The only line owned by the Turks in their country is the narrow-gauge railway known as the Hejaz line which starts from Damascus and is intended to reach the holy town of Mecca. The financing of this line has been unparalleled in the annals of railroad building. Ostensibly the purpose of the construction was to provide traveling conveniences to 250,000 pilgrims who, it is estimated, came annually from all parts of the Mohammedan world to worship at the Kaaba. In the belief of many, the line was built for strategical reasons and to enforce Turkish sovereignty among the Arabs, who have always been loath to admit the Sultan’s claims to the Caliphate. The funds for the construction and equipment of the road were obtained by appealing to the religious feelings of the 230,000,000 Mohammedans scattered in widely separated regions of the globe. Stress was laid on the pious character of the undertaking. According to reports, $14,000,000 were collected soon after the enterprise was launched. Thereafter about $12,000,000 were contributed annually for several years. The operation involved no responsibility to the promoters, headed by Abdul Hamid, the former Sultan of Turkey, all the funds being bestowed in the form of donations. The road has thus no shareholders and no bonded indebtedness, its capital being spontaneously wiped off. The religious character of the undertaking is apparent in the mosque-wagon attached to each train. Seen from the outside, the prayer carriage is distinguished only by means of a diminutive minaret six and a half feet high. The interior is fitted out according to religious custom with rugs on the floor and framed Koranic verses in letters of gold on the walls. The direction of Mecca is indicated by a map at the end of the car, so as to enable the faithful to orient themselves properly when engaged in prayer.