Campaign against Hunger 21.3.1963

These two stamps on the FDC were issued in the Campaign against Hunger. The first one depicts a woman during the harvest season And, the second depicts Demetra, Goddess of wheat

In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, Demeter  is the goddess of the harvest and agriculture, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. Her cult titles include Sito (Σιτώ), "she of the Grain", as the giver of food or grain and Thesmophoros (θεσμός, thesmos: divine order, unwritten law; φόρος, phoros: bringer, bearer), "Law-Bringer," as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society.

Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death. She and her daughter Persephone were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries that predated the Olympian pantheon. In the Linear B Mycenean Greek tablets of circa 1400–1200 BC found at Pylos, the "two mistresses and the king" may be related with Demeter, Persephone and Poseidon.  Her Roman equivalent is Ceres.

Thank you Merja.

Centenary of St. Andrew's Monastry 8.11.1967

The stamp on the FDC was issued to commemorate the Centenary of St. Andrew's Monastry (1867-1967). The stamp depicts a mosaic of St. Andrew.

Cypriot tradition holds that a ship which was transporting Saint Andrew went off course and ran aground. Upon coming ashore, Andrew struck the rocks with his staff at which point a spring of healing waters gushed forth. Using it, the sight of the ship's captain, who had been blind in one eye, was restored. Thereafter, the site became a place of pilgrimage and a fortified monastery stood there in the 12th century, from which Isaac Comnenus negotiated his surrender to Richard the Lionheart. In the 15th century, a small chapel was built close to the shore. The main monastery of the current church dates to the 18th century.

Apostolos Andreas Monastery is a monastery dedicated to Saint Andrew situated just south of Cape Apostolos Andreas, which is the north-easternmost point of the island of Cyprus, in Rizokarpason in the Karpass Peninsula. The monastery is an important site to the Cypriot Orthodox Church. It was once known as 'the Lourdes of Cyprus', served not by an organized community of monks but by a changing group of volunteer priests and laymen. Both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities consider the monastery a holy place. As such, it is visited by many people for votive prayers.

Thank you Merja.

President John F. Kennedy15.2.1965

The Department of Posts of Cyprus pays homage to the memory of the late President John F. Kennedy of the United States with the release of three stamps and a miniature sheet on February 15, 1965. Denominations are 10, 40 and 100 mills. This is the first issue where the Cyprus Post issued Official First Day Covers.

The stamps printed in Cyprus shows president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), citation from his speech in US Senate 13 march 1956 "... self determination for Cyprus".

Thank you Merja.

1968 - International Year for Human Rights.18.3.1968

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To mark this event the U.N. General Assembly had unanimously designated the whole of  1968, as International Human Rights Year.

Much has been accomplished since 1948, but no country in the world has yet fully implemented the rights affirmed in the Universal Declaration.

Thank you Merja for this nice FDC with the minisheet commemorating 1968 as the International Year for Human Rights.

Freedom from Hunger 21.3.1963

Freedom from Hunger (established in 1946) is recognized for fighting hunger with innovative self-help programs. An international development organization working in nineteen countries across the globe, Freedom from Hunger is a nonprofit, nongovernmental, nonsectarian organization. All donations to Freedom from Hunger are fully tax-deductible.

First known as Meals for Millions, the organization that developed and introduced Multi-Purpose Food, a high-protein powdered food supplement still used today in relief efforts around the world. In the 1970s, Freedom from Hunger began implementing Applied Nutrition Programs, focusing almost exclusively on the health and nutrition of mothers and children. In 1988, Freedom from Hunger developed the world's first integrated microcredit health and nutrition education program. As of December 2009, 1,304,802 women were participating in Credit with Education in 15 countries around the world. This number has more than tripled since 2005.

The stamps on this first day cover were issued to highlight this effort to alleviate the curse of hunger around the world. Cyprus was one of the few other countries to issue stamps for this cause. Thank you Merja.

1967 EUROPA CEPT Wheel 2.5.1967

The stamp on this First Day Cover dated 2.5.1967 depicts Cogwheels. The EUROPA CEPT Wheel has 22 teeth, one tooth for each 1967 members of CEPT. Designer was Oscar Bonnevalle a Belgian.  Thank you Merja for this nice FDC.

