By Wassim Chemaitelli
THE DAWN OF AVIATION IN LEBANON (1913-1914)
The Cedarjet Pages are proud to celebrate a hundred years of flight
with this special document, which for once will not be devoted
to MEA. This document relays the events that surrounded the arrival
of the first airplanes to Lebanon, and the early years of aviation in the
Middle East.
I- The Race to Egypt
The first aviators to reach Lebanon were actually flying the very
first intercontinental flights. In 1913, the French Ligue Nationale Aerienne
set a challenge to the pilots: covering the 5600 Km distance from Paris
to Cairo via the Holy Land, then part of the Ottoman Empire.
The first pilot to rise to the challenge was Pierre Daucourt assisted
by his mechanic J. Roux. They left Paris on October 20th 1913 on a Borel
monoplane but their journey ended in Anatolia, Turkey. Their plane carshed
into the Taurus mountains on November 26th 1913. Fortunately, the aviators
were unharmed but they were unable to resume their journey. They are remembered
as the pionners of the first intercontinental journey from Europe to Asia.
Their successful route through central and eastern Europe paved the way
for the other competitors on this race to Egypt.
The second team to leave Paris was headed by Marc Bonnier, assisted by his mechanic Joseph Barnier. They set out on their journey, flying a Nieuport monoplane on November 10th 1913. Bonnier and Barnier reached Istanbul on December 5th, but had to pause there several days for technical problems. In the meantime, another pilot was following them closely. He will be the first aviator to land in Lebanon.
Jules Vedrines left Paris on November 15th 1913. His mechanical
skills spared his Bleriot XI the weight of an extra passenger, he was flying
his plane on his own. After a difficult departure (he was arrested in Nancy
for violating a no-fly zone on the border with Germany, and was able to fly
again only on November 29th), his determination, skills and courage led him
ahead of his competitors. He was able to fly nonstop across Germany from
Nancy to Prague. Then he continued his journey through Belgrade (12/2/1913),
Sofia (12/4/1913) before catching up with Bonnier and Barnier in Istanbul
on 12/05/1903. Jules Vedrines left Istanbul on 12/19/1913, and flew south
via Eskishehir (12/19/13), Konya (12/22/1913) and Silifke before flying nonstop
across the gulf of Alexandretta and landing directly in Tripoli in northern
Lebanon on 12/24/1913. Thus, Vedrine became the first pilot to reach Lebanon.
He continued his journey to Beirut where he landed in the Quarantaine quarter
and was given a hero's welcome on 12/25/1913. From Beirut, he flew south
to Jaffa in Palestine, and then on to Kantara and Cairo where he landed,
on the Heliopolis polo ground, on 12/29/1913 at 1:15 PM, winning the race
to Egypt.
Jules Vedrines lands in Beirut on December 25th 1913. Postcards
from Fouad Debbas' collection, in Beyrouth, Notre Memoire, 3eme edition,
Henri Berger Editeurs, Paris, 1986.
Bonnier and Barnier arrived to Beirut on 12/29/1913 from Istanbul
via Eskishehir and Adana. They landed near the sand dunes south of the
city (incidentally, near the site of the first airport built in 1938) as
poor visibility at dusk diverted them away from the planned landing spot
at the Quarantaine quarter. They continued their journey to Jerusalem, and
they were the first pilots to fly to the Holy City (as Vedrines flew via Jaffa
instead), where they landed on 12/31/1913. They reached Cairo 3 days after
Vedrines on 01/01/1914.
Bonnier and Barnier flying their Nieuport monoplane
in Jerusalem. Photo via the ThoseMagnificentMen website.
II- The Imperial Response
The flights by the French pilots raised the enthusiasm
of the local population throughout Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine and Egypt
and emulated the Ottoman authorities towards developing their own aviation
sector and undertaking similar flights across their empire. In February
1914, only one month after Bonnier and Barnier's arrival to Cairo, the
Cairo Expedition was launched with the objective of covering in flight
the 2370 km distance from Istanbul to Alexandria, Egypt. The following
route was approved by the authorities:
Istanbul-Eskishehir-Afyon-Ulukisla-Adana-Aleppo-Homs-Beirut-Damascus-Jerusalem-ElArish-Port
Said-Cairo-Alexandria.
The expedition was of particular importance, it would allow the Ottoman
pilots to prove their ability in flying long distance routes, bringing
closer the provinces within the Empire. It was also intended to show the
Empire's commitment to modernity. The ambitious mission was trusted to
2 teams of Ottoman army officers. Captain Fethi Bey and Sadik Bey were to
fly the Muavenet-i Milliye Bleriot XI monoplane, while Lieutenant Nuri
Bey and Ismail Hakki Bey were to fly the Prens Celalettin, a Deperdussin
B monoplane. Fethi Bey and Nuri Bey, who were heading the expedition
were very known in the Empire. Nuri Bey had performed previously, and for
the first time, a much acclaimed flight between Edirne and Istanbul.
f
Left: The planned route, Cairo Expedition,
February 1914. Right: The Cairo Expedition. In black, the Muavenet
-i Milliye (February 2nd 1914-February 27th 1914); in blue the Prens Celalettin
(February 8th 1914-March 11th 1914); in red the Ertugrul (March 6th 1914-March
13th 1914) and in green the Edremit (April 7th 1914-May 15 1914). Map:
Palestine et Syrie by Karl Baedeker, Leipzig 1905.
From left to right: Sadik Bey, Ismail
Hakki Bey, Captain Fethi Bey and Lieutenant Nuri Bey, at the onset of
the Cairo Expedition.
Captain Fethi Bey and Sadik Bey took off
from Istanbul on February 8th 1914. They stopped in Eskishehir (Feb8-10),
Afyon (Feb 10), Konya (Feb 10), Tarsus (Feb 11), Adana (Feb12), Aleppo
(Feb13-15), Homs (Feb 15) and reached Beirut on February 15th. At
each stop the pilots were acclaimed as national heros and Beirut was no
exception. On February 19th, the pilots took off from Beirut, but had to
make a forced landing east of the city by the Beirut River due to engine
damage. The Bleriot had to undergo repair in Beirut until February 24th 1914.
The pilots continued then their journey to Damascus from where they took-off,
bound to Jerusalem, on February 27th 1914. Amidst difficult flying conditions
on the Golan heights, the plane crashed near Samakh, east of the sea of
Galilee, just on the border between the provinces of Syria and Palestine.
Captain Fethi Bey and Sadik Bey did not survive the crash, and they were
burried in Damascus, next to Salaheddin Al Ayyubi's (Saladin, one of Islam's
most prestigious historic figures) at a mausoleum near the Umayyad mosque.
They are still remembered, both in Turkey and in Syria as heros and martyrs.
