YEREVAN, JULY 10, ARMENPRESS. On July 10 a postage stamp dedicated to the theme ‘Europa 2017: Castles’ was put into circulation, reports Armenpress.

The postage stamp was cancelled by Vahan Martirosyan, Armenia’s Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies, H.E. Mr. Piotr Świtalski, Ambassador, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Vassilis Maragos, Head of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Eastern Partnership Unit, DG NEAR, European Commission, Juan Pablo Gechidjian, Managing Director of HayPost Trust Management B.V., and Hovik Musayelyan, President of the Union of Philatelists of Armenia.

“It would be subjective by me to say how the philatelic sphere is developing, but we see that over the last years new postage stamps are issued very frequently. Today we can state that the Armenian postage stamp is spread worldwide”, Minister Vahan Martirosyan said.

The stamp is issued within the framework of ‘EUROPA’ international programme of the Association of European Postal Operators (PostEurop).

The postage stamp depicts the ancient Armenian castle named ‘Amberd’, which means “fortress in the clouds”. The inscription of the castle’s name on the postage stamp in Armenian and English languages is done in medieval style. The postage stamp with nominal values of 350 AMD is printed in Cartor printing house in France. The author of the stamp’s design is the designer of HayPost CJSC Vahagn Mkrtchyan. ‘Amberd’ is one of the well-preserved castles of Armenia dated X-XIII cc. The castle is surrounded and protected by the gorge on three sides and only the northern side remains unprotected. According to some sources, the castle used to serve as a summer residence for Armenian Kings and Princes.

Hovik Musayelyan, President of the Union of Philatelists, also attached importance to regularly issueing new postage stamps.  

“Many believe that in the new era of internet philately records decline and is being forgotten. I don’t agree with this. As you see, each postage stamp is issued by a representative team, in other words, a special attention is attached to this field. Moreover, on July 13 a new stamp will be issued within the frames of ‘Golden Apricot’”, Hovik Musayelyan told Armenpress.

The Union of Philatelists of Armenia has 300 members.