Bulgaria issued a
stamp in 1985 and two further
stamps in 1987 all exposing the ancient city of Nessebar. Situated on a rocky peninsula of the Black Sea, the 3000 year old site was originally a Thracian settlement. It then became a Greek colony and one of the significant strongholds of the Byzantine Empire. The city’s monuments date mostly from the Hellenistic period and include the acropolis, an Apollo temple and the agora. The basilica of Stara Mitropolia and wooden houses built in the 19th century Plovdiv style are also important monuments.
Tenochtitlan, the old Aztec capital, is now Mexico city and one of the largest and most densely populated major cities. In 1975, Mexico unveiled an air-mail
postage stamp featuring its ancient coat-of-arms. In 1985, a series of stamps showing colonial monuments was issued. They are the 16th century San Carlos Academy, the Palace of the Counts of Heras and Soto, the Palace of the Counts of Calimay (16th century) and the College of Vizcainas, circa 1735.
Each of these replications of ancient motifs from Bulgaria and Mexico reflect the ingenuity and expertise of master craftsmen.
Vicarious travel through the length and breadth of the Middle East is mirrored in its rich postal issues. The Pyramids of Egypt and the Sphinx became a signature on the country’s
early stamps. The most dramatic include the air-mail issues showing planes flying over the Great Pyramid at Giza on the west bank of the Nile River, graphically reflecting the grandeur of this nation. They portray a definite contrast between ‘the old and the new’. The Great Pyramid is the most massive structure ever built by man – equal in height to a 40 storey building, with a length of 225metres at the base – it covers 53 square kilometers and contains over two million blocks of stone weighing on average 2.5tons each. The Sphinx has a man’s head 10metres high and the body of a crouching lion 53metres long and is a tribute to the awesome technical skill of the ancient Egyptian builders. These monuments show up on
postage stamps released in December, 1961. They are also featured on multicoloured
air-mail stamps which includes a map of Egypt.
Lebanon is the home of the famous Roman ruins at Baalbek, some 40miles north-east of Beirut. Baalbek attained its greatest splendour when three great temples were erected; the Temple of Bachus, the Temple of Venus and the Temple of Jupiter. In a 1925 series of
postage stamps, the Temple of Jupiter is prominent. All three temples are exhibited in the 1930 -1935 series. In 1925, a series was also issued depicting the cedars of Lebanon, the handsome evergreens which are known to grow to 100feet tall and which have been valued for centuries for their beautiful, yet durable, timber. A particularly handsome set of stamps portraying these trees was released in 1937 – 1940 and a more recent series in 1974.
In 1925, Syria released its first pictorial stamps series featuring famous landmarks from its most notable cities. The Great Umayyad Mosque at Damascus was included in this series and again in the 1930-1931 and the 1940 series. Continuing the ‘old to new’ theme magnified in the 1931-33 series, it shows a plane flying over Damascus’ ancient city wall. A view of Aleppo is included in the 1925 series: Aleppo’s citadel is featured in the 1930-31 series. The 1968 set of three
air-mail postage stamps shows the Euphrates River Dam Project.
Famous monuments continue to claim their fame as
postage stamps send their images to all parts of the world.
Please visit our online shop for a large
stamp collection to purchase.
