The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-02-28
THE NEW RAILWAYS
OF TURKEY
Continued from page twelve.)

on the third class or the mixed trains
IT IS less Travellers are recommended
not TO take the third class. and ladies
shotld always go first. The first class
has compartments eioht feet wide
running across the cars at right angles
with the engine. Each compartment
mas two cushioned enche facing each
other. its sides are walled with win.
doWS and there is q door at each end.
The conductor does not go through
the cars, but collects the tickets from
the outside, walking along a step run
ming the full length of each ar anu
noldInS on to an iron par which is
fastened to the outside some distance
above the step.
The road is picturesque ana gives
magnificent views of the ebano
mountains. The track winds its way
up and down the hills. and the west
ern side Of the range is SO steep that
the cars are taken W on cogs. after
the same manner as on Pixies Peak,
Mount Washington and the Rigi-
There are twenty-five stations, mostly
tWo-stcry buildings of stone.
The passengers are made up oil the
congloTnerate mixture Of humanity
found in this part Of the Orient. There
are scores of Syrians in long coats AMI
trousers, some wearing red fez caps.
and others having turbans or handker-
chiefs wrapped around their heads.
There are Turkish officers in uniform.
with swords at their sides, ~fez-capped
boys IN silk gowns. There are MohaIn-
medan women clad all in black and
wearing black wells. There are pretty
Greek girls with bare faces, brown
skinned women from the mountains,
and BecOuins, who have ropes tied
about the kerchiefs which half shroud
their fierce features. There are also
Persians, Druses and Christians Of all
sorts n conditions.
The trains go slowly in climbing the
mountain. The average express makes
less than sixteen miles an hour, and
the mixed train takes twelve hours for
the ninety-one miles.
By Rail to Bagdad.
One of the chief subjects Of discus
sion in the Turkish empire at present
is the opening up Of the rich valley OF
the Euphrates. This is the region in
which Babylon and Ninevah flour
ished, and it has some Of the best
lands on the face of the globe. 1t
has been suggested that it was the
original site Of the Garden OF Eden.
It is now reached only by the rivers
except by caravan. The caravan trade
now takes goods to Damascus, from
where they go to the Mediterranean
Sea over the road | have just men
toned.
One Of the newest schemes is q rail-
way from Damascus to Hit, q town
on the Euphrates River, and another
is one which connect with the rail
roads of Smyrna and C~onstantinop1e at
1.daIna. The latter crosses the coun-
try above Aleppo and strikes the II
girls at Mosul, running down that river
to Bagdad. The road from Damascus
to Hit would be only about one-third
as long. It is backed by the British,
who have a great irrigation scheme tor
the plains Of MesopOtamla. Ut is head
ed by Sir William WillcockS, who has
gone over the ground, and is pushing
the matter in London. Sir W1li1aI I'll
WillcockS is the engineer n built the
great Nile dam at Assouan, whlch has
redeemed about seven million acres III
Egypt.
His scheme includes irrigation works
in the plains Of mia, and also
a n~avigable canal from Bagdad on the
Tigris to a point on the EupnIates
Just below Hit. This would save sew
enty-1ive miles Of railroad and Woul
make Hit the terminus. with the rivers
Of the Tigris and E~uphrates to draw
from as water transportation routes.
1t is claimed that this road would pay
largely from the freight traffic and
that it would ave also a large pill
| grimage business through the Moham-
! medanS, who annually go from Persia
]! To Mecca. 1t would get many passen-
gers Who now travel by the SueZ can
al to India. When the present system
is completed, they could go from Paris
to Contantinople BY rail and thence by
this route to Hit and Bagdad, from
here they could steam on to the Per
sian gulf and across to India.
It is claimed that the line will not
cost more than 100000 per mile, or
| about gS.0O0,000 from Damascus TO
Hit.
The German Road TO the Iigris.
The other road which is planned to
go to Bagdad itself is the one backed
by the Germans. A concession Tor it
was granted by the sultan in 1902 and
y q rt of the line has already been