Lebanon Hejaz Railway Exhibition and Conference

An exhibition and conference on the Hejaz Railway, which reached Lebanon during his expeditions between Damascus and Medina in 1900-1908, was organized by the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II in Lebanon.

In Lebanon, the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamit II organized an exhibition and conference on the Hejaz Railway that reached Lebanon during the expeditions between Damascus and Medina between 2-1900.

Beirut Yunus Emre Turkish Culture In addition to photographs of Lebanese station extracted from the archives of the exhibition at the Center as well as Turkey's Ambassador to Beirut Cagatay Erciyes photos and graphics on the subject was presented to the participants.

In his statement, Erciyes stated that he has visited and photographed all of the stations in Lebanon and said, “Preserving the Ottoman heritage in Lebanon is very important. Sorry, all the old train stations are in bad condition. We are taking necessary steps with the Lebanese government to improve them. These are not only ours, but especially the cultural heritage of Lebanon. These need to be protected. These are the values ​​that can contribute to the tourism of Lebanon in the future. ” said.

Cengiz Eroğlu, Director of Beirut Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center, said that the exhibition and conference was aimed at bringing the status of Hicaz Railway stations in Lebanon and “operating them” somehow.

Expressing that the period of the Hejaz Railway project was a worldwide project, Eroğlu said about the current situation of the stations, “It is in a very bad condition, it is difficult to even describe. Completely neglected. In particular, it has had its share of the destructions of the civil war. They must be dealt with as soon as possible, otherwise they will perish.” he said.

Dr. of the Department of History, University of Lebanon, who attended the conference as a speaker. Sevsen Ağa Kasab, on the other hand, said that he was investigating the journey of the Hejaz Railway in Lebanon from the beginning of the day to date, and he supported the researches with documents from the Prime Ministry Ottoman State archives.

Sevsen Ağa Kasab noted the following about the part that caught his attention the most during his research:

“I think the most important thing is“ contract and specifications ”I discovered them. Unfortunately, we have a wrong view that these projects were carried out by the French in Lebanon. Documents, the resolution of the grand vizier of the period, the wills of Sultan Abdülhamid, specifications and contracts. These presented another view. ”

The exhibition will continue until 27 May 2016 at the Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center in Beirut.