CYPRUS 1949 KGVI UPU MINT BLOCKS COMPL SET SC #168-171 SG #160-173 MNH PLATE #1

Description

CYPRUS
UPU BLOCK STAMPS
UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION (UPU) 75TH ANNIVERSARY
CYPRUS UPU COMPLETE SET with PLATE #1
MINT NEVER HINGED (MNH)
DENOMINATION: 1 1/2, 2, 3 AND 9 PIASTRES
Era: George VI (1936 - 1952)
ISLAND IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA
Same Stamp with Different Stamp Numbering System:
Scott Number: 168-171  or SC #168-171
Stanley Gibbons: 160-163 or SG #160-163
Cyprus
Cyprus[f] (/ˈsaɪprəs/ (About this sound listen)),officially called the Republic of Cyprus, [g] is an island nation in theeastern Mediterranean Sea. It is the third largest and third most populousisland in the Mediterranean,[11][12] and is located south of Turkey; west of Syria;northwest of Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine; north of Egypt; and southeast ofGreece. Nicosia is the country's capital and largest city.
The earliest known human activity on the island dates toaround the 10th millennium BC.Archaeological remains from this period includethe well-preserved Neolithic village of Hikitia, and Cyprus is home to some ofthe oldest water wells in the world.[13] Cyprus was settled by MycenaeanGreeksin two waves in the 2nd millennium BC. As a strategic location in the EasternMediterranean, it was subsequently occupied by several major powers, includingthe empires of the Assyrians, Egyptians, and Persians, from whom the island wasseized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great. Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt,the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire, Arab caliphates fora short period, theFrench Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians, was followed by over three centuriesof Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 (de jure until1914).[14]
Cyprus was placed under the UK's administration based onthe Cyprus Convention in 1878 and was formally annexed by the UK in 1914. Thefuture of the island became a matter of disagreement between the two prominentethnic communities, Greek Cypriots, who made up 77% of the population in 1960,and Turkish Cypriots, who made up 18% of the population. From the 19th centuryonwards, the Greek Cypriot population pursued enosis, union with Greece, whichbecame a Greek national policy in the 1950s.[15][16] The Turkish Cypriotpopulation initially advocated the continuation of the British rule, thendemanded the annexation of the island to Turkey, and in the 1950s, togetherwith Turkey, established a policy of taxi, the partition of Cyprus and the creationof a Turkish polity in the north.[17] Following nationalist violence in the1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in1960.[18] The crisis of 1963–64brought further intercommunal violence between the two communities, displacedmore than 25,000 Turkish Cypriots into enclaves[19]:56–59[20] and brought theend of Turkish Cypriot representation in the republic. On 15 July1974, a coupd'état was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists [21][22] and elements of theGreek military junta [23] in an attempt at enosis. This action precipitated theTurkish invasion of Cyprus on20 July,[24] which led to the capture of thepresent-day territory of Northern Cyprus and the displacement of over 150,000Greek Cypriots[25][26] and50,000 Turkish Cypriots.[27] A separate TurkishCypriot state in the north was established by unilateral declaration in 1983;the move was widely condemned by the international community, with Turkey alonerecognizing the new state. These events and the resulting political situationare matters of continuing dispute.
The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over theentire island, including its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone,with the exception of the Sovereign Base Areas of Acroteria and Dhekelia, whichremain under the UK's control according to the London and Zürich Agreements.However, the Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts:the area under the effective control of the Republic, located in the south andwest and comprising about 59% of the island's area, and the north,[28] administeredby the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 36% ofthe island's area. Another nearly 4% of the island's area is covered by the UN bufferzone. The international community considers the northern part of the island tobe territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces.[h] Theoccupation is viewed as illegal under international law and amounting toillegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the EuropeanUnion.[34]
Cyprus is a major tourist destination in theMediterranean.[35][36][37] Within advanced,[38] high-income economy and a veryhigh Human Development Index,[39][40] the Republic of Cyprus has been a memberof the Commonwealth since 1961 and was a founding member of the Non-AlignedMovement until it joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.[41] On1 January 2008,the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone.[42]
Etymology
The earliest attested reference to Cyprus is the 15thcentury BC MycenaeanGreek 𐀓𐀠𐀪𐀍, ku-pi-ri-jo,[43]meaning"Cypriot" (Greek: Κύπριος), written in Linear B syllabicscript.[44] The classical Greek form of the name is Κύπρος (Kýpros).
