World Telecommunications Day 1971

 Studying this particular set f stamps has permitted me to discover some quite interesting facts.

The 'Viewphone' or as the Americans called it at the time "Picturephone' amongst the most fascinating designs of the time. Specially, since the advent of the internet was probably due to the need for better bandwidth require for reliable view phone calls. This directly allowed for the development of better interconnectivity for computers...

Qatar Overprinted stamps used in England

Considering that the Postal Authority for the Arabian Gulf Countries was the General Post Office under the name of the British Postal Authorities for the Arabian Gulf. This meant that the stamps for one state were valid for use in any another.

Philatelists taking advantage this created a number of cross-over covers - covers using stamps from one state on another.

In this case a very rare of BPAEA used in UK.

Qatar National Cement Company

 A simple commercial cover, from where we can learn a little more of the incredible history of Qatar.

Traffic Week 1975

The collection of stamps can be a never ending excuse to learn a little more about the world around us.

Today I took a look back at the reason behind the Traffic Week stamps issued in 1975. which lead me to discover the work of Jock Kinneir & Margaret Calvert.

Their work eventually created todays world standard of road traffic signs, which were most likely implemented in the Arabian Gulf around the 1970s.

World Telecommunications Day

After a very long time searching for an answer as to what was the machine on the stamp, I have finally come to a conclusive answer.

See below for additional information.

Renowned Collectors with interest in Qatar philately

The interest in collectable items from Qatar began from day one. In these three images we can see that renowned collectors were keen to obtain items from Qatar.

Francis J. Field one of the few individuals to be entered in the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists. King George V was the first signatory of the Roll.

F. Hillard, too, began his interest early on. This was so early that he was unaware of what was PDQ (Petroleum Development Qatar) as can be seen on the second slide.

But by July 1950, he shows his knowledge, albeit too late, requesting to be sent a cover with the 'Political Officer Qatar' cancellation.

The British Castle Stamp used in Qatar

Today I share with you a cover sent from Umm Said, Qatar with a British Castles Series Stamp - overprinted 'QATAR' which is rare to find.

EXPO 2023 Doha - Qatar

In celebration of the upcoming Horticulture EXPO 2023 Doha Qatar a set of nine stamps were issued as shown below.

Qatar will be the first country with a desert climate to host such an event.

The EXPO will be the second largest global event to be held in Qatar after the World Cup. With some 50 countries already signed up and the on track to reach the goal of 8- national pavilions.

22nd February 2023 - The 50th Anniversary for this particular stamp issue

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the issue of these stamps.

They celebrate the the first anniversary of the accession to power of H.H. the Amir Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani.

Issued on the 22nd February 1973.

Revenue & Tax Stamps

Philately - the collection of and study of postage and imprinted stamps - sometimes can extend to the collection of Revenue or Tax Stamps as in the stamps shown.

50th Anniversary of the Shura Council

A beautiful designed souvenir sheet with two stamps displaying the outside and the inner chambers of Qatar's Legislative Branch.

The stamps were issued to commemorate the Legislative branch 50th Anniversary.

The Amir's State visit to the Republic of South Korea in 1984

H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani's State visit to the Republic of South Korea stamp issue.

Unfortunately for the story, the then President Chun was imprisoned and sentenced to death in 1996.

He was later pardoned on the advise of the President-elect Kim Dae-jung who had been condemned to death by President Chun.

The First FIFA World Cup in the Arab Region

One month on, and another stamp issued to celebrate the Fifa Qatar World Cup 2022.

It is interesting to point out that one month on, an still some 5 billion social media hits on the FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 websites.

Part of the  event's success can also be attributed to the help from 20,000 volunteers, selected from 150 nationalities. 17,000 volunteers were residents of Qatar; 3,000 were international. The volunteers ranged in age from 18 to 77 years old.

Old Letter Box

An old letter drop box, beautifully restored and now located outside the Qatar Philatelic and Numismatic Center.

International Labour Organization

A stamp issue to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Qatar's membership of the International Labour Organization.

The motto of the issue is:

"Safety and health at work is a fundamental right, and our shared responsibility".

Umm Said Registered Letter with Red Lines

A friend of mine sent me this cover for research.

I believe it has many interesting points which I decided to share.

Perhaps someone has more information on the MV Adolf Vinnen that would add to the legitimacy of the cover.

The de Havilland Comet and the start of Qatar Aerophilately

de Havilland DH 106 - Comet 1 was a major achievement for the British Aviation Industry.

It first flew on the 27^th of July 1949. Upon completing its series of test flights, if joined British Overseas Airways Corporations (BOAC), becoming the first jet commercial airliners in the world.

The first commercial flight, on the 2^nd of May 1952, under the responsibility of Capt. Michael Majendie and Capt. R. C. Alabaster proved a success. This quickly silenced critics who thought jet aviation would never succeed. The flights had an average 80% occupancy.

The first flight through this region of the world is celebrated with the below cover showing the departure from Bahrain on the 11th of August 1952 and arriving Bombay on the 12th on its way to Colombo.

