Hejaz Railway Station

Ottoman-era station built as the Damascus terminus of the line to Medina

The ornate Ottoman-era terminus of the Hejaz Railway, completed in 1913 in a heavy Damascene style — black-and-white striped stonework, a high-pitched red roof, intricate window screens. Until 1917 you could buy a ticket here that would take you all the way to Medina; by 2010 you could still take the local line south to Bosra and Daraa.

Today, with the southern line out of service and the building largely empty, the station has become a museum to its own past. Locomotive 71, a vintage German-built engine, sits on display outside. Worth a look for the architecture and the period photos, especially if you have any interest in the Arab Revolt.

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A story
The Hejaz line was built between 1900 and 1908 to carry Muslim pilgrims from Damascus to Medina, financed partly by an Ottoman tax on all Muslims worldwide. T.E. Lawrence and the Arab forces blew up sections of the line repeatedly in 1917-18, and the southern part has never reopened. The terminus remains intact in Damascus.

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