Dr.  Josef  Wallach

Official Website

MAIL VIA JORDAN BRIDGES (Part One):



A. Exit Permits from the territories

Tourists from Arab countries on their way to the 1967 Administered Territories carried letters which they dropped into mail boxes when crossing the Jordan River, at either -

1. Allenby Bridge [located in the south]
2. Adam (Damiya) Bridge [in the north]



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Three generations of EXIT PERMITS types , from the 1967 Territories via Jordan bridges to Arab countries .



Note that Peace Agreements were signed between Israel and:

1. Egypt, in March 1979
2. Jordan, in October 1994



B. Letters carried by individuals, tourists, merchants etc.



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1. ex Amman, Jordan. Posted at Adam Bridge. Front: to El-Zeitoun … Gaza. Rear [flap]: Sender - Muhamed …, Hotel Al-Erez, Amman, Jordan.



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2. ex Kuwait, Jan.1972. To: Nablus, West Bank. Carried privately, posted at Allenby Bridge, with Nablus arrival postmark.



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3a. ex Al Zarqa, Jordan. To: Ramallah, via Nablus (backstamps). Dropped into Allenby Bridge postbox without stamps. T cachet, tax not collected.



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3b. ex Amman, Jordan. To: Hadera (Hudeira), Kafr Kara, Israel. Deposited Sep.1989 into Allenby Bridge postbox without stamps, T cachet, tax not collected.



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3c. ex Amman, Jordan. To: Hadera (Hudeira), Kafr Kara, Israel. Franked and posted at Adam Bridge. Vertical crease - folded in pocket?



C. Taxed Covers

When letters carried by tourists, merchants and other individuals were dropped into the Bridges' collection boxes out of hours, they were handled the next day at the Bridge post office, postmarked and a T cachet stamped on front or rear. Tax of double the inland rate was collected at destination and attached to rear.



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4. To: Ramallah, Israel. Handled at Allenby Bridge post office, July 1977. T cachet, taxed on arrival at Ramallah with two 0.50 stamps = 1.00 IL, on rear. Vertical crease - folded in transit.



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5. ex Jordan. To: Ramallah. Handled at Allenby Bridge post office, October 1977. T cachet, taxed on arrival at Ramallah with two 0.65 stamps = 1.30 IL on rear.



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6. ex Amman, Jordan. To: Gaza Strip. Handled at Allenby Bridge post office, Feb. 1979. T cachet, taxed on arrival at Gaza with two 1.10 stamps = 2.20 IL. Violet box cachet - agent?



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7. ex Maskat, Oman. To: Gaza. Handled at Allenby Bridge post office, Dec. 1979. T cachet, taxed on arrival at Ramallah with two 1.10 stamps = 2.20 IL. Tax stamps overlap Bridge postmark.



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8. ex NCR Corporation., Amman, Jordan. To: Nablus, Israel. Franked with two 0.30 - 0.60 IS. Tied by Apr.1982 Allenby Bridge postmark. Taxed for insufficient postage - not collected.



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9. ex Amman, Jordan. To: the West Bank, Rafidiya, Nablus. Backstamped: Ramallah 7.4.82. Arrived Nablus 12.4.82. Insufficient postage - 1.00 IS. Tax?



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10. ex UAE. To: Gaza. Nov.1977. Dropped at Allenby Bridge post box without stamps, posted from there with T cachet. Tax collected in Gaza: two 0.65 = 1.30 IL. Note oval 'Halabi Office' cachet on rear.



D. Travel Agency Couriers - Introduction

A number of travel agents, seeing entrepreneurial opportunity in the haphazard flow of mail through individuals, organized and established an internal postal messenger system. Taxis and buses serving the travel agencies' transportation needs to and from the Administered Territories via the Jordan Bridges were used to good advantage in transferring mail. An individual wishing to mail a latter either in Gaza or Amman would visit the local branch of the travel agency and hand over the addressed but unstamped envelope together with a fixed fee. A rubber cachet from the travel agency asserts that the fee was collected.
A more advanced level of mail organization was also employed: individuals in remote Arab countries posted their letters inside an external envelope, addressed to one of the travel agency offices in Amman, and containing the appropriate fee. The travel agency opened the external envelope and transferred the internal envelope with its letter to the Jordan border bridges from where it was posted. This constitutes a three-phase forwarding system.
Each travel agency stamped the envelopes with its own cachet. Letters were 'sorted' by area at the agency and taken to the appropriate Jordan crossings.


ex Arab Countries to Gaza Strip & West Bank

The route is: Arab countries > Amman > Jordan Border Bridge > Gaza / West Bank



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11. Halabi Tourism Office - printed stationery, plus violet cachet. Letter ex Arab country to Amman, taken to Allenby Bridge and thence to Gaza.



