From Istanbul to Medina;
A Journey along the lost Hejaz Railway
Just over a hundred years ago it was possible to leave Damascus by train and roll south, into the desert, heading for the Islamic holy cities of Medina and Mecca. To the north, the line connected all the way to Istanbul and the edge of Europe. The Ottoman Sultan called it the Hejaz Railway, after the mountainous, arid region along the Red Sea, and the laying of its 1300 kilometres of narrow-gauge track at the dawn of the twentieth century fastened together a new vision for Middle East.
The railway was touted as a way to improve the journey for pilgrims to Medina and Mecca, but it was also important for bolstering Ottoman power at a time of perceived weakness. A branch line connected to the Mediterranean at Haifa. In 1908, upon opening, the project was christened the ‘Iron Silk Road’ for the economic opportunity and security it promised. Yet despite early successes, it never had a chance to fully live up to that name. By 1917 large sections lay in ruins, blown up in the midst of the Great War.
So what can we learn from the shattered ambition of the Hejaz Railway, and what does it tell us about the region today? In 2024 and 2025 I journeyed along the full length of the route to find out; from Istanbul, seat of the Ottoman Sultan, to Damascus where the Hejaz Railway began, and on to Amman and Medina. I travelled by train, occasionally, where there is still operational railway, but also largely on foot and in other vehicles where necessary. On the way I met those that still live along the tracks to learn what has happened in the century since its inception, and hear what their hope are for the future. This is a project, like all my work, that seeks to tell forgotten histories, and to celebrate achievements, new and old, as well as to champion the hospitality, kindness and co-operation that are so integral to this region.
The railway was touted as a way to improve the journey for pilgrims to Medina and Mecca, but it was also important for bolstering Ottoman power at a time of perceived weakness. A branch line connected to the Mediterranean at Haifa. In 1908, upon opening, the project was christened the ‘Iron Silk Road’ for the economic opportunity and security it promised. Yet despite early successes, it never had a chance to fully live up to that name. By 1917 large sections lay in ruins, blown up in the midst of the Great War.
So what can we learn from the shattered ambition of the Hejaz Railway, and what does it tell us about the region today? In 2024 and 2025 I journeyed along the full length of the route to find out; from Istanbul, seat of the Ottoman Sultan, to Damascus where the Hejaz Railway began, and on to Amman and Medina. I travelled by train, occasionally, where there is still operational railway, but also largely on foot and in other vehicles where necessary. On the way I met those that still live along the tracks to learn what has happened in the century since its inception, and hear what their hope are for the future. This is a project, like all my work, that seeks to tell forgotten histories, and to celebrate achievements, new and old, as well as to champion the hospitality, kindness and co-operation that are so integral to this region.