Algeria Postmarks Help! (Or Advice / Direction)

I started a previous topic on lists of post offices. Tonight, I thought I would just dive right in to Algeria. So I went through my stock book of duplicates and pulled out about 100 or so stamps with somewhat legible postmarks.

Then I started to compare the words on the postmarks to cities in Algeria. Much to my dismay, I was coming up empty, on most of them. Probably 8 out of 10 did not match an algerian city based on the letters I could read.


I did learn that Algeria is split into 3 "districts": Alger, Constantine, and Oran. Many (most) of the stamps listed the district, along with what "appeared" to be a city/or town.


Check the image below. This is just a sample of my little nightmare.





For sake of simplicity, lets number the stamps 1 through 7.

Here are the characters off of the stamps.

1. R. OE SRASBOURG

2. **NCOR

3. TABI** - Then, Oran listed below signifying the district

4. SAINT - MAUR

5. BIR - MAN** - Below you can see part of the Alger district

6. EL ARR** - Below you can see Constantine Distric

7. **ERBOUAG** - I can see the AL for Alger district


HELP!

These are not towns in Algeria - I found a big list of towns, cities and municipalities, and none of these are there.

Here are some things I do know

1. Strasbourg is a city in France (Alsace region...Once was run by the germans - There is actually a town in North Dakota named after it...).

2. NCOR - No idea - No combination of characters match to algerian cities

3. TABI - no idea - No combination of characters match to algerian cities

4. SAINT - MAUR - One of 5 possible small regions (or communes) in France

5. BIR - MAN Here are the "BIR's" I have found... None seem to match:

Bir Ben Laabed DZ.MD.BB 10,543
Bir Bouhouche DZ.SA.BB 5,552
Bir Chouhada DZ.OB.BC 8,356
Bir Dheb DZ.TB.BD 7,023
Bir-El-Arch DZ.SF.BA 21,004
Bir-El-Ater DZ.TB.BA 59,264
Bir El Djir DZ.OR.BD 73,029
Bir El Hammam DZ.SB.BH 2,169
Bir Foda DZ.MS.BF 4,463
Bir Ghbalou DZ.BU.BG 9,141
Bir Haddada DZ.SF.BH 18,233
Birine DZ.DJ.BI 26,617
Bir Kasdali DZ.BB.BK 12,622
Birkhadem DZ.AL.BD 55,084
Bir Mokkadem DZ.TB.BM 12,479
Bir Mourad Rais DZ.AL.BM 43,254
Bir Ould Khelifa DZ.AD.BO 10,568


6. EL ARR - There is an "Bir-El-Arch" - But my stamp seems to have 2 R's

7. ERBOUAG - Can't seem to find anywhere. Nothing in the Algeria city list matches this letter combination


Along with these - I have found a bunch more that don't seem to be listed. For instance, I have 3 stamps postmarked "COURT" at the top and "ALGER" at the bottom.



Any ideas or pointers would be great!

Thanks,
Eric

#1 is going to be Rue de Strasbourg...a street.

#3, Tabia, is on the south side of Oran, at the east end of the Sabkha of Oran.

Thanks! - I missed it, there it was in my city list





FallingRain website to the rescue with some more info, I found this:

Emir Abdelkader, Algeria Page

Other names: Emîr Abdelkader,Strasbourg




So - I wonder, is the cancel referring to a street? - or the town Strasbourg (now named Emir Abdelkader)

Sweet - I just Found Saint-Maur

http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AG...amzoura.html

It's now Tamzoura, Algeria Page

Other names: Tamzouras,Saint-Maur,Tamzourah

I'm quite certain it is referring to a post office on that street in Algiers. The Italian Consulate was also on the Rue de Strasbourg.

#7 is Berrouaghia.

And #5 is probably Birmandreis, a village 8km from Algiers.

Thanks Cjd! - Is there an internet resource you used to find those?

El Ancor, Oran, is at 35° 41' 13" North, 0° 52' 13" West. The spacing would fit your #2. That looks like all of them.

Thanks Cjd. This is been quite a project. I now have 17 postmarks identified so far... It's kind of fun really..

Especially because it appears a number of Algerian cities no longer carry their names from French Colonial Times...

Also - A search of Google Maps isn't coming up with anything for a street named Strasbourg in Algiers. I am thinking that the street probably has been renamed?

I typed in Rue de Strasbourg, Algiers and this is what I came up with:

09 RUE STRASBOURG (Alger)
Algeria / Algier / Algiers / Alger
RUE DE STRASBOURG
Coordonnées : 36°46'47"N 3°3'36"E
Villes proches: Alger, les Eucalyptus , Alger

Villes Proches = Close cities (literal translation)

I saw that, and entered those coordinates in....but, no Strasbourg

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=36.78...645&t=m&z=16

I'm pretty sure there was a street with that name (name must have been changed) although I cannot find any write up on the change of name.

Check out this listing on ebay which popped up with rue de strasbourg. Shows some old postcards with some very clear cancels.

There also is an address. Scroll down to see the images.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAP...250534567670

This list from wikipedia shows the old french names and the new algerian or arab names.

It's in french but you don't need to speak french to understand the old and new names.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_...g%C3%A9rie#S

Thanks Mindpsyche - That is a great resource


The street must have been renamed... Now, if only someone had a street map of Algiers from 1928!

Check this out:

(January 19th, 1965)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...3113,1133645

The article says 550 street names have been changed, and 1000 more await a name change! -

So I am sure our Rue De Strasbourg fell to their massive name changes...