In 2019, Bulgarian Posts EAD issued a postage stamp dedicated to the Akhal-Teke horse — a breed that, for the Turkmen people, is not merely an animal but a national symbol featured on the state emblem, on banknotes, and in the country’s very identity. Although the stamp has since been withdrawn from active postal use, it remains an important page in the history of Bulgarian-Turkmen relations. The original watercolour drawing from which it was created was presented as a gift to the President of Turkmenistan in 2019.
The stamp, titled “The Akhal-Teke Horse — Pride and Glory of the Turkmen People,” was put into circulation on 22 April 2019 at the Central Post Office in Sofia. The artistic project was created by Bulgarian artist Todor Angeliev, and the stamp’s face value is BGN 0.65. The issue is recorded in the catalogue of Bulgarian postage stamps under numbers 5397 (on white gummed paper) and 5397UV (on ungummed paper with a UV security thread), with a print run of 1,800 blocks for each of the two variants. The official presentation ceremony was attended by Deyan Daneshki, Executive Director of “Bulgarian Posts” EAD, and Georgi Agafonov, Chairman of the Management Board of the Bulgarian-Turkmenistan Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
The image on the stamp depicts an Akhal-Teke horse adorned with traditional Turkmen silver and gilded horse regalia — a detail that refers directly to the ceremonial festivities and competitions in which the breed takes part in its homeland. The Akhal-Teke is one of the oldest surviving horse breeds in the world, and in Turkmenistan an official Akhal-Teke Horse Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of April each year.
The original watercolour drawing by Todor Angeliev, from which the stamp was created, together with a first specimen of the block, was presented by Georgi Agafonov, Chairman of the BTCIC Management Board, as an official gift to the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, at an official ceremony in Ashgabat in May 2019.