Location Get Directions
Gallery
Description
Property Name: Hejaz Railway Station in Medina
Inventory No: 966-4-9
Date of infill of the inventory form: 2010-05-22
Country (State party): Saudi Arabia
Province: Madinah
Town: Madinah
Geographic coordinates: 24° 27′ 42.93″ N
39° 36′ 3.49″ E
Historic Period: Late Ottoman (1792-1922)
Year of Construction: 1900
Style: Ottoman Baroque
Original Use: Complex
Current Use: Museum
Architect: Unknown
Significance
The Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II, issued his order to start the construction of the Hejazi Railway on the 5th of Jumada I, 1318 AH / the 1st of September 1900. The first train arrived to Medina on the 3rd of Sha’ban 1326hijri (August 28th 1908), and the arrival of the train was officially celebrated on Shaaban 7th 1326hijri (September 1st 1908).
An old train station in the city, with an area of about 140,000 square meters, was built in the Ottoman era. It is being restored and maintained at the present time to convert it into an Islamic museum under the supervision of the Municipality of Medina, and the Suquya Mosque is located in its environs. The site has a high historical, heritage and archaeological importance.
Work began on Al Medina railway in 1318 AH (1900 AD), with the purpose of facilitating the pilgrims’ voyage to the Two Holy Mosques. The first train arrived in Madina on 22 Rajab 1326 AH (20 August 1908 AD). It is composed of a stone platform and attached to it is a mosque. A wagon pulled by a train can still be seen in the station.
Selection Criteria
i. to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius
ii. to exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design
iii. to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared
vi. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance
State of Preservation
It is very well preserved and in good shape.
References
– الإدارة العامة للآثار والمتاحف : محطة سكة حديد الحجاز بالمدينة المنورة (الرياض، بدون تاريخ).
– الأنصاري، عبدالرحمن الطيب وآخرون : المواصلات والاتصالات في المملكة العربية السعودية خلال مائة عام (وزارة المواصلات والاتصالات، الرياض 1419هـ/ 1999م).
Commission of Tourism and Heritage