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The return flight is shown in the below two covers. These are special for the sender, went to the trouble of using a unique set of stamps in each cover.

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Unfortunately, within one year of beginning commercial operations the problems began. Cumulating with the accident in 1954 which resulted in the complete grounding of the aircraft.

Not one, but three major accidents led to this grounding:

1. The first, exactly a year, to the day, of the inaugural flight, a flight departing Calcutta disintegrated at 10,000 ft in the vicinity of a thunderstorm (43 passengers and crew perished).
2. 10^th January 1954, departing Rome exploded mid air taking with it 26 passengers and 6 crew members. This led to an initial grounding of the aircraft,
3. While the initial investigation of the last accident was still undergoing, but appearing to clear mechanical problem of the aircraft, flight resumed. So within a few months, on the 8^th of April 1954 another Comet, inbound Cairo from Rome disappeared over the Mediterranean. Leading to a new grounding of the aircraft,

Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister of the time, had the Royal Navy locate and salvage the wreckage of the aircraft and take it to Farnborough for a complete analyses of the causes of the accident.

Mr. W.D. Tonkinson, a known philatelist and frequent flyer in the region commented on the last accident on a later to his family back in England.

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It was found that metal fatigue, due to the high altitude flights requiring cabin pressurisation and the design option of using square windows, rather than today’s oval windows so familiar to us.

It took de Havilland another 4½ years to re-design the aircraft. This proved a success, with the aircraft remaining in service until 1980.

The restart of the Comet operations can be seen in the below cover which commemorates the first Bahrain to Singapore flight using a BOAC Comet 4.

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The 're-birth' of the Comet came at the perfect time for a new airline in the region - Kuwait Airline's which quickly ordered the new aircraft leading it to become the first all jet Arab airline. The aircraft's history at the airline is celebrated on the below stamp issue show in its first day cover.

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But how does this relate to Qatar, after all this site is specifically to Qatar philatelic history?

Well, Kuwait Airways and Qatar have a long tradition. The first aircraft to be shown on a Qatar stamp is that of the Kuwait Airways Comet 4C. Kuwait Airways also came to the aid of Qatar Airways at its first ever flight.

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Well, the Comet story doesn't end there as can be seen on the below slide.

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I hope this has been an interesting story. Should you have any additional information or covers to add to the story feel free to post them below or send me an e-mail.

Qatar World Cup 2022 Al Rihla Soccer Ball Stamp issue

I recently had a post regarding collector items with the World Cup theme (Posters, Mascots, logos etc). Amongst them was the ball used in each World Cup (click here to see that post).

A few days ago, a new stamp was issue in Qatar with just this in mind - the ball that will be used during the 2022 Qatar World Cup (see below to learn more).

Keeping to the tradition, it is expected that a new ball colour theme will be introduced for the final match. The internet speculates that this latter ball will be called 'Al Hill' which means - Inspiration.

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I believe that the greatest show on earth - The World Cup - this time held in Qatar, will keep up with the tradition of making each world cup an even greater than previous ones.

Qatar will be a tremendous host, with non stop events and celebrations for all who enjoy the sport.

 

Qatar Football Achievements

As the world descends into Qatar for the World's Greatest sports event - The World Cup - it is fitting to review some of the Qatar's Football achievements.

Football began in Qatar with the arrivals of foreigners due to the discovery of oil. By 1950's the first football team - Al Ahli - was founded. It was the winner of the Amir's cup in 1973 for which it had the great honour of hosting the Brazilian team Santos - click on the below image to learn more.

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The moment was so unique that it deserves to be complemented by a video of the event (see below).

Below is the a new stamp issue for Qatar. These stamps celebrate a few important milestones in Qatar's National Team. The image below also lists a few more honourable moments of Qatar's Football achievements over the years. This issue is made up of the four stamps shown. It is sold in a souvenir sheet containing all four stamps, there is also a FDC and a presentation folder.

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Perhaps you have noticed the common theme in both of my previous slides - 'Now is All'. This same theme can be seen throughout Qatar in banners, posters, image projections and so on. It probably originates from the speech given at the FIFA headquarters back in 2010 when Qatar was making its final bid to host the World Cup 2022. Click on the below slide to learn more about it.

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1969 - Qatar Security Forces

As the revenue from the oil industry grew, so did the awareness that security should be enhanced to protect the state's investment.

These security enhancements were approved in 1968 by the British as can be seen from the a set of six stamps issued a year later (1969).

I have been able to find video footage to match with a few of the stamps in this set.

The Portuguese and Qatar

 Portugal of the past was a major world power - its empire extending from Americas to the Far East.

The first worldwide currency is attributed to a Portuguese gold coin issued in the 15th Century, named the 'Português'. The gold mostly coming from the Gold mines of Ghana. The coin received so much global acclaim, that many other European powers opted to mint their own version - see below image for more information.

