the place where Paleontology and Paleoanthropology meets Philately
Somalia
Fossils and dinosaurs on stamps of Somalia
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Contents
- Country overview
- Philately at Somalia
- Official stamps of Somalia related to Paleontology
- References
Somalia , officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Somalia has an estimated population of around 12.3 million. Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis, who have historically inhabited the northern part of the country. Ethnic minorities are largely concentrated in the southern regions. The official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic, both of which belong to the Afroasiatic family. Most people in the country are Muslim, with the majority being Sunni.
Britain withdrew from British Somaliland in 1960 to allow its protectorate to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. The Supreme Revolutionary Council seized power in 1969 and established the Somali Democratic Republic. Led by Mohamed Siad Barre, this government later collapsed in 1991 as the Somali Civil War broke out. Various armed factions began competing for influence in the power vacuum, particularly in the south. During this period, due to the absence of a central government, Somalia was a "failed state", and residents returned to customary and religious law in most regions. A few autonomous regions, including the Somaliland, Puntland, and Galmudug administrations, emerged in the north. The early 2000s saw the creation of fledgling interim federal administrations. In 2011–2012, a political process providing benchmarks for the establishment of permanent democratic institutions was launched. Within this administrative framework a new provisional constitution was passed in August 2012, which reformed Somalia as a federation. [R1]
The first stamps of Somalia were issued for Benadir by the Italian authorities in 1903. From the late 1800s to 1960, northwestern present-day Somalia was administered as British Somaliland, while the northeastern, central and southern part of the country were concurrently administered as Italian Somaliland. In 1960, the two territories were unified as the Somali Republic. Following the establishment of the Somali Republic, the first stamps of the nascent country were issued on 26 June 1960.
After the 1969 military coup, the country and its stamps were renamed the Somali Democratic Republic. During civil war the national postal infrastructure was later completely destroyed. Postage stamps continued to be produced illegally internationally during the war (1991-2000) , although their subject matter suggests they were designed for external collectors.
On 31 October 2013, UPU informed international mail community "After 23 years without postal services, Somalia will start receiving international mail again from 1 November 2013, thanks to an agreement concluded with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its postal operator, Emirates Post. The Universal Postal Union has informed the Posts of its member countries they can now send international mail to Somalia through Dubai. " [R2]
Official stamps of Somalia related to Paleontology: fossils and reconstruction of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals
| 24.11.1987 "GEOSOM'87 - Geology of Somalia and surround regions" [1] | 06.10.1993 "Prehistoric animals" [2] | 02.05.1997 "Fossils" [2] |
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| 12.12.2000 "Marine Dinosaurs" [2] [3] | ||
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Notes:
References:
[R1] More information about Somalia are on Wikipedia, Wikitravel or FlagCounter[R2] More information about postal history of Somalia on: Wikipedia UPU
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