Description

A special edition of Servet-i Fünun was published for the Hamidian Hejaz Railway Company (Travaux du chemin de fer de Hédjaz-Hamidié) at the occasion of the opening of the first longer track of the railway, south of Muzayrib in Syria.

The magazine is richly illustrated with photographs of building of the railway, bridges and monuments and includes information on the construction. It is accompanied with a large fording map, showcasing the area between Damaskus and Amman, with the railway from Damascus to Muzayrib still under construction, and red line further south marking the built railroad.

The first inauguration with passengers was not made until September 1, 1904, when the railroad was opened on the track Damascus Ma’an.

Servet-i Fünun or The Wealth of Knowledge was published between 1891 and 1944 and was considered to be most intellectual and western magazine in the Ottoman Empire.

Starting as an illustrated with scientific articles and reports, accompanied with humour and literature, it soon turned into a leading literary magazine, publishing modern Ottoman poetry and literature. The group of authors, which gathered around the magazine between 1896 and 1901, passed into the history of literature under titles “New Literature” or the “Servet-i Fünun Lietrarure”.

The magazine also reported on important contemporary events, happening the Ottoman Empire and around the world.