Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia

The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (abbr. SBA; Greek: Περιοχές Κυρίαρχων Βάσεων Ακρωτηρίου και Δεκέλιας, Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou ke Dekélias; Turkish: Egemen Üs Bölgeleri Ağrotur ve Dikelya) is a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and installations, as well as other land, were retained by the British under the 1960 treaty of independence, signed by the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey and representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, which granted independence to the Crown colony of Cyprus.

The territory serves an important role as a station for signals intelligence and provides a vital strategic part of the United Kingdom communications gathering and monitoring network in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Following UK permission, the United States was given a limited, short-term presence on the British bases between 2013 and 2017.

Akrotiri is located in the south of the island, near the city of Limassol (or Lemesos). Dhekelia is in the southeast, near Larnaca. Both areas include military bases, as well as farmland and some residential land. Akrotiri is surrounded by territory controlled by the Republic of Cyprus, but Dhekelia also borders on the United Nations (UN) buffer zone and the area controlled by the Turkish forces. Ayia Napa lies to the east of Dhekelia. The villages of Xylotympou and Ormideia, also in the Republic of Cyprus, are enclaves surrounded by Dhekelia. The Dhekelia Power Station, divided by a British road into two parts, also belongs to the Republic of Cyprus. The northern part is an enclave, like the two villages, whereas the southern part is located by the sea, and therefore not an enclave, though it has no territorial waters of its own. Territorial waters of 3 nautical miles (5.556 km) are claimed, and the right according to the laws of the UN to extend the claim of up to 12 nautical miles (22.224 km) is reserved.

Postal services are provided by the British Forces Post Office, with mail to Akrotiri being addressed to BFPO 57 and mail to Dhekelia and Ayios Nikolaos being addressed to BFPO 58. Cyprus Postal Services provides postal service for civilian homes and businesses within the Base Areas, then using Cypriot postal codes and "Cyprus" as country on letters from abroad.

  ^{DHEKHELIA COVERS}

 ^{The Postmark BFPO 3014 is from Akrotiri Military Base, and BFPO 3015 is from Dhekhelia Base. The postal services run by Royal Mail with the help of British Air Force, but still my envelopes with Cyprus stamps postmarked by the postman. The covers posted on November 26, 2018 and  I received on DEcember 2018}

ANGUILLA

Anguilla  is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territory consists of the main island of Anguilla, approximately 16 miles (26 km) long by 3 miles (4.8 km) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The territory's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 35 square miles (91 km²). The name Anguilla is from the Italian anguilla meaning "eel" (in turn from the Latin anguilla, diminutive of anguis, snake) in reference to the island's shape. It is believed by most sources to have been named by Christopher Columbus. For similar reasons, it was also known as Snake or Snake Island.

Anguilla is noted for its ecologically important coral reefs and beaches. Apart from the main island of Anguilla itself, the territory includes a number of other smaller islands and cays, mostly tiny and uninhabited.

Anguilla has produced its own stamps since 1967. It was formerly part of St. Kitts and Nevis and the islands were granted Associated Statehood on February 27, 1967. Its first stamps in 1967 were those of St. Kitts-Nevis but opted with Independent Anguilla. However, owing to limited stocks available for overprinting, the sale of the stamps was controlled by the Postmaster, and no orders from the trade were accepted. Later in 1967 it produced the first stamps without overprints and displayed notable sites in Anguilla such as Sombrero Lighthouse etc.

In 1968 several issues were produced, Anguilla Ships, Anguillan Birds, the 35th Anniversary of the Anguillan Girl Guides and a Christmas issue. In 1969 the first issue celebrated the Anguillan salt industry, but on July 7, 1969 the Anguillan post office was officially recognized by the government of St. Kitts-Nevis and they issued an official independence issue in January 1969.

These are my latest covers from Anguilla in my collection. The covers sent on July 07, 2016 and i received them on July 22, 2016.Anguilla exhausted their UPU barcode labels, so started to use the chopped marks with handwritten tracking numbers.

 These covers posted on March 30, 2016 and received in my hands on April 11,2016.