UAR (Egypt) Launch of Cairo Tower

UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC (EGYPT) on 11 April 1961 issued a commemorative First Day Cover  stamp of The Cairo Tower that was designed by architect Naoum Chebib and inaugurated on this date. 

It remains one of the modern icons of the Egyptian capital, with its stylised appearance and lattice covering intended to mimic the image of a lotus flower.  It was built with granite from Aswan, a material noted for its nobility and very symbolic in Egypt because it is the same material used in the construction of the pyramids.

 

It measures 187 meters and was for 10 years the tallest tower in all of Africa, until 1971 when it was surpassed by the Hillbrow Tower in South Africa.