PREPARATIONS
The Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II issued the imperial order for the railway on 2nd May 1900, calling on the Muslims of the world for financial support through donations. An engineer Mokhtar Bey was dispatched on the overland pilgrimage to survey the route and produce plans and a detailed map. It quickly became evident that there would be major advantages in following the centuries-old overland pilgrimage road, the Darb al Hajj (or Darb al Shami - the Syrian Way). As camels have difficulty in crossing mountainous terrain, the pilgrims had been forced over time to find the flattest possible route, also ideal of course, for the construction of a railway track. In addition, the Darb al Hajj took advantage of the scarce water supplies in the region, sources that would be vital both for the construction project and the operation of railway services.
The Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II
Prior to the building of the railway, the overland pilgrimage could take 40 days
During the 16th century, the great Ottoman emperors Selim I and Suleiman the Magnificent ordered the construction of a series of qala'a (pilgrimage forts) along the desert route. These forts were equipped with birkas (reservoirs), and the water supplies they held were invaluable for the building of the railway as well as the cooking and drinking requirements of the vast workforce. Stations were often built close to the forts in order to take advantage of their reservoirs and the security offered by their massive walls.
The birka at Muazzam Fort would be a valuable water resource for the construction teams
Sawra Fort with its great well, constructed in 1671
under the patronage of Sultan Mehmet IV's mother
The Building of the Telegraph
The building of a telegraph line to the Hejaz in 1899 proved that a construction project through the difficult terrain and harsh conditions of the Hejaz was not an impossibility. The line was originally intended to run as far as Yemen, but it never reached further than Medina, due to opposition from local tribes. The construction was carried out by a special telegraph battalion under General Sadiq Pasha al Muayyad and followed the old pilgrimage road for the majority of the route.
Remains of wooden telegraph poles can still be seen by the rail embankment today
Rails from a short siding from the main line overhang the mouth of the well at Sawra Fort
Telegraph pole at Mabraq al Naga
The bases of the poles were protected by stones to prevent the Bedouin cutting them for firewood