Palestine]
has already been diverted to Tripoli by the railway thence to Homs, which reduced the distance by rail to the sea by over 100 miles, besides obviating the reloading necessitated by the change of gauge at Rayak. The new branch from Alexandretta to Toprak Kale will make Alexandretta a still more attractive alternative for trade with Aleppo. The competition of Haifa with Beirut for the Damascus market is already felt.
Alexandretta is clearly marked out by nature as the harbour par excellence of northern Syria. It has long been the principal port of Aleppo, with which it is connected by a much-frequented road, and also of a wide district to the north and east, and an increasing trade with this region seems now assured by the branch of the Baghdad Railway connecting Alexandretta with the main line. Copper from Arghana, in Kurdistan, was already exported through Alexandretta to Belgium, and among the other exports were large numbers of sheep and cattle, principally for Egypt, from the Euphrates district and beyond, liquorice for the United States, silk from the Antioch district for France, native fabrics for Egypt and Turkey, Aintab leather for Egypt and Tunis, and pistachio nuts from Aleppo and Aintab for England, Turkev, and Egypt.
From Tripoli an easy route skirts the Lebanon in a north-easterly direction, and is now followed by the railway to Homs. Though, as already remarked, the advantage temporarily secured by this railway in regard to Aleppo has passed to Alexandretta, Tripoli remains the gate of the rich Homs-Hama district. Silk and eggs for France, native fabrics and soap for Egypt and Turkey, oranges for Turkey and Russia, and wool for the United States, England, and Italy are the principal exports.
Haifa, which in 1906 became the Mediterranean port of the Hejaz Railway, is likely to rise rapidly in importance when once supplied with an adequate harbour. It has a fertile hinterland in the plain of Esdraelon, the upper Jordan valley, and the Hauran, which the railway has now opened up, and considerable
