Algeria’s 2023 stamp program is here – in part. The entire plan isn’t available yet (as of publication of this article), but may pass my desk. To compensate, the first two stamps of the calendar year are available.  

Although FDCs and cancels are listed, I’ve never been able to round up decent copies.  Algeria is a little difficult finding quality images, along with details. Eventually I’ll figure out where the best stuff is hidden and share it. If you are a collector, and would like to share your covers and cancels, leave a comment. It’d be nice to see more material listed here. 

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January

CHAN Algeria 2022

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Algerian Football Federation

Designer: Zakaria Morsli

Release date: January 17, 2023

First Programme Budget

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Designer: Ministry of Finance

Release date: January 30, 2023

The Parliamentary Union of OIC Member States (PUIC)

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Designer: Unlisted

Release date: January 31, 2023

February

Chouhada (Martyrs) Without Tombs

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Dedicated to Algerians who were killed during the Algerian Revolution. 

Among the martyrs who fell on the field of honor there are women and men without graves because they are not buried, disappeared without a trace, who were torn from their families, tortured and executed individually or collectively.
Chouhada without graves – Algeria Post Office (poste.dz)

Learn more about Algeria’s fight for independence-  Algeria’s war for independence: 60 years on | News | Al Jazeera

The Algerian War: Cause Célèbre of Anticolonialism – JSTOR Daily has an interesting look at the repercussions the war had beyond Algeria’s borders. Author Malika Rahal is an historian who specialises in modern Algerian history 

Designer: Nadjib Mahmoudi

Release date: February 18, 2023

March

Prevention – For Better Health
series: health awareness

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Designer: Ministry of Health

Release date: March 9, 2023 

International Day of Women Judges

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Currently 2,756 of judges  in Algeria are women. The first female judge was Belmihoub Aziz appointed @ 1964. The first female to sit on the High Court of Algeria was Nadia Hammadi in 1964.

Designer: Zakaria Morsli

Release date: March 12, 2023

Access for People with Disabilities

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Celebrating the right of people to equal access to services and buildings

Designer: Zined Bahri

Release date: March 17, 2023

April

Brassware – Algerian Cultural Heritage

2 stamps, 2 FDCs, cancel
offset

• Brassware Copper mortar (Mahres) – used to crush spices & herbs. Indispensable to any home. 
  This small commonly used utensil played a role in the Algerian Liberation. Women would use it as an alarm by banging on them to alert people when the Kasbah district (a central location of resistance) was surrounded by French troops. 
• Brassware Copper bucket (Mahbes) – “Brides used to take with them the copper bucket which is a longitudinal-shaped copper container, very similar to a bucket, used to take away the necessary items for the Moorish bath (el hammam). Nowadays the role of the copper bucket has changed to become a wearer of “Makrout” that the bride takes with her initially to her husband’s house, then has turned into a piece of the interior décor that she places above her wardrobe.” Brassware Copper bucket (Mahbes) – Algeria Post (poste.dz)

The National Public Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions has a page devoted to a bit of history of copper manufacturing in Algeria.  Copper – National Museum (mpnatp.org) The site is in French and translates well. 

Brassware is part of Algeria’s cultural heritage, with many of the tools and utensils handed down generation to generation. It’s hard to underplay the importance of brass in the development of culture around the world. If you’d like to explore the history of the the use of copper and brass the Copper Development Association has an excellent, fairly in-depth look at both the origins and modern uses Innovations: Brief Early History of Brass (copper.org). The page also discusses how brass is made. 

From Algeria Post’s page on these stamps:

Brassware is a cultural heritage of Algeria inherited from ancestors, which has made families linked to it and who still preserve at home utensils and copper pieces that decorate their homes but are also used in everyday life. Brassware Copper mortar (Mahres) – Algeria Post (poste.dz)

If you happen to have a First Day Cover of this set, I’d appreciate a scan to include in this section.

Designers:
Khaled Nacir (copper bucket) 
Yasmina Bukhari (copper mortar)

Release date: April 20, 2023

Traditional Algerian Cuisine – Traditional Makrout

2 stamps, 2 FDCs, cancel
offset

• Makrout L’assel (Makrout with honey)
• Makrout El louz (Makrout with almonds)

If you’ve never had the pleasure of trying either, you’ve missed out on one of life’s greatest pleasures. Makrout varies slightly, depending on the region. Nas cake, from Samira TV (Algeria) has a number of videos showcasing Algerian cuisine and well worth spending a raining afternoon watching. Grab a pot of good coffee (best made in a little copper pot with some cardamom added), and chill Nas cake – YouTube. It doesn’t matter if you speak the language – food is universal.

Here’s one to get you started. 

Designer:
Zineb Bahri  (Makrout with almonds)
Nadjib Mahmoudi (Makrout with honey)

Release date: April 24, 2023

May

75th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

The Arabic word Nakba means catastrophe or disaster. In reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict , the term Nakba or al-Nakba refers to the Palestinians having lost their homeland during and after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

It’s thought that around 700,000 people in what is now Israel either fled or were forced from their homes. Many Palestinian refugees abroad remain stateless to this day.  What is the Palestinian Nakba and why does it matter? – DW – 05/15/2023

Further reading: The ongoing struggle of Palestinian refugees – DW – 05/15/2018  and Nakba Day: What happened in Palestine in 1948? | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera

Designer: Mouatez Serbis

Release date: May 24, 2023

June

Africa Without Anti-Personnel Mines

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

From Mine Action Review Committee:

Algeria was affected by anti-personnel mines as a result of World War II, the French colonial occupation, and the insurgency of the 1990s. During Algeria’s struggle for independence, mines were laid by the French along the Challe and Morice lines on the eastern and western borders of the country. Algeria estimated that more than 10 million mines were laid. Some 80% were blast mines while most of the remainder were fragmentation mines. Clearing the Mines 2017.2.2 (mineactionreview.org)

According to a 2017 report, between 1963 ad 1988, Algeria managed to clear 500km² of mined territory. The ongoing project reported that as of 2010, no further mine victims had been reported, with the final mines cleared in 2017. It took over half a century to safely clear anti-personnel mines. 

