ABSTRACT
It can be argued that, of all economic activities in the Middle East, transport was the one most deeply revolutionized in the course of the 19th century. Around 1800 the means of transport, whether by land or water, were essentially the ones that had been used for hundreds or even thousands of years. By 1913, steam navigation had taken over almost all sea trade and the greater part of river trade, railways were carrying the bulk of land-borne goods, roads were beginning to play a significant part in a few countries, and motorcars were making their appearance. In the second half of the century a network of telegraphs covered the region, and in 1913 telephones were coming into general use.
