[SOUVENIR ALBUM / MIDDLE EAST / EYEWITNESS FOR THE OPENING OF TURKISH RAILWAYS] Irmak - Filyos demiryolunun açilisindan anitlar, 12/11/35. [= Monuments from the opening of Irmak - Filyos railways]

Foto Birlik, Zonguldak, 1935.

Paperback. 32mo. (9 x 6 cm). In Turkish. 25 original b/w gelatin silver photographs in 12 joined page plates. 

This extremely rare miniature souvenir album shows the stations, bridges and their constructions, the first moving trains, railways, opening celebrations and visits of the Turkish ministers, opening speech, etc. during the opening of the Irmak-Filyos railways on 12 November 1935 Irmak-Filyos line which was opened by Ali Çetinkaya (1878-1949), who was an Ottoman-born Turkish army officer and politician, who served eight terms in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Çetinkaya also can be seen in some photos of the album. 

"The Republic of Turkey, which tried to overcome the destructive effects of the war, took an important step toward reaching economic independence and transporting natural resources to the different regions of the country. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey approved the Law on the Ankara-Eregli Railway Line under the name 'The Railway Leading to Coal'. This important railway line, which the young Republic of Turkey wished to establish to face the future and move forward, was going to run between the coal city Zonguldak and Irmak station, near the capital Ankara. The construction of the railway started on 7th February 1927 and the 102-kilometer line, running between Irmak and Çankiri, became operative on the 23rd of April 1931. The railway between Irmak-Filyos, which had a total length of 391 kilometers, went into operation on 12th November 1935 with a ceremony held in Filyos. It comprised 27 stations, 1368 culverts, and bridges and 37 tunnels, and had a total length of 8800 kilometers.". (Source: Irmak Karabük Zonguldak Railway Line - UDHB). 

"Foto Birlik" was the most important photography studio in Zonguldak city which was an eyewitness in the early period of Republican Turkey. 

No copy in OCLC.; No copy in the Turkish National Library.