Q80 July, 2010   member 384 I illustrate a postmark Armant-Dabiya which is rather like Peter Smith's TPO Type 8, but wonder if it really is a TPO? Dabiya lies only 5.5km from Armant, but on my 1:100,000-scale map I can't see any railway connection. In my postal guide Armant is a post office of category 1 and Dabiya of 2. Might this postmark mean that Dabiya is a suburb of Armant

Reply 1 July 2010 member 240 Armant-Dabiya. I am fairly sure that Dabiya is a TPO connection of Armant. On the 100,000 map illustrated (1932) Armant itself has no direct rail connection with Dabiya, but Armant Station does (the grey lines are railways, roads are in red or red-and-white). Armant village has no Post and Telegraph Office (P.T.), but Armant Station does, and so does Dabiya. On the other hand, the Postal Guides for 1928, 1932 and 1935 all describe Dabiya as a Class 2 officer served "by runner from Luxor". I'm not exactly sure what that means ... so there is still mystery!