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'Arabia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 90' [‎55] (70/148)

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. .

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Arabia]
RAILWAYS
55
be very costly on account of the nature of the ground,.
Its construction involves strategic as well as economic
considerations, for it would afford rapid land communi
cation between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
(3) Ma'an—Jerusalem, via Jericho and Es-Salt.
This would open up the isolated district south-east of
the Dead Sea.
It has long been intended to construct a line between
Mecca and Jedda for the use of the pilgrims who land
at the latter port. A survey was made in 1911, but
three successive wars have postponed construction.
Such a line would meet with opposition from the
Arab tribes, who either supply camel caravans or rob
them.
Important for the internal development of Yemen is
the Turkish Government's project for a line from
Hodeida to Sana, with an extension to Amran. This
line was to be constructed simultaneously with a har
bour at Ras el-Kethib {see p. 61), about ten miles north
of Hodeida, and the harbour and town were to be
linked up by a metre-gauge railway. The length was
stated in the British Consular Report on Hodeida for
1909 to be about 200 miles; if this is correct the line
would perhaps follow the valley of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Saham.
Stuhlmann, however, writing in 1916, stated that the
short route was rejected in favour of a very circuitous
one, passing Zebid, Taiz, and Yerim, and that a
further branch was contemplated from Hodeida to
Hogeila, at the foot of the precipice on which Menakha
stands; he quoted an estimate of the total length,
including extensions, as about 450 miles. The esti
mated cost of the shorter 200-mile railway was about
£1.500,000. The survey was made by a French bank
ing group, including the Banque Fran^aise pour le
Commerce et ITndustrie (Banque Rouvier). A French
company was formed with the title of Compagnie Otto-
mane du Chemin de Fer Hodeida, Sana, et Embranche-
ments, and in 1909 was granted a concession for the
construction of the railway and harbour. A 4 per cent.

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
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'Arabia. Handbooks prepared under the direction of the Historical Section of the Foreign Office - no 90' [‎55] (70/148), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/E85, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023512781.0x000047> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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