The suffering caused by anti-personnel mines is particularly horrific and war surgeons consider them among the worst injuries they have to treat. When a person steps on a buried anti-personnel mine, the detonation often rips off one or both of his or her legs and drives soil, grass, gravel, metal and plastic fragments of the mine casing, pieces of shoe, and shattered bone up into the muscles and lower parts of the body. If they explode while being handled, mines can blow off fingers, hands, arms, or parts of the face. They can also blind their victims or cause injuries to the abdomen, chest and spine.

The victim who survives an anti-personnel mine blast typically requires amputation, multiple operations and prolonged physical rehabilitation. Mine survivors commonly suffer permanent disability – with serious social, psychological and economic implications. In addition to the direct effect on the persons killed or injured, the victim’s family members also suffer, particularly if they are economically dependent on the victim. Mine-affected communities also pay a high price in lost livelihoods, blocked access to agriculture and economic disruption. Anti-personnel mines: overview of the problem – ICRC

Designer: Khaled Nacir

Release date: June 1, 2023

Endangered & Extinct Species

 
2 stamps, 2 FDCs, cancel
offset

Seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) is considered a bell weather for the environment.
“Posidonia is considered an indicator species for the overall quality of nearshore waters because it is very sensitive to pollution and can only grow in clean, unpolluted waters. It also supports a wide variety of animal species that use these habitats for livestock, food and shelter”. POSIDONIA OCEANICA – Algeria Post (poste.dz)

Barbary Hartebeest was a sub species of African Antelope (Alcelaphus buselaphus) – the Barbary Hartebeest, also called the Bubal, went extinct somewhere around 1935 and officially declared extinct in 1994. It ranged across the top of Africa, from Morocco to Egypt.  The name Hartebeest is derivd from the Dutch hertebeest for deer beast. 

Artists:
Anouar Djaafri (Hartebeest)
Imene Belhadj Moustpha (seagrass)
Imene Belhadj Mostefa, “my artistic universe is that of dreams” (lepetitjournal.com) has a fascinating interview with Imene.  It gives an amazing glimpse into her artistic thought process. 

“My artistic universe allows me to escape from reality. I am a girl who loves to be in her own world. I don’t really like parties and outings. I find myself in my art and I feel good there.”  Imene Belhadj Mostefa, “my artistic universe is that of dreams” (lepetitjournal.com)

Release date: June 7, 2023

The Higher Youth Council

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Designer: Algeria Post

Release date: June 20, 2023

July

Achievements – National Road No. 1

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

National Rd No. 1 spans 2500 Kilometers and includes 3 km of tunnels and 17 km bridge.

Design: illustration was taken from a photo, but artist unnamed

Release date: July 8, 2023

August

National People’s Army Day Anniversary

6 stamps, FDC, cancel
offset

Apologies for the poor image. I’m looking for a bigger image

A historical conversion of the National Liberation Army into the National People’s Army, took place on August 04, 1962, this painting highlights the evolution and development of the different forces of the National People’s Army since independence to date, inspired by the principles and values of the November 1 Revolution, thus following the same path to preserve and defend the homeland. Anniversary of the National Day of the National People’s Army – Algeria Post (poste.dz)

Designer: Algerie Poste

Release date: August 6, 2023

September

Inauguration of the PAPAU Tower 
Joint issue with Tanzania

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

The Pan African Postal Union (PAPAU) will be moving into new headquarters in Tanzania. A ceremony was held September 1, 2023 to officially open the building located in Arusha, Tanzania. 

Release date: September 4, 2023

Waqf of Lady El Alia 1886 -1932

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Artist: Selma Rouag

Release date: September 17, 2023

World Tourism Day

4 stamps, FDC, cancel
offset

• Sifar-Djanet – declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982.
  Classified as the oldest and largest rocky city in the world 
• Habibas Islands – Oran – first marine nature reserve in Algeria 
• Corniche of Bejaïa – Jijel
• Kasbah of Bejaia – has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since  1992
  The site, standing on an old …Carthaginian trading-post was established in the 4th century BC. There are the remains of the citadel, old mosques and Ottoman-style palaces as well as the remains of a traditional urban structure associated with a deep-rooted sense of community

Artists:
Nadjib Mahmoudi (Sifar-Djanet)
Yasmina Bukhari (Habibas Islands – Oran)
Imad Djaafri (Corniche of Bejaïa – Jijel)
Omar Deradji (Kasbah of Bejaia)

Release date: September 30, 2023

October

Chemex Africa

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Designer: Algeria Post

Release date: October 5, 2023

54 Years of Vaccination

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Image: Ministry of Health
Release date: October 30, 2023

December

Genocide of Laghouat 04 December 1852

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Massacre and genocide in Laghouat, December 4, 1852 – Babzman offers a substantial look at the genocide. 

Designer: Zineb Bahri

Release date: December 6, 2023

Encouraging Young People to Enter the World of Entrepreneurship

1 stamp, FDC, cancel
offset

Designer: Nadjib Mahmoudi
Mahmoudi also designed 2023’s Chouhada (Martyrs) Without Tombs, Traditional Algerian Cuisine – Traditional Makrout – Makrout with honey, and World Tourism Day-Sifar-Djanet.

Release date: December 31, 2023