The etymology of the name is unknown. Suggestions include:
·
the Greekword for the Mediterranean cypress tree (Cupressus sempervirens),κυπάρισσος(kypárissos)
·
the Greekname of the henna tree (Lawsoniaalba), κύπρος (kýpros)
·
anEteocypriot word for copper. It has been suggested, for example, that it hasroots in the Sumerian word for copper (zebra) or for bronze (kubar), from thelarge deposits of copper ore found on the island.[45]
Through overseas trade, the island has given its name tothe Classical Latin word for copper through the phrase aes Cypriot, "metalof Cyprus", later shortened to Cuprum.[45][46]
The standard demonym relating to Cyprus or its people orculture is Cypriot. The terms Cypriote and Cyprian (later a personal name) arealso used, though less frequently.
The state's official name in Greek literally translates to“Cypriot Republic" in English, but this translation is not used officially;"Republic of Cyprus" is used instead.
History
Prehistoric and Ancient Cyprus
Main articles: Prehistoric Cyprus and Ancient history ofCyprus
The earliest confirmed site of human activity on Cyprus is Betokens,situated on the south coast, indicating that hunter-gatherers were active onthe island from around 10,000 BC,[47] with settled village communities datingfrom 8200 B.Th. arrival of the first humans correlates with the extinction ofthe dwarf hippos and dwarf elephants.[48] Waterwells discovered byarchaeologists in western Cyprus are believed to be among the oldest in theworld, dated at 9,000 to 10,500 years old.[13]
Remains of an 8-month-old cat were discovered buried with ahuman body at a separate Neolithic stein Cyprus.[49] The grave is estimated tobe 9,500 years old (7500 BC), predating ancient Egyptian civilization andpushing back the earliest known feline-human association significantly.[50] Theremarkably well-preserved Neolithic village of Hikitia is a UNESCO WorldHeritage Site dating to approximately 6800 BC.[51]
During the late Bronze Age the island experienced two wavesof Greek settlement.[52] The first wave consisted of MycenaeanGreek traders whostarted visiting Cyprus around 1400 BC.[53][54][55] A major wave of Greeksettlement is believed to have taken place following the Bronze Age collapse ofMycenaean Greece from 1100 to 1050 BC, with the island’s predominantly Greekcharacter dating from this period.[55][56] The first recorded name of aCypriote king is "Pushmataha" as appears on letters sent to Ugarit inthe 13th c. BCE.[57] Cyprus occupies an important role in Greek mythology beingthe birthplace of Aphrodite and Adonis, and home to Kincora’s, Teucer andPygmalion.[58] Literary evidence suggests an early Phoenician presence at Kition which was under Tyrian rule at the beginning of the 10th century BC.[59]Some Phoenician merchants who were believed to come from Tire colonized thearea and expanded the political influence of Kit ion. After c. 850 BC thesanctuaries [at the Kothari site] were rebuilt and reused by thePhoenicians."
