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Jordan's century-old Hijaz Railway may return as a public park

Jordanian architect Hanna Salameh wants to revive a historic railway by turning it into a public park and tram.
MAFRAQ, JORDAN- MARCH 14: Children play along disused parts of the Hejaz Railway on March 14, 2007 in Mafraq, Jordan. The railway is part of a broad regional collaboration project the Israeli government has approved, including the creation of a railway linking Jordan to the northern Israeli port of Haifa. Built by over 10,000 Turkish soldiers directed by German engineer Heinrich Meissner at the turn of the century, the railway was originally conceived as a means to transport Muslim pilgrims from Istanbul to

The century-old Hijaz Railway crosses Amman from north to south. Children play close by, jumping over the track that once connected Jordan’s capital to Syria, Palestine and Saudi Arabia. It’s been almost a decade since the last train to Syria departed from Amman’s train station.

With the railway largely abandoned, families stroll along the line built under Abdulhamid II, the Ottoman sultan death-bent on preventing the empire from disintegration.

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