First Padişah

The first sultan to take the train: This is the 150 anniversary of the railway to Aydın. Nowadays, the meaning of such a day: Aydın is the second largest city in Turkey after Anatolia, which was opened from Anatolia to the world (in the 19 century, the world was Europe).

There was no rail in Istanbul and it was established between İzmir and Aydın.

1 July 1866 opened the Izmir-Aydin line. 10 was started years ago. Sultan Abdülmecid, the British entrepreneurs for this purpose 23 1856 September allowed.

At that time, a French colonial (Levantine) businessman colony was formed. Some of them trade and mining, but most of them grow cotton, figs and grapes in the fertile soils of the Aegean and export them from Izmir to Europe. The product was slow and inefficient with camel caravans, reaching to Izmir, most of the products were decaying in the road. It was necessary to turn transportation to the railway. British businessmen are set to work. After all, the British were able to use the steam power in the 1820 for movement. The world's first commercial railway at 1830 opened in Manchester-Liverpool. These were the most active industrial centers of the period. While there was no train in the capital London, railways were laid between the industrial and mining cities of the country and the ports.

Izmir-Aydin railway to do, was the British to be.

The sultan approved this useful investment. The established company brought workers who know how to install railways from the UK. Since there was no industry suitable for producing rails in the Ottoman Empire, the rails used in the Crimean War at that time were moved from Crimea to İzmir by ship. All the rest is from England… Only the wood of the sleepers that fixed the rails to the ground was local. After 10 years of construction, 133 km of railway was completed. Meanwhile, Abdulmecid died and Abdulaziz became the sultan. When the new sultan arrived in Izmir on April 20, 1863, he was interested. He spent two of his three nights at the house of two pioneering Levantine businessmen on the railway project. If there is a source that the Sultan went from İzmir to Selçuk (then called Ayasluk) by train, there is no other source (for now) that confirms this. There was only one time a day on this line at that time. The train, which departs from Alsancak at 7.30, arrives at Selçuk at 10.40 and begins the return at 14.30. It is not clear whether Abdülaziz got on this train, but he was still the first Sultan to board the train: the Sultanate of the Reign from 1866 at the Rahmi Koç Museum.

The British built the Alsancak and Basmane stations in Izmir.

Alsancak was simple, Basmane was more flashy. Because the project was Gustave Eiffel (architect of the Eiffel Tower, yes ..) Monsieur Eyfel did not come to Izmir, but his own work, the second largest city of France in Lyon, designed the same station for Basmane. In addition, Eyfel, Izmir, Izmir, Izmir, the sea projected to the sea project has also iron-steel parts. He poured it into molds at the plant, loaded it on the ship and sent it to İzmir. It was the building as a French customs gate.

The Levantines prepared this technical infrastructure for more efficient, faster, more economical transportation and trade. The Ottoman administration established the legal infrastructure and facilitated the financial infrastructure. So much so that the Sultan purchased 1859 shares in the 500. Railway construction initiated by the British in the Aegean, facilitated the trade of Levantines, increased profits. The increase of productivity in transporting mineral and agricultural products has been discussed in many articles and books. The Ottomans did not have the right to offer such services to their citizens. Even the capital of Istanbul could reach the railway 27 July 1872. Suburban flights started at 1877. The heavy cost of the Ottoman's kidnapping the 1.0 was to leave the railways to foreigners. Until the Republic bought them.