Note 12 — Chapter III · GERMANS BECOME INTERESTED IN THE NEAR EAST
Reading edition
Alldeutsche Blätter, December 17, 1899. It should be borne in mind, however, that until the Bagdad Railway concession was granted French financiers held the lead in the number of kilometres of railway in operation or contracted for. The situation in 1898 was as follows:
British
Kiloms.
Smyrna-Aidin373
Mersina-Adana67
—-
Total 440
French
Kiloms.
Smyrna-Cassaba512
Jaffa-Jerusalem87
Beirut-Damascus247
Damascus-Aleppo429
—-
Total 1,266
German
Kiloms.
Haidar Pasha-Ismid91
Ismid-Ankara485
Eski Shehr-Konia444
—-
Total 1,020
All of the British and German lines were in operation in 1898, whereas the French Syrian Railways were only partially completed.