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File 3047/1909 'Railways: Asiatic Turkey; railway construction in Asia Minor' [‎173v] (351/368)

The record is made up of 1 volume (182 folios). It was created in 1908-1911. It was written in English and French. 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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2
Population.'
Tripoli has a population of nearly 50,000 inhabitants of various nationalities and
religions, but principally Arabs, though the foremost trades and industries are in the
hands of foreigners, mostly Greeks.
Industries and Produce of the Tripoli District.
The principal industries of Tripoli are the manufacture of soap, oils, silk, cotton,
furniture, earthen and metal wares.
Great quantities of fruit, such as oranges (equal to the famous Jaffa oranges),
lemons, figs, grapes, and vegetables of all kinds are grown and exported; enormous
crops of cereals, wheat and barley, are obtained year after year from the rich soil,
which requires very little tilling, and assisted by the regularity of rainfall caused by the
proximity of the Lebanon and anti-Lebanon. Great quantities of sheep and goats are
reared for their wool as well as for their flesh and milk, and the export of wool is
considerable.
Climate.
The climate is an exceedingly good one, though during several months of the
year the heat is at times great. There is always a fresh breeze in the afternoon, and
the nights are invariably cool.
Trade.
Tripoli is the centre of the trade with the interior. From here everything that
comes by sea is sent into the interior; from here all that comes by land is taken to the
ships for transmission to different parts of the world. A good deal goes to Egypt.
Means of Traffic.
Up r to now all traffic has to be done by camels, mules, horses, and by waggons
drawn by mules and horses. 'Phis traffic is enormous, so that at times for want of
animals and waggons, or in winter time when there is much rainfall, there is often a
regular breakdown and great delay in transmitting goods from Tripoli into the interior
and vice versa.
Road Company.
The traffic is maintained by means of a well-constructed macadamized road, built
by a native limited Company about forty years ago, which holds an Imperial Ottoman
Concession, and has the exclusive rights of traffic on this road.
This Road Company has 300 camels, horses, and mules of its own, over 120 four-
wheeled waggons able to carry about 1 ton, and a number of mail coaches for carrying
the mail and passengers, as well as a kind of express parcel-post, and yet with all this
the Company is not able to carry the whole traffic over its road and levy a.small tax
upon such mode of carrying goods and passengers.
Road Company s Plans about the Railway.
For this reason the directors of the Road Company have decided to turn the road
into a railway, first of all with a view to economize in the working expenses for keeping
up the traffic and to reduce the expenses for maintenance of the road, which have
been ascertained to be much heavier for their road than for a railway ; secondly, with a
view to increasing the Company’s capabilities of effectually managing all the traffic
which has to pass over the road and for which it was constructed, as, in consequence of
their present inability to do so, much of the traffic is passed over the Balbeck-Beirout
Railway and the Lebanon road which ought to pass over this road.
Description of present Road.
The load constructed and used for traffic by the present Company starts from
Tripoli and goes as far as the town of Homs, about 50 miles distant from Tripoli.

About this item

Content

The volume comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes relating to the construction of railways in Asiatic Turkey, 1908-1911, as well as oil concessions in Mesopotamia.

Correspondence outlines the proposal to develop a railway from Tripoli via Homs and Deir and along the Euphrates to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , to compete with the Baghdad Railway. The company was designated 'The Anglo-Syrian Tripoli - Homs Railway and Tripoli Harbour Improvement Company'.

Correspondence also discusses the different consortia bidding for oil concessions in Mesopotamia and the relative significance of French, Russian and German involvement. Included in the volume is a letter (folios 49 - 153) from William Knox D'Arcy giving a 'List of Turkish concessions connected with oil now being sought'.

The principal correspondents in the volume include the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir Edward Grey) and the Ambassador to Constantinople (Sir Gerard Lowther).

Extent and format
1 volume (182 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 3047 (Railways: Asiatic Turkey) consists of 1 volume,

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 178; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 3047/1909 'Railways: Asiatic Turkey; railway construction in Asia Minor' [‎173v] (351/368), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/166, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100030544746.0x000098> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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