephant, ostrich and giraffe, as well as drawings of human and animal footprints. The site also includes six painted rock shelters with motifs of human figures in red ochre. The objects excavated from two sections, date from the Late Stone Age.

The rock art forms a coherent, extensive and high-quality record of ritual practices relating to hunter-gatherer communities in this part of southern Africa over at least 2,000 years, and eloquently illustrates the links between the ritual and economic practices of hunter-gatherers.

- Pradeep Kumaaar Mallik - email : mallikphila@gmail.com

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World Heritage – Africa

 

On 5 September 2012, UNPA  issued a set of six commemorative stamps in denominations of US$ 0.45, US$ 1.05, CHF 0.85, CHF 1.00, € 0.62 and € 0.70, on the theme " World Heritage – Africa ".

Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural heritage and our natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.

 

   

Date of Issue : 5 September 2012

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972. For this year's stamp series, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) has chosen six World Heritage sites in Africa.

    

 

 

 

 

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World Championship of Karate …

 

La Poste de France issued a souvenir sheet of three stamps on the occasion of the World Championship of karate, which will be held from 21 to 25 of November 2012 in Paris, Bercy.

The souvenir sheet was made in Manga style. The left stamp depicts a young girl making a Mawashi Geri, the right stamp features a young boy making a Yoko Tobi Geri and the central stamp takes a visual of a stylized Eiffel Tower, symbol of Paris.

 

Stamps on ‘ WORLD HERITAGE ’

The Limes: Frontiers of Roman Empire in Germany

 

Germany issued a Souvenir Sheet in 2007 to commemorate the Limes under its series of World Cultural Heritage. The 550 km track of the Roman Frontier in Germany from Danube River to the North West Germany is depicted in the map in this Souvenir Sheet. The stamp area depicts one of the fortified gates of the Limes.

The Latin noun ‘limes’ had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any distinction or difference. But the word ‘limes’ was utilized by Latin writers to denote a marked or fortified frontier

The ‘Roman Limes’ represents the border line of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent in the 2nd century AD. It stretched over 5,000 km from the Atlantic coast of northern Britain, through Europe to the Black Sea, and from there to the Red Sea and across North Africa to the Atlantic coast. The remains of the Limes today consist of vestiges of built walls, ditches, forts, fortresses, watchtowers and civilian settlements. Certain elements of the line have been excavated, some reconstructed and a few destroyed. The two sections of the Limes in Germany cover a length of 550 km from the north-west of the country to the Danube in the south-east.

At its height the Roman Empire extended into three continents. Its borders reflected the waxing and waning of power over more than millennia. In what is now Germany there were several military campaigns into the area north of the Alps and east of the River Rhine from 55/53 BC to 15-16 AD, but the area was not brought under direct control until around 85 AD when the oldest part of the Limes was created between the River Rhine and the high Taunus Mountains. This frontier followed the contours of the landscape. Later the courses defined were much straighter and the first forts established. Similarly in the area of the Raetian Limes the border was secured first under Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD), probably moved north across the river under the Emperor Domitian, and then under Emperor Trajan forts were established.

The early Limes barrier seems to have been a cleared stretch of forest monitored by wooden towers. Under the Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD) the Limes was additionally secured with a palisade fence. In the 2nd century AD the Limes was in part straightened, and also strengthened with embankments or stone walls and numerous forts, and fort lets.

- Pradeep Kumar Mallik, Patna

email : mallikphila@gmail.com

 

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Stamps on ‘WORLD HERITAGE’

 

Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve (RUSSIA)

‘Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve’ was included in the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 2004. It is the most northern located World Heritage Site. Wrangel Island (7608 sq. km.) is located about 500 km north of the Arctic Circle, at the intersection of Western and Eastern hemispheres, it is separated from the Russian mainland by the Strait of Long.

Russia 2012

A fragment of the landscape of Wrangel Island is beautifully depicted on the S/S, printed partially offset and partially lacquer paint stencil technique, issued on 27^th February 2012.

