First and Last Service Period
Austria gained permission in 1721 from the Ottoman Empire to operate a postal service for official correspondence only and subsequently this was extended to the opening of post offices and carrying mail for merchants. This resulted in 1748 with the establishment of a post office in Galata outside of Istanbul, and eventually extended to 65 locations throughout the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean. The oldest known cancellation is a double linear "CONSTAN-TINOPEL" in 1787. The latest remaining Austrian post offices in Turkey area were closed on 30 September 1914.
Read more about this topic: Austrian Post Offices In The Ottoman Empire
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