Built to cut the travel time of Muslim pilgrims, an Ottoman-era railway station in Jordan is the latest restoration project of Turkey's overseas development aid agency, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA).
TİKA head Dr. Serdar Çam visited Hejaz Railway Station in Jordan's Amman and expressed hope that it will further contribute to improve ties between two countries.
Turkey and Jordan had agreed to restore the station in 2016 and the construction of a museum on the Hejaz Railway, a project initiated by Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II.
The now-defunct railway that connected former Ottoman territory Syria and Amman to Saudi Arabia, reduced travel time from three months to three days for pilgrims who needed to get to the Muslim holy sites in Saudi Arabia every year for annual hajj. Built in 1902, the railway line is one of the oldest in the region.
The museum, which will be built next to three old buildings that make up the station, will showcase pictures of construction process of the Ottoman-era railway while vintage wagons operated in the early days of the railway will also be exhibited.
