Foreign powers maintained post offices in the Ottoman Empire under the "capitulation" privileges. The actual position regarding the rights which entitled European powers to have their own post offices in Ottoman Empire are different in respect of each of the various powers in question. The first agreements between European powers and Ottoman Empire were concluded in the following years: France 1535. Great Britain 1580. Austria 1718. Russia 1720. The first foreign post offices in Ottoman Empire were opened as follows: Austria 1748, France 1812, Greece 1834, Italy 1873, Germany 1870, Spain 1784, Russia 1721 and Great Britain 1832. First postal services, however, started in many cases already at earlier dates. Egypt, although under Turkish sovereignty, opened post offices in various places of the Turkish Empire, the first one in Constantinople in 1863. As far as Palestine is concerned, the following post offices existed: Austria: Jaffa Jerusalem Haifa France: Jaffa Jerusalem Haifa Russia: Jaffa Jerusalem Haifa Acre Egypt: Jaffa Germany: Jaffa Jerusalem Italy: Jerusalem The postage stamps and postal stationery in use at these offices were those of the administrating country or the special issues for its offices in the Levant. Only Russia and Italy issued at a certain period special postage stamps and postal stationery for their offices in Palestine. The importance of the various administrations may be judged from the sale of postage stamps at their post offices at Jerusalem during the year 1909: Austria - 250,000 Francs; Russia - 100,000 Francs; Germany - 60,000 Francs; Italy - 15,000 Francs; Turkish - 20,000 Francs only. The Otto¬man Empire tried with all means at their disposal to abolish the foreign post offices. The Turkish Government decided in 1876 upon their abolition, but could not carry out this decision inasmuch as the Turkish postal services were at that time inadequate. In order to compete with the foreign post offices, Turkey sold stamps to the public for letters destined abroad at half their face value. When the receiving countries threatened not to consider Turkish postage stamps as proper means for the prepayment of postage, Turkey was compelled to abolish the reduction. In 1900, the Sultan prohibited the use of the foreign post offices by his subjects. Nevertheless, it is known that Turkish merchants and even government officials preferred to forward letters of any importance through the foreign post offices. The use of the Turkish railways, among them the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway, was not permitted to the foreign post offices. The French, Russian, German and, later on, the Italian post offices had one carriage for the conveyance of their mail between Jerusalem and Jaffa, while the Austrian post office had its own carriage. The outbreak of the First World War, finally, brought to an end the foreign post offices in Turkey. Austria and Germany closed voluntarily their offices on September 30, 1914, while all other foreign post offices were closed by an order of the Turkish Government.