The evolution of transport in Turkey (Eastern thrace and Asia minor) under Ottoman rule, 1856–1918

Abstract

In this essay we shall study the development of transport of Turkey, eastern Thrace and Anatolia, under the Ottoman Empire after the Crimean War until the collapse of the old regime, from 1856 until 1918. We shall also take into account the beginning of the construction of Turkey's first railroad until the opening of the Berlin-Aleppo railroad in 1918. We shall try to answer three questions: what had been the state of Turkish transport? What changes came about under the Ottoman Empire? Could the Ottoman Empire have done better ? The Ottoman Empire had two main obstacles in modernising the transport system of eastern Thrace and Asia Minor. They were geography and money. Asia Minor makes up 97 per cent of the 767,119 square kilometers of the present-day Turkish Republic. Asia Minor geographically can be divided into Anatolia and Cilicia. Cilicia is technically part of the Fertile Crescent but the Pontic, Amanus, and Taurus Mountains are formidable barriers. Cilicia is located in the south eastern coastal region of present day Turkey. Anatolia, the main part of Asiatic Turkey, is basically a semi-arid, central plateau, about 1000 metres above sea level, surrounded by a ring of mountains which makes transport difficult. The coast line of modern Turkey on the Black, Aegean, and Mediterranean Seas suffers from a scarcity of natural harbours. The Dardanelle and Bosporus Straits and the Sea of Marmara are subject to fogs and storms during a great deal of the year along with other bodies of water that surround Turkey. The rivers of Turkey are only navigable for short distances near the deltas. Turkey is blessed basically with only one good harbour the Golden Horn in Istanbul, which is one of the world's best harbours. Geography favours transport on land from east to west, from Asia to Europe, and on water north to south, from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The contour of Turkish geography because of lack of good roads favours transport by water.' Eastern Thrace, the European section of Turkey, is topographically composed of gently rolling hills. The other major difficulty that the Ottoman Empire faced in modernising its transport system was the lack of money. Since the days of Suleiman the Magnificent the Ottoman Empire had declined economically. Many of the reformers of the Tanzimat saw transport, or rather transport construction, as a measure that would bring immediate economic benefits. Thus it would pay for itself immediately in tangible terms as well as in less visable returns such as the social and intellectual impact. Above all, the military necessity of defending the Ottoman Empire against its external and internal enemies was most important. The Ottoman Empire, lacking money of its own, turned to Europe for private investors who would have not only the money but the technological expertise to insure that improvements in transport would be a success.2 Hence, we shall examine the development of the Turkish transport system in the following order: shipping, bridges, caiques, caravans, beasts of burden, highways, and railroads. Then we shall make value judgments on each