Northern Cyprus,
officially the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus, is a self-declared state that
comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Recognised
only by Turkey, Northern Cyprus is considered by the international
community to be part of the Republic of Cyprus. Northern Cyprus extends
from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay,
Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the
west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer
zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern
Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's
largest city and capital of both states. A coup d'état in
1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece,
prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction
of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish
Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to
a unilateral declaration of independence by the North in 1983. Due to
its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey
for economic, political and military support. [R1]
The
first stamps of Northern Cyprus were issued on 8 April 1970 but were
valid only for local services in the North. Northern Cyprus is not a
member of the Universal Postal Union. International mail for Northern
Cyprus travels via Turkey.[R2]
Official stamps
of Northern Cyprus related to Paleontology and Paleoanthropology:
fossils of prehistoric animals, prehistoric human.
Notes: [1] Stamp with face
value of 250L shows some fossils of prehistoric
elephant and hippopotamus. The hippopotamus is also depicting
on commemorative postmark used on FDC and on
stamp of Cyprus in 2007.
Postmarks
of Northern Cyprus related to Paleontology: prehistoric
animals
Legend:
[FDC] - Post Marks used on FDC of official stamp
[PM] - Permanent postmark: available for a long period of time
[Sp] - Special postmark: issued for special event and was available for
short period of time
[N] - new design of early introduced postmarks
Reference: [R1] More information
about Northern Cyprus is on WikipediaWikiTravel [R2] More
information about postal
history of Northern Cyprus on Wikipedia
Links
to Northern Cyprus's post authority and stamps catalog websites are here