COVER N. 450 - MORROCO

Postmark: Premier Jour d'émission Meknès CD 14.02.2024 / Meknés 19.04.2023

Posted on the 19th April; received on the 6th May 2024

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A joint issue FDC from Morroco and Oman, and the opportunity to again thank Pierre for a great cover. Merci bien, Pierre, pour cette très jolie lettre.

The Arab Postal Leaders Forum of the UPU took place in Muscat, in the Sultanate of Oman, from the 12th till the 14th February 2024, under the theme  "Arab Posts: On track towards digital transformation and innovation".

Morocco and the hosting country took the opportunity to create a joint issue highlighting the history of 50 years of official relations between the two countries, which were  established on 10 March, 1973. 

To illustrate the common cultural heritage underlying the relations between the two countries, a two stamp souvenir sheet was created, on which important cultural monuments of both countries are depicted, under the light of a day sun cycle, since the design of the stamps also wants to shed some light  as to the places  where the sun first rises in the Arab world and where it last sets in Morocco.

As such, on the left stamp of the pair (9,90 Dirham), dedicated to Morocco,  we have the Al-Khair mosque at El-Guergerat, inaugurated last year, representing the place where the sun lastly sets in Morocco, while the stamp in the right (4.10 Dh), dedicated to Oman, is illuminated with the light of the rising sun at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the largest religious building in Oman, located in the Capital Muscat, and the place where the sun first rises in the Arab world.

 Both the first day of issue and the day of dispatch postmarks are from the city of Meknès.