Ottoman breach .. A living witness of the "Hijaz Railway"

Atef Douglas - Nablus

In a narrow alleyway and a long, rugged road with high mountains, the "tunnel" receives visitors and men, especially on these days of spring. The Ottoman building is the focus of tourists who flock to it from every direction.

As one of the most prominent landmarks of the Hijaz railway built by the Ottomans during their rule in Palestine, the "Kharaj" is the center of the cities of Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarem in the northern West Bank.

These details became Ahmed Salah, a 39-year-old who was familiar with it. He cut it on our ears as we picked up his agricultural tractor and drove for hours through the railway in a simulation of a scene the Palestinians lived a century ago.

Pointing out from afar to guide us to the place of the rapture that dives between two mountains in an area called Rashin, the breach seems obvious but access to it takes longer.

In the vicinity of his village "Barqa" of the breach, Salah is almost always there, inspecting the place and taking pictures and video, and spreading it through social networking sites, and take it as a way to guide visitors and introduce them to the place.

And contracts with each other to organize tours of leisure and tourism, based on the tractor and information gleaned from the elderly who lived in that era and transmitted stories.

Heritage and civilization
During the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1876-1909), the Palestinian pilgrims migrated to the Hijaz. The building was delayed due to lack of money. The project was resumed in 1908 and continued for four years with donations and popular initiatives.

Salah stands on the tractor, taking advantage of the roof of the raft, which rises to more than seven meters and a similar width, and his hands feel the stone walls, some of which were eroded by erosion and lack of repair.

"This makes it even more dangerous for the thieves of antiquities to break into the interior to look for Ottoman gold," he says.

As the jars pass, we witness the fascinating scenes of the 400-meter-long breach, of which 260 meters, covered with Palestinian stones, were carved and transported by skillful craftsmen. The specifications are German, Ottoman supervision and Palestinian hands operated under a "forced labor" system and free of charge.

With the hands of these workers, the mountain, which is more than 70 meters high, has not been allowed to cross. There is no way to turn the road, no strength, and no time to demolish the whole mountain.

In a way that is manifested in art, engineering and creativity, the stones were built with stones stacked and overlapped in some without the need of a pillar and others, and made the gutters to unload the rainwater, and drilling sides and craters hidden by maroons during the crossing of the train.

Salah knows these nozzles well, and photographs them and other heritage sites to spread across his Facebook page to attract visitors and keep them connected with the place. "So far, more than 21,000 images have been published, including hundreds of violations," he said.

means of transportation
Walking on foot was more attractive, despite the rudeness of the place and its darkness. The light from it needs sufficient lighting. The breach is free of everything except the sound of the springs of springs that have made their way through the folds of the mountain.

This is why the young man, Mohammed Ameer, from the nearby village of Bila'a, snatchs the opportunity to accompany his friend through his tractor to visit the place, as he says "more fun and safe".

Ameer sees in the place that is constantly on his visit, a beauty and heritage that is less local and international, and he says that he witnessed the "greatness of the Ottoman civilization".

Nablus was the last train station in the north of the country. From there, the train runs to Haifa and the Levant, passing through the breach and at main stations that sprawl up to 10 kilometers apart, most notably the Mas'udiyah station north of Nablus.

The bombing incident
But what is not taken into account is the bombing of the breach, which was done by Britain and its allies during the First World War, rejecting the use of the train to the non-objective basis of transporting pilgrims, where the Ottomans around him, according to the director of sites in the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism Abdel Rahim Hamran of the island Net, Their soldiers ".

In 1956, Israel dismantled parts of the Hijaz railway and used its iron, in addition to another railway set up by Britain to operate the Barlev line. Palestinians managed to take part of the Ottoman railway iron known as the Du'mur and used it to build their houses to fortify them.

Need for restoration
Now the breach stands as one of the most visible signs of the Ottoman civilization, which is still struggling to survive, but it is needed for restoration, according to the director of the Tourism Ministry in Tulkarm, Iyad Zoukan.

Zoukan says that they are in the process of rehabilitation of the breach and the establishment of tourist facilities such as restrooms and hotels, and provide him with lighting and guidance and educational, revealing a scheme of several projects, including "tourist train simulates his Ottoman counterpart."

Perhaps he is not in possession of Ahmed Salah or even his ability to prevent tampering with the breach especially during the night, but he will not give up his mission to guide visitors and document all the latest developments to protect and prevent tampering with it.