Request

To my cover-exchanging friends, please try as much as possible to
(1) WRITE THE ADDRESSES USING YOUR OWN HANDWRITING
as these give a more personal touch to the cover
(2) PLEASE DO NOT USE TAPE OR STICKERS ON THE REVERSE;
the Philippine postal service damages the cover with scribbling that highly devalues the aesthetic value of the cover, which is what I am after
(3) PLEASE TRY TO USE COMPLETE SETS
or at least same themes when sending covers, but it is okay if this is not possible or if this would be expensive, and
(4) PLEASE USE SMALL ENVELOPES,
not too small, but maybe around 4"x6" or something like that; big envelopes are not very attractive unless they have many stamps.
Thank you!

8.2.09

Κύπρος



Here we have a cover from Cyprus featuring the anemone coronaria (flower), the Beijing Olympics, and the Cyprus refugee fund.

The stamp with the flower is part of a 4v set featuring anemones that was issued 06 March 08. The one shown in this stamp is the anemone coronaria.

The anemone coronaria (a.k.a. poppy anemone, Spanish marigold, "dağ lalesi" in Turkish, "Kalanit" in Hebrew) is a species of flowering plant native to the Mediterranean region. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 20-40 cm tall, with a basal rosette of a few leaves. The flowers are borne singly on a tall stem with a whorl of small leaves just below the flower; the flower is 3-8 cm diameter, with 5-8 red, white or blue petal-like petals.

The Anemone coronaria is one of the most well known and beloved flowers in Israel. During the British Mandate of Palestine, British soldiers were nicknamed "Kalaniyot" for their red berets.

The stamp in the middle is part of the 4v Olympics set issued by Cyprus post for last year's Olympics. This stamp, as you can see, showcases the sport of tennis.

The last stamp, farthest to the right, is a postal tax stamp issued for the Cyprus refugee fund. These stamps with the same design was issued in 1974, 1977, and 1984, and have been issued every year since 1987. Does anyone have any information on why and how this started? I can;t seem to find any off the net. From what I understand, there was some political unrest in 1972 which I guess resulted in the inflow of refugees into the country. Beyond that I'm not really sure.



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