STAMP ISSUES RELATED TO ICAO (1994-1995)

 

Egypt : 50th Anniversary of ICAO

 

Issue date: 16/09/1994

 

 

50th Anniversary logo in blue on a yellow background.

On the second line top-right, the year in Arabic is 1415 in the HIJRI or Islamic calendar, corresponding to 1994.

At the bottom, just above ICAO, the full name of the Organization (International Civil Aviation Organization) is printed in Arabic. It is interesting to note that ICAO’s acronym in Arabic is a transliteration (i.e. conversion in Arabic letters) of the each letter of the English acronym.

 

 

Photographic proof, ungummed.

 

Upper-left corner block with the acronym ICAO in the selvage.

 

Upper-right corner block with the full name of the Organization International Civil Aviation Organization (in Arabic) in the selvage.

 

Lower-left corner block.

 

 

Lower-right corner block with the name of the printer (in Arabic) in the selvage: Post Printers Cairo.

Official First Day cover.

 

First Day Cover with corner block of three stamps.

 

Background: The issue date of the Egyptian stamp (16 September 1994 in the Gregorian calendar) corresponds to Friday 10 Rabī’ al-Thānī 1415 A.H. in the Hijri or Islamic calendar (Anno Hijri or AH). The Islamic (Hijri) year consists of twelve (purely lunar) months; Rabī’ al-Thānī is the fourth month of the Islamic calendar.

The Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar or Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar based on 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days, used to date events in many Muslim countries (concurrently with the Gregorian calendar), and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic holydays and festivals. Its first year was the moon year during which the Hijra, i.e. the emigration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, occurred. Each numbered year is designated either H for Hijra or AH for the Latin anno Hegirae (in the year of the Hijra). A limited number of years before Hijra (BH) are used to date events related to Islam, such as the birth of Muhammad in 53 BH.

According to calculations, the Hijra corresponded to Friday 16 July 622 (even though the actual emigration took place in September). Because of the Hijra event, the calendar was named the Hijri calendar.

 

Philatelic notice. This notice should have more rightly used the word “Convention” instead of Agreement.