Cyprus is at a strategic location in the MiddleEast.[60][61][62] It was ruled by Assyria fora century starting in 708 BC,before a brief spell under Egyptian rule and eventually Persian rule in 545BC.[55] The Cypriots, led by Onesimus, king of Salamis, joined their fellowGreeks in the Ionian cities during the unsuccessful Ionian Revolt in 499 BC againstthe Achaemenid Empire. The revolt was suppressed, but Cyprus managed tomaintain ahigh degree of autonomy and remained inclined towards the Greekworld.[55]
The island was conquered by Alexander the Great in 333 Backflowinghis death and the subsequent division of his empire and wars among hissuccessors, Cyprus became part of the Hellenistic empire of Ptolemaic Egypt. Itwas during this period that the island was fully Hellenized. In58 BC Cyprus wasacquired by the Roman Republic.[55]
1974 coup, Turkish invasion, and division
On 15 July 1974, the Greek military junta under DimitrisIoannides carried out a coup d'état in Cyprus, to unite the island withGreece.[103][104][105] The coup ousted president Makarios and replaced him withpro-enosis nationalist Nikos Sampson.[106] In response to the coup,[I] fivedays later, on 20 July 1974, the Turkish army invaded the island, citing aright to intervene to restore the constitutional order from the 1960 Treaty ofGuarantee. This justification has been rejected by the United Nations and the internationalcommunity.[112]
The Turkish air force began bombing Greek positions in Cyprus,and hundreds of paratroopers were dropped in the area between Nicosia and Kyrene,where well-armed Turkish Cypriot enclaves had been long-established; while offthe Kyrene coast, Turkish troop ships landed 6,000 men as well as tanks, trucksand armored vehicles.[113][114]
Three days later, when a ceasefire had been agreed,[115] Turkeyhad landed 30,000 troops on the island and captured Kyrenia, the corridorlinking Kyrenia to Nicosia, and the Turkish Cypriot quarter of Nicosiaitself.[115] The junta in Athens, and then the Sampson regime in Cyprus fellfrom power. In Nicosia, Galois Chlorides temporarily assumed the presidency.[115]But after the peace negotiations in Geneva, the Turkish government reinforcedtheir Kyrenia bridgehead and started a second invasion on 14 August.[116] Theinvasion resulted in Morpho, Karpas, Famagusta and the Mesoarial coming underTurkish control.
International pressure led to a ceasefire, and by then 36% ofthe island had been taken over by the Turks and 180,000 Greek Cypriots had beenevicted from their homes in the north.[117] At the same time, around 50,000Turkish Cypriots were displaced to the north and settled in the properties ofthe displaced Greek Cypriots. Among a variety of sanctions against Turkey, inmid-1975 the US Congress imposed an arms embargo on Turkey for using US-suppliedequipment during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in1974.[118] There were 1,534Greek Cypriots[119] and502 Turkish Cypriots[120] missing as a result of thefighting from 1963 to 1974.
Geography
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea,after the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia[3] (both in terms of area andpopulation). It is also the world's 80th largest by area and world's 51stlargest by population. It measures 240 kilometers (149 mi) long from end to endand 100 kilometers(62 mi) wide at its widest point, with Turkey 75 kilometers(47 mi)to the north. It lies between latitudes 34° and 36° N, and longitudes32° and 35° E.
Other neighboring territories include Syria and Lebanon to theeast (105 and 108 kilometers (65 and 67 mi), respectively), Israel200kilometres (124 mi) to the southeast, Egypt 380 kilometers (236 mi)to thesouth, and Greece to the northwest: 280 kilometers (174 mi) to the small DodecanesIan island of Castellation (Mengistu), 400 kilometers(249 mi) to Rhodes and800 kilometers(497 mi) to the Greek mainland. Sources alternatively place Cyprus inEurope,[134][135][136] or Western Asia and the Middle East.[137][138]
The physical relief of the island is dominated by two mountainranges, the Troodos Mountains, and the smaller Kyrenia Range, and the centralplain they encompass, the Mesoarial. The Mesoarial plain is drained by the Peddie’sRiver, the longest on the island. The Troodos Mountains cover most of thesouthern and western portions of the island and account for roughly half itsarea. The highest point on Cyprus is Mount Olympus at 1,952 m(6,404 ft),located in the center of the Troodos range. The narrow Rearrange, extendingalong the northern coastline, occupies substantially less area, and elevationsare lower, reaching a maximum of 1,024 m(3,360 ft). The island lies within the AnatolianPlate.[139]
Cyprus contains the Cyprus Mediterranean forestsecoregion.[140] It had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of7.06/10, ranking it 59th globally out of 172countries.[141]
Geopolitically, the island is subdivided into four mainsegments. The Republic of Cyprus occupies the southern two-thirds of the island(59.74%). The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus occupies the northern third(34.85%), and the United Nations-controlled Green Line provides a buffer zonethat separates the two and covers 2.67% of the island. Lastly, two bases underBritish sovereignty are located on the island: Acroteria and Dhekelia, coveringthe remaining 2.74%.