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12. El-Shurafah Travel Agency. Two different cachets on rear. Letter ex Arab country to Amman, taken to Allenby Bridge and thence to Gaza.



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13. Halabi Tour Co., Amman: violet box cachet on rear. Posted at Allenby Bridge October 1977 to Gaza. Probably posted INSIDE envelope to Halabi Tours agent in Amman - see folds/crease .



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14a. ex UAE to Gaza, handled via travel agent: box cachet on rear. Posted at Allenby Bridge, Jan. 1978;



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14b. Carried by travel agent in Amman, posted at Allenby bridge, Gaza arrival postmark. travel agent blue, oval cachet, on rear.



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14c. Halabi Tours Gaza office cachet.



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15. ex Cairo University, Egypt. To: Jabalya Camp, Gaza Strip. Travel agency oval cachet on rear, signed plus fingerprint on rear.



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16. ex Arab country, via Amman travel agent [oval cachet]. To: El-Arish, Sinai. Lower front: 'Shukran' - thanks, in Arabic. Posted at Allenby Bridge, March 1979.



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17. ex Dr. … Pharmacy. To: Gaza, Gaza Strip. Note vertical fold on right, horizontal fold on top, probably the result of insertion into an external envelope mailed to a travel agent in Amman, understood by the cachet on rear. Via Allenby Bridge post, to Gaza.



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18. ex "your sister…", Farawaniya, Kuwait. To: Nadiya, Zeitun Quarter, Gaza. Amman travel agent's oval cachet on rear. Mailed via Allenby Bridge, August 1978. "Unknown", "Return to Sender".



E. ex Gaza Strip & West Bank to Arab Countries via Amman Travel Agents
The route is: Gaza, or West Bank > Jordan Bridges > Amman > Arab countries



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19. ex Gaza Strip. To: Alexandria, Egypt. Handled by travel agency - cachet on rear. Via Allenby Bridge, April 1979.



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20. ex Gaza Strip. To: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Processed by Al Surafa travel agency, forwarded to Allenby Bridge; re-posted in Amman. "Unknown". Note 3 different travel agency cachets: (a) 2-line on lower front; (b) box cachet on rear; (c) oval airplane cachet on rear.



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21. ex Gaza, El Tufah quarter. To: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Handled by travel agent, via Allenby Bridge, posted in Amman. Rear: Mecca and Jeddah postmarks, 'Unknown, returned'. Front: violet circular cachet of Al el - Shurafeh travel agent, Gaza.



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22. ex Gaza Strip. To: Abu Dhabi, UAE, plus 'Unknown - returned'. Possibly carried privately over the bridge and mailed in Amman.



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23. ex Gaza Strip. To: Libya. Via bridge, posted by Amman travel agent - cachet on front & rear.



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24. ex Ahmed Atiya Abed, JAFFA, Israel. To: Amman, Jordan. Handled by El Shurafa travel agent, via Allenby Bridge, posted in Amman. Unknown, attempted forwarding. Travel agent cachet on rear and on front.



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25. Internal cover. To: El Doha, Qatar, March 1980. Via Amman travel agent: (a) 2-line cachet on front; (b) box cachet on rear. Posted in Amman. Note left vertical and top horizontal folding creases indicating placement in external envelope. Unknown - insufficient address therefore letter still inside envelope.



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26. External - internal pair of envelopes, 1979. The original duo became available as the addressee is marked 'Unknown - return to sender'. Violet elliptical travel agent cachet on back of external envelope.



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27. ex Egypt, stamps sealing back flap. To: The Office of Al Shurafa Travel Agency, Jordan. From there, to: Gaza - El Rimal Quarter, through …. Rear: from Muhamad Said Ali al-Masura, A.R. of Egypt. (a) posted in Egypt (1989)? (b) rear - Amman travel agent's box cachet over stamps (c) circular cachet of Gaza travel agent . Judging by the horizontal crease at top, this envelope was probably inserted into another (external) envelope which was posted at one of the bridges to Gaza.



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28. Mystery route: 1979: "To be handed to Alamot…..and thanks in advance". Ex Hagigah, Gaza, Israel. Carried privately? Posted in Lebanon? 'Unknown' and returned to sender [Israel] on rear.






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