Round 10 - Arab Revolt vs. Aristocrats

[ahpincis]

No quarrel with the level of the entry Bedwr; after working with Arabic for 25 years or so (and as an editor) it is kinda difficult to 'unlearn' and ignore these things! Painting skills on both sides are a pleasure though!

[former user]

so what would be appropriate for a loco then? a simple Tuluth Bismillah?

[ahpincis]

You have me thinking, I think that 'Bismillah' would not be appropriate on a railway engine, even in Ottoman calligraphy; seeing as how Kaiser Willhelm was pushing railway expansion in Turkey, the stock was quite likely to be German. By now the relics that a friend has seen in Saudi are sandblasted clean of paint, though I believe there is a museum in Jordan that still has some orginal rolling stock. If the collection is there, then fine, if it is in Syria..... not so fine... (

[former user]

Yes, it was german
so what would be appropriate then?

[ahpincis]

Off the top of my head Hejaz Bahnhof.... but that is not being scientific. I know I saw an article published on the railway in either Gulf Air or Jazeera Airways in-flight magazine about a year ago or so. I was not travelling with my wife at the time so fairly sure I was flying to Bahrain, hence one of the two airlines...

[former user]

out of the top of my google

or this reenactment

[ahpincis]

Yes... on the top picture in the red panel with gold trim must be the Imperial 'tughra' of Sultan of Sultam Mehmet V... no, it is not. Actually, this is a fun excersise for me. When I go to Turkey after Ramadan to visit my new daughter-in-law this has given me something to research. We did have a lecture, here in sunny Kuwait @ Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah on the BBB (Berlin-Bosphorus-Baghdad-Basra proposed bahnhof), so when back at work Sunday I must look up the abstract of the lecture.

[Neldoreth]

Guilty as charged! I really should have taken the time to grab a proper Arabic word... Something like "boat" would have been ironically funny, and an easter egg to people who read Arabic. Next time!

Thanks
n.

[Neldoreth]

I have taken Arabic in the past, but failed to actually learn a lot of it

The reenactment posted above was one of my inspirations, as you can tell from the designs on the car. The picture below was my inspiration for the engine though, also a reenactment train, but more colourful than the one above!



Thanks
n.

[ahpincis]

Well Neldoreth, nice job anyway. I guess by being the only non-Arab in my first job in Kuwait all those years ago made learning Arabic an imperative. Also having a great calligrapher as a friend helped reading and then an Egyptian wife ensured that I was immersed in the language. Later at the cultural centre where I work almost everything is published in both Arabic and English (I work on most of our publications) so I have a daily refresher course...