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The Hijaz Railway station in Damascus was the northern terminus of the Hijaz Railway, built by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II to carry pilgrims from…
The Hijaz Railway station in Damascus was the northern terminus of the Hijaz Railway, built by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II to carry pilgrims from Damascus to Madinah. The line reached Madinah in 1908 and cut a journey of weeks by camel to a few days. The station building, completed in 1917, combines Ottoman and European styles with a decorated wooden ceiling in its main hall. Trains no longer run from here, but the building stands as a reminder of the great pilgrim route between Damascus and the Holy Cities, and of the old Damascus Hajj caravan that set out from the city each year.