Wine Festival of Limassol 22.9.1967

The Wine Festival of Cyprus is an annual festival in Limassol, Cyprus that celebrates wine and winemaking. The festival was first organized in 1961 and since then it has become an established annual event of merrymaking and fun, in which the citizens of Limassol are not the only participants; visitors come also from every part of Cyprus. Its reputation is spread beyond the geographic boundaries of the island. In September of each year, Limassol becomes the attraction of thousands of locals and tourists who visit the Municipal Garden to enjoy the Wine Festival with the motto 'Drink wine, it gives you life!'. They become the protagonists of the Festival banishing from their minds all concerns and worries, free from social conventions or protocols, in an atmosphere of unconditional fraternization, generated by the effects of free wine provided by local wineries ETKO, KEO, SODAP and LOEL. The Wine Festival can be regarded as a variant and a revival of ancient festive manifestations of worship in honour of Dionysus, the god of wine, and Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love. During these feasts people worshiped their gods, but primarily enjoyed themselves.

Thank you Merja for this nice cover with the very appropriate and pretty postmark.

Cyprus 17.5.1965 - 100th Anniversary of the founding of the ITU 17.5.1965

On 24 May 1844, Samuel Morse sent his first public message over a telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore, and through that simple act, ushered in the telecommunication age.

On 17 May 1865, after two and a half months of arduous negotiation, the first International Telegraph Convention was signed in Paris by the 20 founding members, and the International Telegraph Union (ITU) was established to facilitate subsequent amendments to this initial agreement. Today, some 145 years later, the reasons which led to the establishment of ITU still apply, and the fundamental objectives of the organization remain basically unchanged.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was founded in 1865 making it the oldest international organization in the UN family. ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues, and the global focal point for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services.

From its beginnings in 1865 up until the present ITU has produced a multitude of documents that chart the organization’s history and contribution to information and communication technology issues.

This FDC issued by Cyprus with the three stamps on it was given to me by Maria and were issued on 17.5.1965 to comemorate the 100^thAnniversary of the founding of the ITU.

The New Social Insurance Scheme 12.4.1965

Merja sent me this nice FDC with three stamps issued on 12.4.1965 to commemorate The New Social Insurance Scheme which covered compulsorily every person gainfully occupied in Cyprus either as an employed person or as a self-employed person. Persons working abroad in the service of Cypriot employers and persons who interrupt their compulsory insurance are allowed, under certain conditions, to be insured voluntarily. The insured persons are classified in three categories; employed persons, self-employed persons and voluntary contributors.

The Scheme was financed by contributions payable by the employers, the insured persons and the State. The Scheme provides cash benefits for marriage, maternity, sickness, unemployment, widowhood, invalidity, orphan-hood, old age, death and employment injury. The Scheme provides also free medical treatment for persons receiving invalidity pension and for employed persons who sustain injuries as a result or an employment accident or an occupational disease.

Adamantios Diamantis (b Nicosia, 23 Jan 1900; d Nicosia, 28 April 1994). Who’s painting is portrayed on the 75M stamp and also depicted on the cover was a Cypriot painter and teacher. From 1921 to 1923 he studied painting at the Royal College of Art in London, and in 1926 he returned to Cyprus, where he combined his painting with extensive art teaching at numerous schools. His earlier works show a certain amount of experimentation with modernist styles, particularly Cubism, but he was also concerned with the rendering of the human form as he observed it in the villages of Cyprus. At the Festival of Our Lady of Araka showed his characteristically monumental and schematized female forms constructed of broad unified surfaces of colour with a similarly schematized but atmospheric landscape in the background. Diamantis had a major influence on succeeding generations of Cypriot artists.

1st Development Programme 1962 – 1966 10.4.1967

Greek Prosperity and Public Attitudes. In the early days of the Republic of Cyprus, the Greco-Turkish Government set their minds to dealing with the problems of a stagnant economy, unemployment of 3 per cent and considerable under-employment, and the flight of men and capital. The First Five-Year Plan (1962-1966) aimed to develop the economic potential of the island by mobilizing all unemployed resources; and secondly, to provide the necessary infra-structure and thus, eventually, to help the process of diversification of the economy with a view to removing the causes of pre-1960 economic instability.
Soon after the process of implementing the Plan began, the Greek and Turkish communities parted their ways - or, at any rate, their economies became, to a large extent, separated. By the time the Makarios Government obtained financial and technical assistance from various foreign Governments and international organizations to help lay the foundations of future prosperity---improved agriculture and mining, the setting up of small manufacturing and construction industries, the development of service industries and especially the boosting of tourism---the Turkish community were out of the Plan.

