The Ottoman Imperial Archives' Rare Pictures of the Trains of the Holy Land. Vital to the Armies of World War I
The Ottoman Imperial Archives' Rare Pictures of the Trains of the Holy Land. Vital to the Armies of World War I Posted: 06 Aug 2017 11:38 PM PDT The official opening of the railroad to Be'er Sheva, October 1915. I have been researching in the Ottoman Imperial Archives for photographs for my next book, World War I in the Holy Land, specifically on the vital logistical role played by the extensive railroad network built by the Turks throughout the region. Without giving away too much now, I focused on the Be'er Sheva station, the hub for moving Turkish supplies and men for the combat along the Suez Canal, in the Sinai, and southern Palestine between 1915 and 1917. More than 100 Jews worked for the railroad system, and on January 15, 1917, 16 Jews were killed in a British air raid on the rail yard. Other Jewish workers died of disease and flash floods. All photographs are from my collection of Ottoman Imperial Archives photographs, unless otherwise noted. Click