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 the Ottoman Empire were concluded in the following years: France, 1535; Great Britain, 1580; Austria, 1718; and 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. The first postal services, however, started at even earlier dates in many cases. Egypt, although under Turkish sovereignty, opened post offices in various parts of the Turkish Em¬pire, the first being in Constantinople in 1863. As far as Palestine is concerned, the following post offices existed: Austria: Jaffa, Jerusalem and Haifa France: Jaffa, Jerusalem and Haifa Russia: Jaffa, Jerusalem, Haifa and Acre Egypt: Jaffa Germany: Jaffa and 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 special postage stamps and postal stationery at a certain period for their offices in Palestine. The importance of the various administrations may be judged from the sale of postage stamps at their post offices in Jerusalem during the year 1909: Austria - 250,000 Francs; Russia - 100,000 Francs; Germany - 60,000 Francs; Italy - 15,000 Francs; Turkey - only 20,000 Francs. The Otto¬man Empire tried with all the means at their disposal to abolish the foreign post offices. The Turkish Go¬vernment decided in 1876 upon their abolition, but could not implement this decision since 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 threa¬tened not to consider Turkish postage stamps as a proper means for the prepayment of postage, Turkey was compelled to abolish the reduction in price. In 1900, the Sultan prohibited the use of foreign post offices by his subjects. Nevertheless, it is known that Turkish merchants and even govern¬ment 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, 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 voluntarily closed their offices on September 30, 1914, while all other foreign post offices were closed by order of the Turkish Government.