Hicaz_Demiryolu_Foto_Albumu

X H‹CAZ DEM‹RYOLU FOTO⁄RAF ALBÜMÜ C
expenditure.
The British writer R. Tourret in his book
titled ‘The Hejaz Railway’ says, “perhaps
this first railway in the world has no debts, no
interest payments. It was already making
profits by the time of completion.”
Here is the Hejaz Railway: ‘The Road of
Faith’ or ‘The Holy Journey’. Starting from
today’s capital of Syria, Damascus, it will go
to Saudi Arabia’s Madinah city and with its
connecting line to Israel’s Haifa harbour it
will sum up a way of 1750 km long. It is a
monument that makes one proud.
The construction of the Hejaz Railway started
with an official ceremony held on 1 st
September 1900. 1.05m wide narrow-gauge
line was laid down. The reason for preferring
a narrow-gauge line was that the cost was less
than other lines, and also easy to lay down.
Furthermore, the Beirut-Damascus-Muzayrib
line was also narrow-gauge line that would be
compatible with the Hejaz Railway. But the
Anatolian, Baghdad, and northern Syrian
lines were ‘normal lines’ which posed an
obstacle in establishing unity with the Hejaz
Railway.
The German engineer Meissner was appointed
as the manager responsible for the
technological side of the works. He was one of
the few outsiders who were awarded with the
title ‘Pasha.’ Seventeen Turkish, twelve
German, five Italian, five French, two
Australian, one Belgian and one Greek, in total
43 engineers worked with him. As the
construction went on the number of European
engineers decreased and the number of
Ottoman engineers increased. In the Holy
Land all Muslim engineers were responsible
for the construction. The military provided a
labour force for the project: 7500 Ottoman
soldiers mostly did the manual jobs. The
Infrantry Regiment was used in digging and
cutting stones from stone quarries, laying
stones under sleepers, putting up walls. Also
the battalion of military engineers were used
as blacksmiths, carpenters, stokers, engine
drivers. The Communication Column was
active in communicating between stations and
the overall line communications. The Sea
Battalion was working to transport the
equipment destined for the Hejaz Railway.
Besides the Military’s assistance, people who
lived by the line were furthermore, referred to
as ‘Dutiful Workers’. European foremen also
worked in the construction, particularly in the
areas where
expertise was
needed, like
exploding
dynamite,
cutting stones
and building
stations.
Italians,
Albanians,
Palestinians,
and Greeks
were
employed.
At first the
construction
started between Damascus and Der’a. The
track to Amman in 1903 and to Der’a in 1904
was completed. The Ottoman’s desire was to
build a line to Akabah from Maan that would
give an opportunity to open an access route to
the Red Sea. However because of British
opposition this project did not materialise.
Previously, the construction of the Haifa line
had been given to a British firm. The
Ottomans bought back the Haifa Railtracks
with all its equipment, and completed it in
1905, connecting Der’a via Yarmuk Valley to
Haifa. Thus, the Hejaz Railway met with the
Mediterranean Sea. Until then Haifa had been
a small town near to the historical Aqqa’ city.
The construction of the Hejaz Railtracks and
the harbour turned Haifa into a developed
city. Today it is one of the most important
transport centres of the district.
When the railtrack reached its 460 th km where
Maan is situated, the management and
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