The site includes the mountainous Wrangel Island, Herald Island (11 sq. km.), located 70 km east, and surrounding waters. Wrangel was not glaciated during the Quaternary Ice Age, resulting in exceptionally high levels of biodiversity for this region. The island boasts the world’s largest population of Pacific walrus and the highest density of ancestral polar bear dens. It is a major feeding ground for the grey whale migrating from Mexico and the northernmost nesting ground for 100 migratory bird species, many endangered. Currently, 417 species and subspecies of vascular plants have been identified on the island, double that of any other Arctic tundra territory of comparable size and more than any other Arctic island. Some species are derivative of widespread continental forms, others are the result of recent hybridization, and 23 are endemic.

-  Pradeep Kumar Mallick, Patna

email : mallikphila@gmail.com

 

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World Heritage Sites - Muskauer Park

 

 

The German Post has issued a stamp within the World Heritage Sites series dedicated to Muskauer Park, uniting the borders of Germany and Poland.

The Muskau Park is the largest and one of the most famous English gardens of Germany and Poland. Situated in the historic Upper Lusatia region, it covers 3.5 square kilometers of land in Poland and 2.1 km2 in Germany. The park extends on both sides of the Lusatian Neisse River, which constitutes the border between the countries. While Muskau Castle is situated west of the river, the heart of the park are the partially wooded raised areas on the east bank called The Park on Terraces. In 2003 a pedestrian bridge spanning the Neisse was rebuilt to connect both parts.

On July 2, 2004, UNESCO added the park to its World Heritage List, as an exemplary example of cross-border cultural collaboration between Poland and Germany. It was added to the list on two criteria: for breaking new ground in terms of development towards the ideal man-made landscape, and for its influence on the development of landscape architecture as a discipline.

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev (UKRAINE)

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is an outstanding architectural monument of ‘Kievan Rus’. It is the first Ukrainian patrimony to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. UNESCO designated it as World heritage in 1990.

Its name comes from the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) cathedral in Constantinople. So it is dedicated to the Holy Wisdom rather any saint named Sophia). The cathedral was founded in 1011, under the reign of the Viking and Grand Prince of ‘Kievan Rus', Vladimir the Great. To commemorate its 1000^th year Ukraine issued the following stamps.

Ukraine 2011

Se-tenant stamps with gutter label. Motifs of stamps are Frescoes inside the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and on the label ‘Sophia Kvisky’ 1000 years and the logos of UNESCO and World Heritage are inscribed. The Sketch of the model of Cathedral Building also depicted over the label.

Its Byzantine architectural structure has 5 naves, 5 apses, and 13 cupolas. It is surrounded by two-tier galleries from three sides, measuring 37 to 55 m. Its interior is decorated by mosaics and frescos from the 11th century.

This cathedral was a burial place of the Kievan rulers. Though Vladimir Monomakh, Vsevolod Yaroslavich and Yaroslav I the Wise were buried there, but only the latter's grave survived.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the government plan called for the cathedral's destruction and transformation of the grounds into a park. The cathedral was saved from destruction, primarily with the efforts of many scientists and historians. In 1934, Soviet authorities confiscated the structure from the church and designated it as an architectural and historical museum. St Sophia Cathedral was spared the widespread devastation of the Second World War.

In the late 1980s Soviet and later Ukrainian politicians promised to return the building to the Orthodox Church. The return was postponed as all Orthodox and the Greek-Catholic Churches lay claim to it. The complex now remains a museum of Ukraine's Christianity, with most of its visitors being tourists.

In 2007, the Saint Sophia Cathedral was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine, based on votes by experts and the internet community.

- Pradeep Kumar Malik, Patna

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Rainbow on Stamps..

 

40th Anniversary of UNESCO convention at Paris

From Pyramids to Galapagos to the whole world

Issue date: 9th May 2012

Hi !

Here is a beautiful miniature sheet issued by San Marino to commemorate 40th Anniversary of UNESCO convention at Paris on Nov 16, 1972. On its design a Rainbow also appears….One more FDC here from Romania showing rainbow issued on 1st June 2012 for children's day .

My sincere thanks to Kasinath R. , Tanjore and Leeza Padhi ,Cuttack for this Post.