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Interestingly, the first Portuguese coins, minted upon Portugal's independence from the Moors, during the Reign of King Afonso I were given a name originating from an Islamic coin popular in the Iberian Peninsula - the Morabitino - see below image for more information.

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Soon after the 'Português' coin was struck, the Portuguese empire extended all the way to Qatar. The remnants of a Portuguese Fort can be found in the North West coast of Qatar. Likewise a trademark of Portuguese sailors can still be found in many Arabic houses today - see image below for more information.

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Perhaps, sooner or later one of the Portuguese Gold Coins will be found on the archeological digs of Qatar !!!

Qatar Development in the 1960's

Late in the 1960's a production film was made of Qatar's major projects.

As my main interesting is linking stamps to historical events, I though that linking the stamps to the infrastructure, security, agriculture fishery and so on would be an interesting project.

Hope you enjoy the short film.

 

World Cup series for collectors.

 I have had a few blogs related to the world cup, which I will list below before adding today's blog:

• Qatar - FIFA World Cup 2022 Issue
• Qatar Stamps - FIFA World Cup Stadiums
• Qatar - Football Mascots
• Qatar 2022 Mascot - La'eeb - Stamps
• Qatar FIFA 2022 World Cup Poster Stamp
• World Cup Team Flag Issue

Today I would like to review the Poster series of Qatar stamps and add a few more items that true collectors might appreciate.

While the first 12 stamps in the 2002 World Cup issue (see below) represent the official poster of the tournament as seen below, the remainder of the stamps in this series, and that includes all following issues (such as the 2006 Germany and the remaining 3 posters issued in December 2021).

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The below slide shows the final 9 official World Cup posters and their equivalent representation in Qatar issued stamps. as can be seen, the first of these was the 1986 Mexico World Cup poster which was represented by a mixture of the actual poster and the official logo of the tournament. From then onwards, Qatar opted to just use the official logo and make it into a poster, rather than use the official poster (I show both versions below).

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The official Qatar World Cup poster with corrected date is shown below.

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Although I only collect stamps, I presume any collector would like to see all previous World Cup Logos and Mascots which I show below.

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Surprisingly, most of the official ball for all world cups are available to purchase online for the serious aficionado. Below I list all the balls used. In recent years it has become fashionable for the final ball to have a slight different design - I do not include that design.

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Qatar stamps - The space race of 57 years ago

The 1950's and 60's saw the start of the space race. Part of that race began with the placement of satellites in space. I have writing about this space race in two previous blogs (21 September 2021 - First steps into the space program, and 23 September 2021 - Reaching for the Starts). 

This time around, I shall look a little closer at what is portrait in these stamps. The first is is the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) issue of 1965 which celebrates the successful launch and operations of the first permanent geosynchronous satellites leading to the first world wide radio and television broadcasts.

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As can be seen from the below slide the satellite achievements included the televised Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games, the report of the assassination of President John. F. Kennedy.

By 1966 the England World Cup was the first to be transmitted world wide in colour.

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NASA rocket - the Artemis - which is the proof rocket for the future moon exploration. Just like todays' Artemis launch. The original Gemini 6 was cancelled (initially scheduled to liftoff on the 25th of October 1965) by a technical fault.

The Gemini Rendezvous was the design proof concept for the Apollo moon exploration. This latter one required the moon lander to eventually rendezvous with the remaining part of the rocket for its eventual return to earth.

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Luckily most of the astronauts present in the two Gemini Rocket have been captured by a different set of stamps issued by Qatar, with the only exception of the Commander of Gemini 7 - Astronaut Frank Frederick Borman. Borman and Lovell set the a fourteen day spaceflight endurance record in Gemini 7 while waiting for the Gemini 6A Rendezvous. Was also the Commander of Apollo 8 (it being his second and last spaceflight). During this last trip they (Frank Frederick Borman, James Arthur Lovell and William Alison Anders) were the first astronauts to orbit the Moon.

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The video of the Gemini Rendezvous can be seen below.

World Cup Team Flag Stamp Issue

We are now at less than 3 months (actually 71) from the start of the Qatar 2022 World Cup and so it is appropriate to show the schedule for the first stage of the competition (see below).

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This stamp issue is accompanied by four separate First Day Covers (matching the souvenir sheets). 

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Of the 21 World Cups, the trophy was held by just 8 countries (Brazil x5, Germany x4, Italy x4, Argentina x2, Uruguay x2, France x2 and England and Spain once each). As can be seen the trophy was taken to Europe some 12 times and the remaining 9 times was taken to South America.

Will this World Cup see a change - an Asian country take the trophy ?

Qatar FIFA 2022 World Cup Poster Stamp

The latest of the FIFA Cup series of stamps issued by Qatar Post shows the official World Cup poster. It clearly shows the feeling of Qatari's in the joy and pride of hosting the world cup, which is a celebration of not only football but also of strong community, cultural, credence and racial integration world wide. Clearly showing Qatar's multicultural and 'melting pot' society.

I'm looking forward to the start of this celebration, in the mean time please click on the image below to learn more on the stamp.

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