Syria: An Economic Survey 



When the two Asia Minor tunnels of the Bagdad Railway are 

 completed, which should be in 1917 or 1918, Aleppo will be con- 

 nected with Constantinople, that is to say there will be direct rail- 

 way communication between Syria and Europe. The economic value 

 of a direct connection with Africa over Port Said is doubtful, as it 

 would take longer and be more expensive to go from Aleppo to 

 Port Said by rail than by boat. On the other hand it would be 

 valuable to connect the Syrian Railways with Akabah. Another 

 useful line would be from Rajak to Afuleh which would shorten 

 the trip from Aleppo or Beirut to Haifa or Jaffa by about 124 

 miles, Safed and Nazareth could easily be linked up with this line. 



IV. Transportation. 



Transportation overland is effected by means of railways or 

 animals ; on the sea by means of steamboats and sailboats. Sailboats 

 are not much used except for fishing. They are sometimes used in 

 preference to steamboats to carry loads between neighboring har- 

 bors, as they can load and unload on the shore, whereas the steam- 

 boats must anchor at a considerable distance from land. The 

 sailboat traffic is mostly in the hands of natives, the steamboat 

 traffic almost exclusively in the hands of foreign companies. 



A. Shipping. 

 1. Steamship companies. 



The following steamship companies entered Syrian ports up 

 to the time of the war: 



(a) Societe des Messageries Maritimes (Marseilles) with 

 a weekly service, Marseilles-Alexandria-Port Said-Jaffa-Beirut- 

 Haifa (Marseilles-Beirut in 10 days) and a bi-weekly servifce 

 Marseilles-Constantinople, touching at Beirut, Haifa, Tripoli, 

 Alexandretta, and Mersina. 



(b) The Oesterreichische Lloyd in Trieste. The steam- 

 ships of this company make the trip from Trieste, Alexandria 

 and Port Said to Jaffa, Haifa, Sidon, Beirut, Tripoli and 

 Latakia, taking 12 to 15 days from Trieste to Mersina. 



(c) The Russian Steamship Line in Odessa with a weekly 

 service from Odessa via Constantinople and Smyrna, to Mer- 

 sina, Alexandretta, Latakia, Tripoli, Beirut, Haifa, Jaffa and 

 Port Said (Odessa-Beirut, 8-9 days). 



(d) The two Italian companies, Marittima Italiana and 

 Servizi Marittimi, with bi-weekly boats from Venice or Genoa 



77 



