Mangalia is, competing with Constanţa, the oldest continuously inhabited city on the present territory of Romania. A Greek colony named Callatis was founded here, in the 6th century BC by the city of Heraclea Pontica. From the 9th century it was known by the Turks as Pangalia, by the Romanians as Tomisovara, and by the Greeks as Panglicara, and it was one of the most important ports on the west coast of the Black Sea. The name Mangalia appeared for the first time in 1593, and seems to be Tartarian.
From 7th to 11th century the city was under the rule of the First Bulgarian Empire and it declined, becoming a simple fishermen village. It was partially rebuilt in the early 11th century, when Dobruja returned under Byzantine rule, but it was destroyed again in 1225, by the Tartars, who settled here, over the Greek population. Neither the Second Bulgarian Empire, nor the Despotate of Dobruja, nor the reign of Mircea the Elder, and nor almost the five centuries of Ottoman rule didn't change this situation.
The situation changed after the annexation of Dobruja by Romania in 1878. Mangalia has become a modern port (second seaport after Constanţa) and has grown rapidly due to Tatlageac-Comorova beach, which stretches for several kilometers between Cap Schitu and Cap Baglaru ( today Cap Aurora). Starting to 1962 the city became gradually a major tourist center: in the forest Comorova, along the sea, were built six resorts: Olimp, Neptun, Jupiter, Cap Aurora, Venus and Saturn.
About the stamps
The first stamp is part of the series Transport & Communication, about which I wrote here. The second stamp is part of the series Monuments, about which I wrote here.
References
Mangalia - Wikipedia
Sender: Mihai Tudor
Sent from Mangalia (Constanţa / Romania), on 10.08.1977
No comments:
Post a Comment