BAHRAIN (مملكة البحرين)

Bahrain (Arabic: البحرين‎ al-Baḥrayn), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين‎ Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn), is a sovereign state in the Persian Gulf. The island nation comprises a small archipelago made up of 33 natural islands and an additional 51 artificial islands, centered around Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 percent of the country's landmass. The country is situated between the Qatar peninsula and the north eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the 25-kilometre (16 mi) King Fahd Causeway. According to the most recent 2010 census, Bahrain's population is over 1.2 million, of which around half are non-nationals. At 780 square kilometres (300 sq mi) in size, it is the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama. By August 2008 the number of islands and island groups had increased to 84. Bahrain does not share a land boundary with another country but does have a 161 km (100 mi) coastline. The country also claims a further 22 km (12 nmi) of territorial sea and a 44 km (24 nmi) contiguous zone. Bahrain's largest islands are Bahrain Island, the Hawar Islands, Muharraq Island, Umm an Nasan, and Sitra. Bahrain has mild winters and very hot, humid summers.

Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilization. It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to convert to Islam, in 628 AD. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the Portuguese Empire from 1521 until 1602, following the conquest by Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty under the Persian Empire. In 1783, the Bani Utbah clan captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim.

Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared an Islamic constitutional monarchy in 2002. In the late 1800s, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, it declared independence.

Bahrain first used the postage stamps of British India before eventually issuing its own stamps in 1960. The first post office in Bahrain opened on 1 August 1884 in the capital Manama. This was a sub-office of the Indian Post Office at Bushire in Iran, both of which were part of the Bombay Postal Circle. This remained the only post office until 1946. Stamps of British India were used in Bahrain until 1933 and used examples may be identified from the cancellations which are illustrated in specialised catalogues. British India stamps overprinted BAHRAIN were used from 1933 to 1947 depicting George V (1933) and then George VI from 1938.Un-overprinted Victory stamps of India were also on sale in Bahrain during January 1946 and a 16 anna stamp booklet was issued in 1934.

From 1 April 1948, postal administration was handled by the British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia. British issues overprinted BAHRAIN and surcharged in annas or rupees were in use from 1948 to 1960. he first stamps specifically designed for both domestic and international mail were a definitive set issued on 1 July 1960, The Bahrain Post Office fully took over postal services from Britain on 1 January 1966 when a further definitive set was issued. Bahrain Post is the government organisation responsible for the post in Bahrain. Bahrain Post is part of the Bahrain Ministry of Transportation. After declaring independence in 1971, Bahrain joined the International Postal Union in December 1973. Bahrain Post later joined the Arab Postal Union in May 1986.

The covers posted on September 17, 2013 and I received on September 30, 2013.