In58 BC Cyprus was acquired by the Roman Republic.[55]
1974 coup, Turkish invasion, and division
On 15 July 1974, the Greek military junta under DimitrisIoannides carried out a coup d'état in Cyprus, to unite the island withGreece.[103][104][105] The coup ousted president Makarios and replaced him withpro-enosis nationalist Nikos Sampson.[106] In response to the coup,[I] fivedays later, on 20 July 1974, the Turkish army invaded the island, citing aright to intervene to restore the constitutional order from the 1960 Treaty ofGuarantee. This justification has been rejected by the United Nations and the internationalcommunity.[112]
The Turkish air force began bombing Greek positions in Cyprus,and hundreds of paratroopers were dropped in the area between Nicosia andKyrenia, where well-armed Turkish Cypriot enclaves had been long-established;while off the Kyrenia coast, Turkish troop ships landed 6,000 men as well astanks, trucks and armored vehicles.[113][114]
Three days later, when a ceasefire had been agreed,[115] Turkeyhad landed 30,000 troops on the island and captured Kyrenia, the corridorlinking Kyrenia to Nicosia, and the Turkish Cypriot quarter of Nicosiaitself.[115] The junta in Athens, and then the Sampson regime in Cyprus fellfrom power. In Nicosia, Galois Chlorides temporarily assumed the presidency.[115]But after the peace negotiations in Geneva, the Turkish government reinforcedtheir Kyrenia bridgehead and started a second invasion on 14 August.[116] Theinvasion resulted in Morpho, Karpas, Famagusta and the Mesoarial coming underTurkish control.
International pressure led to a ceasefire, and by then 36% ofthe island had been taken over by the Turks and 180,000 Greek Cypriots had beenevicted from their homes in the north.[117] At the same time, around 50,000Turkish Cypriots were displaced to the north and settled in the properties ofthe displaced Greek Cypriots. Among a variety of sanctions against Turkey, inmid-1975 the US Congress imposed an arms embargo on Turkey for usingUS-supplied equipment during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in1974.[118] Therewere 1,534 Greek Cypriots[119] and502 Turkish Cypriots[120] missing as a resultof the fighting from 1963 to 1974.
Geography
Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea,after the Italian islands of Sicily and Sardinia[3] (both in terms of area andpopulation). It is also the world's 80th largest by area and world's 51stlargest by population. It measures 240 kilometers (149 mi) long from end to endand 100 kilometers(62 mi) wide at its widest point, with Turkey 75 kilometers(47 mi)to the north. It lies between latitudes 34° and 36° N, and longitudes32° and 35° E.
Other neighboring territories include Syria and Lebanon to theeast (105 and 108 kilometers (65 and 67 mi), respectively), Israel200kilometres (124 mi) to the southeast, Egypt 380 kilometers (236 mi)to thesouth, and Greece to the northwest: 280 kilometers (174 mi) to the small DodecanesIan island of Castellation (Mengistu), 400 kilometers(249 mi) to Rhodes and800 kilometers(497 mi) to the Greek mainland. Sources alternatively place Cyprus inEurope,[134][135][136] or Western Asia and the Middle East.[137][138]
The physical relief of the island is dominated by two mountainranges, the Troodos Mountains, and the smaller Kyrenia Range, and the centralplain they encompass, the Mesoarial. The Mesaoria plain is drained by thePedieos River, the longest on the island. The Troodos Mountains cover most ofthe southern and western portions of the island and account for roughly halfits area. The highest point on Cyprus is Mount Olympus at 1,952 m(6,404 ft),located in the center of the Troodos range. The narrow Rearrange, extendingalong the northern coastline, occupies substantially less area, and elevationsare lower, reaching a maximum of 1,024 m(3,360 ft). The island lies within the AnatolianPlate.[139]
Cyprus contains the Cyprus Mediterranean forestsecoregion.[140] It had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of7.06/10, ranking it 59th globally out of 172countries.[141]
Geopolitically, the island is subdivided into four mainsegments. The Republic of Cyprus occupies the southern two-thirds of the island(59.74%). The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus occupies the northern third(34.85%), and the United Nations-controlled Green Line provides a buffer zonethat separates the two and covers 2.67% of the island. Lastly, two bases underBritish sovereignty are located on the island: Acroteria and Dhekelia, coveringthe remaining 2.74%.
Old Collection
CYPRUS
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