WHY ARE CYPRUS POST BOXES PAINTED YELLOW?
The standard British Royal Mail system was introduced to Cyprus after it became a British colony in the latter part of the 19th century. Several heavy British cast-iron bright red pillar boxes, featuring the royal cyphers and crowns of British monarchs, were imported and then installed across the island.
After gaining independence from British Colonial rule on August 16th, 1960, it was decided that the British-era bright red post boxes needed to be changed. The new administration wanted to distance the new island nation from its former British colonial rulers, and it took steps to remove all British symbols and separate the country from its former British colonial red colour.
In light of this, the new postal service of the Republic of Cyprus was instructed to use yellow as opposed to red for its pillar boxes. Rather than replace the heavy and often awkward iron boxes, it was decided that they would simply paint over the traditional British red with a bright, distinct yellow.
The older yellow post boxes in Cyprus today still have the outlines of the old British royal crests and crowns. These can still be found stamped into the metal beneath the layers of bright yellow paint.
