Greco-Turkish railway connection : Illusions and bargains in the late nineteenth century Balkans
Part of : Balkan studies : biannual publication of the Institute for Balkan Studies ; Vol.30, No.2, 1989, pages 311-332
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311-332
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Articles
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Despite profound financial weakness and a rather unfavourable politicalbackground, Greece and the Ottoman Empire tried to meet the railway challenge.Both states hoped that railways would easily bring a variety of domestic problems to a successful end. In this context the construction of a junctionline between the two neighbouring countries soon attracted the interest of theGreek governments. The issue was sentimentaly charged and overemphasisedsince such a line was expected to support not only the economic developmentof Greece but also the political unification of the nation with its brethren inMacedonia. The paper tries to evaluate briefly the economic and politicalprospects of railway building in Greece and in the Ottoman Empire andfocuses on the fruitless diplomatic manoeuvres of successive Greek governmentsto achieve Ottoman consent for a railway junction. Finally it examinesthe causes of failure in an attempt to prove that such a scheme had never had a chance of success within the particular financial and political context.
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Ελληνο-τουρκική σιδηροδρομική σύνδεση