This is all for this evening…More in Next Post !!

San Marino issued a souvenir sheet with 4 stamps to commemorate 40th Anniv of UNESCO convention at Paris on Nov 16, 1972, concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

The UNESCO General Conference approved on the 16th November 1972 in Paris an agreement on the protection of the world, cultural and natural Heritage. The idea to create an international movement to protect cultural areas and nature was born in the second post-war period. The Agreement forces the Member States to regularly supply a report on the state of preservation of the registered areas. It encourages the public awareness about the world protected areas and improves the preservation by educational and informative programs .

“To preserve our heritage for the future generations” it is a must that the Agreement and the Member States fixed as a goal and warning. Today, after forty years from the signature of the agreement, the world heritage is well understood, so much that registered areas receive international cooperation, mutual help and management models.

With the souvenir-sheet designed by M. Ventura, “From Pyramids to Galapagos, to the whole world” the Azienda Autonoma di Stato Filatelica e Numismatica of the ancient Republic of San Marino makes the first issue after the agreement signed on the 3rd November 2011 in the UNESCO official seat where the “Progetto San Marino-Unesco” was accepted; a long-term cooperation to increase the value of Humanity Heritage through the philately of San Marino. The first stamp of the series shows, among other goods, the “Historic centre and Mount Titano” in foreground as part of the world humanity area heritage.

: R Kasinath – Tanjore

Blog - http://shipthemegallery.blogspot.com/

Rainbow on Children’s Day FDC, Romania

 

: Leeza Padhi - Cuttack

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Darjeeling Himalayan Railway…

 

Indian themes on foreign stamps…

- Kenneth Sequeira

 

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR)  nicknamed the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft railway from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal, run by the Indian Railways.

It was built between 1879 and 1881 and is about 86 kms.  Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services: however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. Since 1999 the train has been a World Heritage Site as listed by UNESCO along with the Niligiri Mountain Railway as an extension to the original destination. Its the 2nd railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, after Semmering Railway of Austria.

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879  by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there.

Bhutan & Gambia released stamps on this railway line as part of the Famous Trains / Locomotives across the world.

India Post issued  a commemorative stamp on Centenary of  The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway on 18 December 1982.

- Kenneth Sequira, Dubai (UAE) : email -  kenneth.sequeira@hotmail.com

Also Read….The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and its Locomotives by Vikas Singh

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Philatelic news from London Olympics 2012…

 

Gold Medal heroes on stamps

 

Australia

Tom Slingsby becomes first individual medalist to feature on 2012 Australian Gold Medallist stamp

After winning Australia's first individual gold medal of the London 2012 Olympic Games, sailing superstar and five time world champion, Tom Slingsby, will become Australia's first individual gold medalist to feature on a 2012 Australian Gold Medalist Stamp.

Stamps featuring an image of Slingsby from the gold medal dais in London will be available in participating Australia Post retail outlets from Thursday, 9 August while stocks last.

Australia Post is producing stamps for every Australian gold medalist from the London 2012 Olympic Games, and they are expected to be available in metropolitan Australia Post outlets within 48 hours of each gold medal presentation.

 

 

Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay Team features on first 2012 Australian Gold Medallist Stamp

After their gold medal-winning performance in the Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay on Saturday 28 July, Alicia Coutts, Cate Campbell, Brittany Elmslie and Melanie Schlanger will be the first Australian athletes to feature on the Australian Gold Medallist Stamps for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Some best designed  Stamps on London Olympics 2012

 

Most beautiful stamp issued for LONDON 2012 !!

Slovakia

During these Olympic Games, 10,500 athletes from 204 countries are struggling for 302 collections of medals in 26 Olympic sports.

The first Paralympic Games for physically handicapped sportsmen, mostly British soldiers - disabled people from WWII, were held on 29th July1948. It took place on the same day as the Opening Ceremony of the XIV Olympic Games. The Paralympic Games are coming back to its cradle with a wide-ranging schedule for more than 4,000 contestants from 166 countries who are participating in 21 disciplines.

