Tl'KKKY. 



743 



lizi-. 6,784,054 piasters. The principal exports 

 and their values were : raisins, 147,274,497 pi- 

 asters ; wheat, 186,845.572 piasters ; raw silk, 

 97,688,188 piasters ; olive oil, 68,014,980 pias- 

 UTS ; mohair, 66,880,777 piasters ; coffee, 64,- 

 070,750 piasters ; opium, 62,938,572 piasters ; 

 wool. 56,508,277 piasters; cocoons, 55,266.001 

 piaMcrs; valonia, 51,184,191 piasters; cotton, 

 50,081,689 piasters; corn, 51,201,795 piasters ; 

 figs, 46,822,702 piasters ; skins, 40.087,620 pias- 

 ters ; minerals, 29,077,555 piasters ; nuts, 27,- 

 196,512 piasters; sesame, 28,501,097 piasters; 

 beans and lentils, 23,210,981 piasters ; carpets, 

 22,227,110 piasters; chemicals, 21,883,839 pias- 

 ters ; gall nuts, 14.27P.222 piasters : dates, 16,- 

 717,075 piasters ; oranges and lemons, 10,921,- 

 150 piasters. 



Navigation. In 1890-91, 179,317 vessels of 

 30,509,861 tons entered and cleared the Turkish 

 ports. Of these, 38,591 were steamers and 140,- 

 726 were sailing vessels. Of the total number, 

 140,257 were Turkish, 14, 053 Greek, 13,832 Eng- 

 lish, 4,041 Austrian. 1.998 French, 1,781 Rus- 

 sian, 1,651 Italian, 511 Swedish and Norwegian, 

 856 German, 167 Dutch, 155 Danish, 370 Mon- 

 tenegrin, and 139 from other countries. The 

 merchant navy in 1891 was composed of 43 

 steamers of 26,553 tons, and 541 sailing vessels of 

 97.895 tons. 



Posts and Telegraphs. The post-office for- 

 warded in 1888-89 through the internal service, 

 7,284,000 letters, 57,000 postal cards, and 539,- 

 000 pieces of printed matter ; through the ex- 

 ternal service, 2,562,000 letters, 53,000 postal 

 cards, and 567,000 pieces of printed matter ; in 

 transit, 387,000 letters, 9,000 postal cards, and 

 180,000 pieces of printed matter. The receipts 

 were 2,615,322 francs, and the expenses 1,571,- 

 185 francs. 



In 1889 the telegraph lines had a length of 32,- 

 223 kilometers, with a length of wire of 50,707 

 kilometers. The cable lines were 597 kilometers 

 long, with 642 kilometers of wire. The receipts 

 amounted to51, 615,526 piasters, and the expenses 

 to 17.669,044 piasters. 



Railroads. For the past few years the Govern- 

 ment of Turkey has done much to extend the 

 railroad system in general, and especially in the 

 Syrian part of the Empire. The construction of 

 three new lines has been undertaken, running 

 through the northern and central portions of 

 Asia .Minor. The first of these lines starts from 

 Haidar Pasha and runs right through the heart 

 of Asia Minor to the Tigris Valley, and thence 

 down to Bagdad and the Persian Gulf, thus con- 

 necting the latter gulf with the waters of the 

 Golden Horn. The second road starts from 

 Samsun, on the Black Sea, and runs southward to 

 A VMS, on the Mediterranean Sea. The third line 

 starts from Acre, on the Mediterranean Sea. ami 

 runs through Damascus and the Euphrates Valley 

 to the Persian Gulf. The first line, undertaken' 

 by a German company, has already been ear- 

 ned to Angora, 440 miles from Constantinople. 

 The construction of the second line has been 

 granted to a Belgian company, which has com- 

 pleted the survey of the first section. The con- 

 cession of the third line is held by an English 

 company, which has begun the actual construc- 

 tion of the first portion running from Acre to 

 Damascus. Leaving Acre, this line will run 



parallel with Acre Bay to the river Kifhon, 

 tin-nee to and across the Plain of Esdraelon to 

 Jezreel. through the narrow plain formed by the 

 Galilean hills on the north and the ranee of 

 Mount Gil boa on the south, passes the Gideon's 

 Spring, along the whole length of the Jezreel 

 Valley to the river Jordan. Crossing this famous 

 river by a bridge 66 feet long, near the old bridge 

 which has formi-d the highway from Egypt to 

 Damascus from time immemorial, the line will 

 cross the mountains on the southeastern shore of 

 the Sea of Galilee to the Bashan plateau, thence 

 in a northeastern direction to the city of Damas- 

 cus. The length of this portion ol the line will 

 be 185 miles ; it will have a gauge of 4 feet 8 

 inches, and is estimated to cost 1,900,000. The 

 new railroad between Moudania, on the Sea of 

 Marmora, and Broussa, a distance of about 42 

 kilometers, was opened for traffic on June 17, 

 1892. The total length of railroads in European 

 Turkey in September, 1889, was 963 kilometers ; 

 in Asia Minor, 853 kilometers ; and in Syria, 88 

 kilometers. 



Insurrection in Arabia. The insurrection of 

 the tribes of the Yemen province, which broke 

 out in 1891. had assumed such large proportions, 

 that, on the arrival of the Turkish re-enforce- 

 ments under the leadership of Ahmed Fehzy 

 Pasha, he found the whole country, with the ex- 

 ception of Sanaa and Amran, and of the plains, 

 in the hands of the rebels. (See the " Annual 

 Cyclopaedia" for 1891.) The forces of the Turks 

 had met reverse after reverse at the hands of the 

 Arabs, and owing to bad equipment and lack of 

 nourishment had become disorganized and dis- 

 couraged, many falling an easy prey to the pre- 

 vailing cholera. Sanaa was besieged by large 

 forces of the Arabs, who were stationed on the 

 mountains surrounding the city, pouring forth 

 the contents of their guns and rifles and threaten- 

 ing to destroy the place completely. Several 

 sorties were made by the besieged army with 

 varying success. Just before re-enforcements 

 arrived for the relief of the city the Turks had 

 made a sortie and succeeded in driving the Arabs 

 from their commanding position on the ridge of 

 the Gibel Negum, with great slaughter and 

 heavy losses to the Arabs, who retreated to Dar- 

 es-Salem, south of Sanaa. The Turks, following 

 up their success, turned their guns on that village 

 and destroyed it. compelling the rebels to retreat 

 still farther. The small forces of the Turks, 

 however, were insufficient to enable them from 

 preventing the Arabs regaining their former 

 positions, and it was not until the arrival of the 

 re-enforcement that the rebels finally retreated 

 from Sanaa, leaving the plains surrounding the 

 city covered with the corpses of the slain. The 

 re-enforcements, led by Ahmed Fehzy Pasha, 

 numbered about 16,000 men. The road leading 

 from Hodaidah to Sanaa was occupied by the 

 Arabs, and when Ahmed Fehzy Pasha advanced 

 to the relief of the latter city "he was met with 

 small detachments of the rebel forces, who tried 

 to stop his progress. The first encounter of any 

 importance took place at Hojeila, a place 60 miles 

 from Hodaidah. The road here leaves the plains 

 and ascends the mountains. As soon as the 

 Pasha heard of the advance of the Arabs he forti- 

 fied his camp by throwing up earthworks, and 

 received the enemy with an annihilating fire from 