The First Five-Year Plan succeeded in getting the productive resources of the island going and restored internal and foreign confidence in her economy. This FDC and the five stamps on it issued on 10.4.1976 was to commemorate the success of the 1^st Development Programme 1962 – 1966. My friend Merja sent me this nice FDC.

Wine Festival in Limassol 9.9.1970

Yo Ho and a bottle of Rum. That’s what one is reminded of when visiting The Wine festival which has been one of the featured events in Limassol, Cyprus’s wine capital, since 1961. It takes place at the Municipal Gardens, just across the Olympion promenade, in the beginning of September and lasts for 12 days. The wine festival takes place for about ten days usually starting around 1st September each year. It is held in the Municipal Gardens on the sea front just past the Makarios Avenue Traffic Lights. The entrance fee is minimal, and then you buy either a souvenir glass, or empty bottle. Having your container you then have the choice of wine from all the major wineries - drink your favourite but try the others as well. The Limassol Wine Festival was inspired by the ancient festivals dedicated to the God of wine Dionysus and honors the long island’s tradition of winemaking. The giant statue of a Cypriot wine-maker welcomes visitors at the entrance. At the festival, guests, both locals and foreigners, get the chance to try different local wines and traditional Cypriot food. Although there is a small entrance fee, the wines produced by the island’s wineries are offered free of charge in unlimited quantities. As you enter the park one of the first things you are likely to see is the huge King of the Wine. I am told that Red Wine is good for health. But, I saw no notices anywhere that said “how much” ;-))

Another popular feature of the Wine Festival is a traditional wine press. Folkloric dances, songs, theatrical performances from local and international artistic groups are also included in the program of the festival. Thank you Merja for this nice card. The only point to make is that this is definitely a place to visit by bus or taxi and definitely return to your home or hotel by taxi.

1st International Congress of Cypriot Studies 7.4.1969

One of the oldest active non-governmental associations in the wider Hellenic world, was founded during British rule in Cyprus by a small group of Cypriot scientists. Its formation may be considered the Cypriots’ scientific riposte to the callous period of Palmer’s rule as Governor (1933-1939) that followed the uprising of 1931; as a reaction to the policy of de-hellenisation that the British instituted at that time. The 24 founding members gathered at a General Meeting on 17 April 1936 in the Nicosia Pancyprian Gymnasium. They approved its constitution and elected the first board of management, consisting of Constantinos Spyridakis as president, Savva Christi vice-president, Achilleas Emilianides secretary, Antonis Indianos treasurer and as members Nearchos Clerides, George Papacharalambous and Costas Prousis. Presidents of the Society have been: Constantinos Spyridakis (1936-1976); George Papacharalambous (1976-1986); Kypros Chrysanthis (1986-1998); George Ioannides (1998-1999) and Andreas Mitsides (1999-2006).

This cover was issued to commemorate the 1^st International Congress of Cypriot Studies on 7^th April 1969. The emblem of the Society is an eagle with outspread wings (as shown in the postmark) taken from depictions on ancient Cypriot coins. Around it is inscribed: “Society of Cypriot Studies”. This wonderful FDC was given to me by Merja.

Cyprus – Mahatma Gandhi 26.1.1970

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement. A pioneer of satyagraha, or resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience—a philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa, or total nonviolence—Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma or "Great Soul," an honorific first applied to him by Rabindranath Tagore). In India, he is also called Bapu or "Father" and officially honoured as the Father of the Nation. His birthday, 2nd October, is commemorated in India as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of Non-Violence.

The whole world acknowledged this Great Man as The Man of Peace. However, due to some unknown kind of amnesia the Nobel Committee members failed to recognise this simple man for what he was, and overlooked him for the Peace Prize. Just imagine, the only man of Peace during his lifetime was not recognised by these puny egotists who danced to the tune of the wealthy and powerful nations. But, I personally feel, that in hindsight, the award if it had been given To Bapu, would only have sullied his image. One doesn’t award or present decorations to a holy man.

Cyprus issued these two stamps shown on the First Day Cover on 26^th January 1970, which incidentally was the 20^th anniversary of India’s Republic Day. Thank you Merja for this wonderful cover.