Besides the traditional Olympic disciplines (light athletics, swimming, weightlifting, fencing, equestrian disciplines, cycling, rowing, yachting) or games (football, volleyball, basketball, rugby, tennis, table tennis),an extremely popular game of boccia or goalball has also been introduced.. It was devised after WWII as a ball game for visually impaired soldiers. It is played in silence and players try to throw a ball that has bells embedded in it into the opponent's goal. The players do not see the ball; they only hear it. But after the goal, the applause is a legitimate doping!

Costa Rica

Portugal

Date of Issue : 19 June 2012

 

From our Readers…..

Stamps on ‘WORLD HERITAGE’

- Pradip Kumar Malik

HIGH COAST (SWEDEN)

The High Coast is located on the west shore of the Gulf of Bothnia, a northern extension of the Baltic Sea. The area covers 142,500 ha including a marine component of 80,000 ha, which includes a number of offshore islands. UNESCO designated High Coast as World Heritage property in 2000 for being an outstanding example representing major stages of Earth’s history.

Sweden 2005

Se-tenant set of four stamps, with views of the High Coast. In the lower selvedge, stamps are inscribed in Swedish "Världsarvet Höga Kusten" (World Heritage High Coast). The stamps are from a booklet pane of eight stamps, and are perforated on three sides.

The irregular topography of the region - a series of lakes, inlets and flat hills rising to 350 m - has been largely shaped by the combined processes of glaciations, glacial retreat and the emergence of new land from the sea. Since the last retreat of the ice from the High Coast 9,600 years ago, the uplift has been in the order of 285 m which is the highest known 'rebound'.

The High Coast site affords outstanding opportunities for the understanding of the important processes that formed the glaciated and land uplift areas of the Earth's surface. The site is one of the places in the world that is experiencing isostatic uplift as a result of deglaciation. Isostatic rebound is well-illustrated and the distinctiveness of the site is the extent of the total isostatic uplift which, at 294m, exceeds others.

Mr Pradeep Kumar Malik may be contacted at email : mallikphila@gmail.com

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World Heritage Sites..

 

UNESCO – World Heritage  Sites

(Part – 6)

Check List for the Stamps issued worldwide in 2011 related to the theme of ‘UNESCO - World Heritage

: Pradeep Kumar Malik

 

OCTOBER 2011:

Vilnius Historic Centre – World Heritage Object (Lithuania): Lithuania issued a set of two stamps on World Heritage object. The stamps depicted with World Heritage monuments in ‘Vilnius Historic Centre’ namely – St. John Church and Ausros Vartai (Gate of Dawn).

A to Z series (Great Britain): The first set of ten stamps of A to Z series of Great Britain stamps was issued in October 2011. Three World Hertages namely – ‘Edinburg Castle’; ‘Harlech Castle of Gwynedd’ and ‘Ironbridge’ are figured on three stamps of this set.

Zacatecas (Mexico): A stamp showing the architecture of ‘Historic Centre of Zacatecas’, a World Heritage site, was issued to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of Zacatecas Hospital.

NOVEMBER 2011:

UNESCO (France): The picturesque landscape of Milford Sound was the subject of 2011 UNESCO stamp of French Postal Administration. Milford Sound is the part of World Heritage site – ‘Te Wahipounamu, South West New Zealand’.

Saint Sofia Cathedral (Ukraine): A setenant stamp of two values was issued in Ukraine to commemorate the 1000 years of foundation laying of the ‘Saint Sofia Cathedral in Kiev’, a World Heritage monument. Frescoes inside the cathedral were depicted over stamps, whereas the cathedral building and the logos of ‘UNESCO’ and ‘World Heritage’ are shown on the gutter label.

DECEMBER 2011:

Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin (Armenia): A Souvenir Sheet of two stamps on World Heritage monuments of the ‘Monasteries of Haghpat and sanahin’ was released by the postal authority of Armenia. The logo of UNESCO is also depicted over this Souvenir Sheet.

Mr Pradeep Kumar Malik may be contacted at email : mallikphila@gmail.com

 

My Recent Covers…

Thanks to  Jan Dziurka, Monchengladbach - Germany

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