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Hamidiye Hejaz Railway Donation Receipt – 5 Kuruş, Reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II
Description:
This original Ottoman Turkish donation receipt, known as a Hamidiye Hicaz Demiryolu İane Makbuzu, was issued in connection with fundraising for the Hejaz Railway, one of the most ambitious and prestigious infrastructure projects of the late Ottoman Empire. With a face value of 5 kuruş, this small printed document represents the voluntary contributions collected to support the construction and development of the railway during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II.
Commissioned by Sultan Abdülhamid II, the Hejaz Railway was conceived to connect Istanbul with the holy cities of Medina and Mecca, providing Muslims with a safer, faster and more affordable route for pilgrimage. Beyond its practical purpose, the railway became one of the Ottoman Empire's most significant political and religious projects, symbolising Islamic unity, imperial authority and the modernisation of transportation across the Muslim world.
To finance this ambitious undertaking, the Ottoman government encouraged voluntary donations from Muslims throughout the empire and beyond. Receipts such as this acknowledged individual contributions and reflected the participation of ordinary people in a major imperial project. They remain important historical artefacts documenting Ottoman fundraising practices, religious philanthropy and the relationship between public contributions and state-sponsored infrastructure.
A particularly interesting feature of this example is that the lower section, intended for recording the name of the contributing village, the donor's name and the date, remains completely blank. Since these details were intended to be completed when a donation was made, an unfilled example preserves the receipt in its unused state and offers a different perspective from examples bearing handwritten donor information.
For collectors of Ottoman history, railway memorabilia, Islamic philanthropy and historical paper ephemera, this receipt is an appealing piece associated with one of the defining projects of Abdülhamid II's reign. Its compact format, 5-kuruş denomination and blank donor section make it an especially interesting addition to collections documenting the Hejaz Railway and the financial and social history of the late Ottoman Empire.
Key Features:
• Title: Hamidiye Hejaz Railway Donation Receipt
• Original Title: Hamidiye Hicaz Demiryolu İane Makbuzu
• Document Type: Ottoman Donation Receipt
• Historical Period: Reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II
• Project: Hejaz Railway
• Denomination: 5 kuruş
• Purpose: Recording voluntary donations towards the Hejaz Railway project
• Donor Information: Lower section intended for the village name, donor's name and date remains blank
• Dimensions: 13.5 × 9.9 cm
• Language: Ottoman Turkish
• Historical Significance: Documents Ottoman fundraising efforts for a major railway and pilgrimage infrastructure project
• Collectible Significance: An interesting example of Ottoman railway-related ephemera, particularly notable for its unused, unfilled donor section