Republic of Cyprus Stamps 6 May 2021
Cyprus Stamps Efrosini Proestou "The Lady of Lapithos"
 and
Cyprus Stamps EUROPA 2021 "Endangered National Wildlife"

"The Lady of Lapithos Efrosini Proestou" a single stamp issue.

Heroic figure of occupied Lapithos. She was a midwife in Lapithos and the surrounding Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot villages.

She was a charismatic personality with a kind look, determination, readiness, will, humanism and great patriotism.

Her national contribution is due to the fact that, after the occupation of Lapithos by the Turkish invaders, on 06 August 1974, as a real mother, she selflessly supplied food and protected, at the risk of her life, a group of twelve soldiers trapped in Lapithos, in a cave (burrow) near her house.

The Turks realized her action and arrested her. She was horribly tortured and humiliated, dragging her half-naked in the streets of Lapithos. She, however, with incomparable bravery and with her great Greek soul, endured all the tortures, stood up and did not betray the twelve young men. The Turks sent her to the firing squad, but at the last moment she was recognized by a Turkish Cypriot officer, who recognised her as the woman who helped his mother give birth to him!

She was imprisoned in the Keryneia Castle and then taken back to Lapithos, from where she was finally released eight months later.

She lived in Nicosia with her children and was hosted by the twelve young men she protected until the day of her death, on 17 April 1993.

Sample Images

A single stamp issue, also a Post Office Official First Day Cover and as a Full Sheet of 8 stamps.

Cyprus Stamps EUROPA 2021 "Endangered National Wildlife" a set of 2 individual stamps.

Mediterranean Seal Monachus monachus

The Mediterranean Seal (Monachus monachus) is the most endangered marine mammal in Europe. Their population is only 700, of which 19 live in Cyprus.

It is one of the largest seal species in the world, with a length of 2.5 meters and a weight of 300 kg and can live up to 40 years.

The Mediterranean Seal has always been an element of the biodiversity of Cyprus. However, from the 1960s to 2010, the species’ sightings are rare, and there was no evidence of reproductive activity. From 2011 onwards it seems that the species is recovering in the Cypriot seas and has now created a local, small, but breeding population.

The Cypriot Bee (apis mellifera cypria)

Apis Mellifera Cypria is the scientific name of the Cypriot bee which belongs to the European bee breeds and is an endemic species of Cyprus.

Pollinating over 70% of man-made plants, the bee is perhaps the most important pollinator for the human species and its environment.

The low rainfall, the few and short flowering periods and spray treatments of wild flowers and crops, the construction in forest areas and the pollution of the environment threaten the survival of the Cypriot bee and that is why we must protect it.

Sample Images

   

Available to purchase as a set of 2 stamps, set of 2 full sheets of stamps (8 stamps to a sheet) and as 2 stamps on one single Post Office Official FDC.

All text and information as supplied by Cyprus Philatelic Dept.