Ottoman Empire Stamps with 'USKUB GARE' Postmark

Ottoman Empire · 1908 · 10 Para

This is a 10 Para stamp from the Ottoman Empire's 1908 definitive series, featuring the tughra (calligraphic monogram) of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The stamp is notable for its postmark, 'USKUB GARE', which was the French name for the railway station post office in Üsküb (modern-day Skopje, North Macedonia) during the Ottoman period.

European powers maintained their own post offices within the Ottoman Empire, known as 'Levant' offices, which used distinctive cancellations. This postmark from a French-named office in a key Balkan city highlights the complex international postal arrangements in the region before World War I.