On November 14, 1770, James Bruce is supposed to have discovered what he believed to be the source of the Nile (النيل) — a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa commonly regarded as the longest river in the world, though some sources cite the Amazon River as the longest. The Nile, which is 4,258 miles (6,853 km) long, is an “international” river as its drainage … Continue reading The Source of the Nile?
In my collection titled “Stamps From (Almost) Everywhere” (SFAEW), I usually count separate stamp-issuing entities based upon the inscriptions upon the stamps themselves (however, I’m still not sure whether to divide my stamps inscribed BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS from the earlier issues inscribed just VIRGIN ISLANDS as everything else is the same). I can usually find information (at least enough for a “Stamp A Day” article) … Continue reading Zanzibar and Tanzania #330 (1965)
It’s a “random stamp” day and I chose this 1935 issue from the combined entity of Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika portraying Mount Kilimanjaro. Back in my younger days when I dreamt of becoming a mountaineer, I thought that Kilimanjaro would be the easiest of the continental highest peaks (the “Seven Summits”) to climb. Unfortunately, the nearest I got to the region was an archaeological trip … Continue reading Mount Kilimanjaro
Zanzibar (زنجبار — Zanjibār in Arabic) is a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania in East Africa. It is composed of the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 16-31 miles (25–50 kilometers) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. The capital is Zanzibar City, located on the island of Unguja. Its historic center is Stone Town, which is a World … Continue reading Zanzibar #62 (1899)
As a collector striving to find at least one stamp from every issuing entity since 1840, I sometimes have odd omissions. For certain countries, I have a limited number of stamps and sometimes the stamps I do have are ones that I’m not that fond of. No, I do not love every stamp! One of my favorite methods of obtaining a great variety of stamps … Continue reading Uganda, Republic of #1174 (1993)
The region of British East Africa has quite a complicated postal history with stamps of the area receiving numerous identifying inscriptions since their first release in May 1890, bearing the name of a company — British East Africa Company — instead of a place name. Stamps released in October of that year saw the inscription changed to Imperial British East Africa Company; these were overprinted British East Africa in July 1895 … Continue reading Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika #105 (1958)
A Stamp A Day 