Russian stamp, Battle of Sinop, 2003 (Michel № 1128, Scott № 6800)
I have been playing Numbrix online ever since my newspaper flaked out. Along with the puzzle today there was a question about the exploding cannon balls used in the movie Pirates of the Carribean, which got me intrigued being as I am big fan of Patrick O'Brian's stories about the British Navy in the days of sail. So I go to Wikipedia and start reading up on cannons used on sailing ships in the 1800's and I find that back in the glory days when they were battling that pipsqueak Bonaparte, solid iron cannonballs were the order of the day. It wasn't until the middle of the century that exploding cannonballs came into common use. At the Battle of Sinop in 1853 the Russians made good use of exploding shells and destroyed the Turkish fleet. This event foretold the end of wooden ships and launched the Crimean War.
This is all ancient history, but then I notice this stamp (above), issued in 2003. Me thinks Russia is feeling their oats once again.
Sinop is on the northern coast of Turkey, and midway along the southern edge of the Black Sea and almost directly across from Sevastopol, Russia's big Navy base in the Crimea. Bigger painting of the battle here.
3 comments:
It's quite a lovely place, that stretch of Black Sea shoreline.
Sounds like you've been there.
I have. Spent a year in that part of the world.
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