Türkiye, Syria, and Jordan Want to Revive this Legendary Railway.

Nov 8, 2025

Join the HARTING Energy Transition Days 2025, a global event dedicated to the challenges and solutions of decarbonization. Discover how smart connectivity can enable sustainability, efficiency, and electrification across sectors—including rail! Check out and register on the links below: https://www.harting.com/en-DE/energy-transition-days-2025#webformSourceType=YT_RE&webformSourceDetail=dach_influencer_General https://www.harting.com/en-DE/energy-transition-days-2025/panel-rolling-stock#webformSourceType=YT_RE&webformSourceDetail=dach_influencer_Rolling-Stock _______________________________________________________________________ We’re thrilled to announce that RE has released its first- e-book: a compilation of 100 Railways Explained stories, filled with insights, facts, and rail topics from across the globe. If you love our videos, you’ll definitely enjoy reading it: https://payhip.com/b/mTDPX Support Us & Get Exclusive Benefits: Become a member on Patreon for exclusive content, behind-the-scenes access, and more: https://www.patreon.com/c/railways_explained Join our YouTube membership to support the channel and get special perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGq3OyOoLPYj4Oyk1DWnKxQ/join Donate via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/railwaysexplained Check out our official merch and show your love for all things railway: https://railways-explained.creator-spring.com/ The Hejaz Railway was a 1,300-kilometre narrow-gauge line connecting Damascus, the capital of Syria, with Medina in western Saudi Arabia, one of the most important cities in the Muslim world. It ran through the Hejaz region of modern-day Saudi Arabia—hence the name—and included a branch to Haifa on the Mediterranean Sea. Construction of this engineering marvel of the Ottoman railway network was ordered by Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1900. Sceptics doubted whether the empire could even fund such a project, as costs were estimated at around four million Ottoman lira—a considerable portion of the state budget. Remarkably, the Hejaz Railway became the first Ottoman line built without foreign financing. Instead, roughly one-third of the funds came from voluntary donations by Muslims worldwide, following a call from Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Such was the railway’s religious significance that it was designated as waqf, an Islamic endowment. This meant the Ottomans did not own the line outright but managed it as a trust “on behalf of God.” Still, despite the British tried to undermine these fundraising efforts, fearing the threat the railway posed to their dominance in the Red Sea, the money was collected, and the main line from Damascus to Medina was completed in 1908. The route largely followed the traditional Hajj pilgrimage path, reducing a 40-day caravan journey to less than a week by train! By 1917, however, large parts of the line lay in ruins. Arab tribes and British forces — including the famous intelligence officer T. E. Lawrence, “Lawrence of Arabia” — repeatedly attacked the railway during the Great Arab Revolt, when the Hashemites rose against Ottoman rule. Although the Hejaz Railway operated in its entirety for less than a decade, it left a lasting mark, particularly on Syrian national identity and pride. For a time, it had astonished the world as a triumph of engineering and ambition.

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