Beypore Harbor - Permanent Pictorial Ship Postmark Inauguration

Date of Issue: May 17, 2006.

This is a special cover issued on day of inauguration of permanent pictorial postmark at Beypore Harbour.

Beypore is a small coastal town in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. The place was formerly known as Vaypura / Vadaparappanad. Tippu Sultan named the town “Sultan Pattanam”.  Beypore port is one of the oldest ports in Kerala from where trading was done to the Middle East. 

Beypore was an important trade and maritime center during the days of the early Arab and Chinese travelers and later the Europeans. Soon after gaining prominence as a port and trade center, Beypore slowly began to flourish as a center for shipbuilding, since ships were in great demand by merchants from Western Asia. The shipbuilding yard at Beypore is famous for its traditional construction of the Uru or the Arabian trading vessel. This tradition of shipbuilding is nearly 1,500 years old, and the craftsmanship of the workers here is exceptional.

The Indian Coast Guard has commissioned a station here in 2006.

The cachet design shows life at harbor in Beypore and the pictorial postmark showing traditional Arab dhow.

Source:  Wikipedia, Keralatourism.org