Tag: Saudi Arabia stamp

The Saudi capital of Riyadh translates into the gardens. The town, it is believed grew up around an oasis and indeed there is a large wadi to the west of the town. A wadi is a mostly dry lake bed so indeed implies there was once water. Civil engineering has now allowed the area to turn green again thanks to that wonderous resource of modernity that we never run short of; sewage runoff. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp comes from an earlier period in the development of Wadi Hanifa. It shows dam work designed to control flooding and catch the water from it. It is a good thing to show on a bulk postage stamp. I also like that the King is not there personally taking credit for the expensive development. That would have made it more political in a time of resentment when pan Arabists harbored much resentment against the traditional Monarchies. The stamp just leaves the subtle non political message that things are progressing.

Todays stamp is issue A23, a 50 Piaster, (new currency that year), stamp issued by Saudi Arabia in 1960. It was a 16 stamp bulk postage issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $2.50 used.

Riyadh is first mentioned by Arab chroniclers around 1590 and first became the Saudi capital in 1825. Local folklore has the history going back much further. In the time before Mohammed, the area was fertile with lakes and much rainfall. The area was part of the Al-Yamama Empire. God/Allah became displeased with the rulers of the area and delivered to them the scourges of drought and locusts that forever changed the area.

Well almost. In modern times Riyadh has become a more populous and important city with much revenue to fund development. Riyadh water supply is desalinated water piped in from the Persian Gulf, a distance of almost 300 miles. In 1982, the city built it’s first sewage treatment plant. The runoff from the plant post treatment is directed into the Wadi Hanifa. This turned the area green with several lakes available for recreation. Migratory birds have also shown up. The sewage runoff is enough, 23 million cubic feet a day to allow for the cultivation of date palms and power the largest oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. Under brush has been planted under the treated sewage flows to further clean them naturally.

Turning Riyadh back into a garden has been complicated by the rapid population growth that the city is experiencing. At the time of this stamp in 1960, the population  was 150,000. It is now over 5 million.

Well my drink is empty. With the conflict between the withering of climate change and the greening possible from projects like this, it will be interesting to see which side wins out. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

In the first years after a windfall, the stamps of a country often show shiny new buildings and factories. When the income proves long lived, we get to see stamps like this, where a society grapples with providing extra help to those among them left behind. A while back, I did an American stamp from the early seventies like that, see https://the-philatelist.com/2017/10/16/how-honoring-challenged-children-can-go-very-wrong/    . Today we can compare what was being done in Saudi Arabia a decade later. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

There are too many emblems on this stamp. While some help is directly coming from the government and some is routed though non government organizations that rely on the philanthropy of the Royal family, in Saudi Arabia that is really the same thing. At first glance of this stamp, you might think that Saudis have to rely on the UN for such aid as do poor countries. You can’t let the people think that, especially if it is not true. Where is the King on this stamp?

Todays stamp is issue A217, a 50 Halalas stamp issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on October 3rd, 1987. It was a two stamp issue in different denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.10 unused.

The idea that the disabled are worthy of dignity and help to live a useful life in Arabia dates back to the Quran and the story of Abd-Allah ibn Umm-Maktum. He was a blind man and an early convert to Mohammed. He once approached Mohammed with a question while he was preaching to tribal chiefs in Mecca. Mohammed was annoyed at the interruption until he was rebuked by Allah for not showing extra kindness to the blind man. From then on Umm-Maktum was shown the appropriate accommodation and he responded by volunteering to fight in the 636 AD battle of Qadisiyya were he was a standard bearer and was killed. Apparently Shias don’t interpret this story the same way.

In modern times, a high proportion of Saudis face the challenges of a disability. A partial reason for this is the extremely common practice of marrying a first cousin. For males the most common cause of a disability is having been in a car accident. For females, depression grips as many as 46% of them.

Saudi Arabia has over time sought to do more for the disabled. Starting in 1958 children with disabilities were allowed to go to school. By 1962, programs were started to give them extra help once there. In 1972, it was decided to provide a monthly stipend to the disabled tied to them participating in vocational programs. There are now over 350 day care centers in the Kingdom to allow loved ones a break from the care.

In 1992, Saudi Arabia went farther to combat and prevent disabilities. Former Astronaut Prince Sultan founded the King Salmon Center for Disabilities Research. In addition to research, the center funds screenings for unborn babies for 16 different disorders.

There are those that say that enough is not yet being done. They point to the separate medical facilities for females that are not always accessible and the stigma still attached to mental disabilities.

Well my drink is empty and so I will have to wait until Monday when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

The Haj must be big business. How else to explain tearing down the oldest Mosque with a cornerstone set by Mohammed himself. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your tea, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp perplexes me. Here on the stamp is a Mosque, perhaps the earliest one, that dates from 622 AD. To have survived into the twentieth century means it made it through many different periods. Protecting the Holy Sites is perhaps the top charge of the Saudi Royal line. Yet it was torn down shortly afterward to build something much bigger to accommodate the many Muslims that make the Haj.

The stamp today is issue A98 a 50 Halalas stamp issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1977. It was part of a 2 stamp issue in 20h and 50h denominations displaying the Quba Mosque in Medina. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

The Quba Mosque was completed in 622 AD. While the great Mosques in Mecca and Jerusalem are older, they are associated with the Prophets in Islam notably Abraham. The Mosque In Medina had it’s cornerstone laid by Mohammed himself after he emigrated to Medina from Mecca.

The Haj is now big business. Although Medina is not an official part of the Haj, there has long been a tradition of a following trip to Medina including the Quba Mosque. The numbers making  the Haj went up dramatically until recently. The annual numbers went from 300,000 a year in the 1960s to over 3 million about five years ago. For what it’s worth the numbers have begun to trend down lately falling below 2 million in 2017.

With the oil boom and the increase in Haj numbers the decision was taken to expand the Quda Mosque. Noted Egyptian architect Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil was brought in to renovate a much larger structure. It was supposed to incorporate much of the old structure but in the end the old building was taken down. There seems no mention of whether Mohammed’s cornerstone is still in place. See Below.

The Mosque has a mention in the Koran as a place that was founded on Duty to Allah wherein are men who love to purify themselves. Allah loves the purifier. I am of course not qualified to pass judgement on the decision to tear down the Mosque and expand it. As a non Muslim I think of it more in a historical sense. From that limited perspective, it seems a harsh thing to do.

Well my drink is empty and so I will open the discussion in the below comment section. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.