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'Arabia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 90' [53] (68/148)
The record is made up of 1 volume (69 folios). It was created in 1919. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
Arabia] RAILWAYS 53
the line, and the station for Hail), Medain Sali
(beyond which only Moslems may travel), El-Ala, and
Hadie. Most of the stations are merely solitary
blockhouses, without food supplies, often without water,
and insufficiently protected against raids. The head
offices are at Damascus, and Ma'an has a repairing
shop.
Certain of the Arab tribes were made responsible
for the safety of the railway. For this service they
received a yearly subsidy from the Porte, which, how
ever, normally kept small garrisons along the line.
Relations to Government. —The scheme for the Hejaz
Eailway was put through mainly by the instrument
ality of Izzet
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
, a favourite of Abdul Hamid, who
organised a High Commission to raise the necessary
funds. Construction was begun in 1901, and in 1908
the line was opened as far as Medina. The original
plans provided for its extension to Mecca by 1910; the
Young Turk Revolution, however, removed Izzet
Pasha
An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders.
, the new Government was unwilling to incur
further expense, and these causes, together with the
determined opposition of the Sherif of Mecca and the
Harb Arabs, brought construction to a standstill. The
purpose of the railway was ostensibly purely religious,
to enable pilgrims to travel easily and quickly to the
Holy Cities; but in point of fact it was also military,
and was intended to strengthen Turkey's hold on
Arabia.
Finance. —The capital required was raised partly by
voluntary contributions from Moslems all the world
over, and partly by the allocation to 1 the Hejaz fund of
certain taxes and stamps, of 10 per cent, of the fees of
officials at the Holy Places, and of the proceeds of the
sale of the skins of sacrificed sheep. By 1908 the fund
had reached £3,200,000, of which £1,000,000 repre
sented voluntary contributions. The cost of construc
tion from Damascus to El-Ala, including the branch
line from Haifa to Deraa, and rolling-stock, stations,
officials' pay, &o., amounted to about £2,250,000. From
El-Ala onwards the construction was wholly in the
About this item
- Content
This volume contains information on the geography, political history and economic conditions of Arabia and was published by the Historical Section of the Foreign Office in April 1919.
It is divided into four sections: 'Geography Physical and Political'; 'Political History'; 'Political Conditions' and 'Economic Conditions'. There is an Appendix, containing tables regarding trade in Aden, Muscat and Bahrein, 1909-1917.
There is a map 'Sketch Map of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Arabia', compiled by the War Office on June 1914.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (69 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the first folio with text, on number 1, and ends on the map on a sleeve on the inside back cover, on number 70.
Pagination: There is also an original pagination, iv-vi, 2-127.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Arabia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 90' [53] (68/148), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/E85, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023512781.0x000045> [accessed 19 April 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/E85
- Title
- 'Arabia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 90'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:6, 1:130, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence