Stopped in its tracks
QUESTION Is there still a railway between Damascus and Medina?
IN 1900, the ottoman sultan Abdulhamid II appealed to Muslims all over the world to help finance the building of a railway connecting Damascus in syria to the holy cities of Medina and Mecca in saudi Arabia.
the aim was not only to facilitate pilgrimages, but to strengthen control over the most distant provinces of the ottoman empire.
the 800-mile-long Hejaz railway was funded by subscription and built by German engineers.
However, when it opened in 1908, it had reached only as far as Medina — about 250 miles short of its final destination.
It came under attack from bedouin tribes because it challenged their control over the traditional pilgrim route. For centuries, the Arab tribes had guided and guarded the pilgrims on their 40-day trek across the desert.
the emir Hussein bin Ali, sharif of Mecca, viewed the railway as a threat to Arab authority because it provided the ottomans with easy access to their garrisons in Hejaz, Asir and yemen. Nevertheless, by 1914, the railway carried 300,000 pilgrims a year to Medina.
Its downfall came during the Arab Revolt, 1916 to 1918, when the turkish army started using it to transport troops and supplies.
Arab guerrilla forces commanded by british officers, most notably t. e. lawrence (lawrence of Arabia), blew up huge lengths of track and countless bridges.
today, large sections of the railway lie abandoned in the desert, with tracks swallowed up by the sand and carriages and engines toppled over and overgrown with shrubs.
one section still operates as the Hejaz Jordan Railway, running passenger services to syria.
Another small part is used by mining firms to transport potash and phosphates to the port at Aqaba, Jordan.
Mary Wallace, Edinburgh.
QUESTION One day in 1930, the BBC famously reported: ‘There is no news.’ Did anything newsworthy happen that day?
tHe day was Good Friday, April 18, 1930. I was born at 8.30am that day, so you can imagine my mother was a bit peeved when the bbC announced there was nothing newsworthy to report.
ron Dawson, Wembley, Middlesex. PeRHAPs there was no news in britain, but it was the date of a national disaster in Romania, equivalent in scale to the Aberfan tragedy in Wales.
on April 18, 1930, a congregation was attending an easter service in a small wooden church in Costesti, Wallachia. As the building was small, the adults had gathered outside, while the choir and children were inside the church.
A fire broke out after a candle set a wreath alight. It was extinguished but, unknown to the congregation, it had spread to wreaths in the attic. Within minutes, the church was ablaze and filled with smoke — 130 people were trapped. the roof collapsed, crushing many.
A survivor said: ‘Parents rushed to the door, trying to get in to save their children. they were pushing to enter; children were struggling to get out and failed because of their parents blocking the exit.
‘that scrimmage kept them captive, prey to the flames. they all died, 116 children, all the youth of the village.’
Peter Smith, Durham. APRIl 1930 was a turbulent time in India. Mahatma Gandhi was encouraging his supporters into peaceful civil disobedience against the british authorities. In bengal, surya sen was leading a more aggressive movement.
sen, a former school teacher popularly known as Master Da, from Chittagong (bangladesh), was the leader of the bengal freedom movement.
the highlight of his revolutionary career was his audacious plan to capture the two armouries in Chittagong and destroy the telegraph and telephone office.
on April 18, 1930, 64 revolutionaries captured the police and auxiliary forces’ armouries. they succeeded in cutting telephone and telegraph wires and disrupting the trains. However, they failed to find the ammunition and were gunned down by soldiers four days later.
sen escaped, but he was later betrayed to the british and was hanged in 1934.
His last letter highlighted the importance of the date: ‘Never forget the 18th of April, 1930, the day of the eastern rebellion in Chittagong . . .
‘Write in red letters in the core of your hearts the names of the patriots who have sacrificed their lives at the altar of India’s freedom.’ M. Bose, London SW16.
QUESTION The new internet buzzword is gaslighting. What does it mean?
FuRtHeR to the earlier answer, the Girl on the train, a novel by Paula Hawkins and a 2015 movie starring emily blunt, is a gaslight classic.
the character, Rachel Watson, is an alcoholic who travels by train aimlessly after losing her job. on one trip, she spots a married neighbour kissing a stranger. she confronts her, but blacks out. When she wakes up, she is covered in blood and is gaslighted by her former husband into believing she has committed a crime.
Another notable example was the controlling relationship between Helen and Rob titchener in the long-running Radio 4 soap opera, the Archers.
Helen Louise O’Connor, Warwick.
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