Near East
Near East. The Near East includes: 1. Aden; 2. Saudi Arabia; 3. Iraq; 4. Kuwait; 5. Syria and Lebanon; 6. Palestine and Trans-Jordan; 7. Oman; 8. Yemen; 9. Turkey; and 10. Iran.
1. Aden
Aden is a British town or colony at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, together with a British Protectorate of the same name extending some distance east along the south coast. Its location is somewhat strategic, being on the Suez Canal--Red Sea Route between Europe and the Far East and accounts for its being the location of the first lodge in all of Arabia. That was Felix Lodge No. 355 warranted Aug. 5, 1850 by the Grand Lodge of Scotland. British military Lodge of Integrity No. 771 (later 528) formed in the 14th Foot Regiment at Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1846, was stationed at Aden for about a year in 1878. A second lodge, Centenary No. 1449, was warranted at Aden by the Grand Lodge of Scotland Feb. 2, 1900. Both Scotch lodges are still working. Light of Arabia Lodge No. 3870 was warranted Jan. 9, 1919 from England for Sheikh Othman but it removed to Aden and was still working in 1951.
2. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is so named after the ruler of that country, and includes the great central and southern portion of old Arabia which was left after the separation of several smaller areas. Before W*rld W*r I, there was no Masonic lodge in this part of Arabia and none has been established since.
3. Iraq
Iraq embraces the celebrated valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. There were evidently no early lodges in this area but, in recent years, the United Grand Lodge of England has warranted Baghdad Lodge No. 4022, Iraq No. 4471, and Dar-es-Salaam No. 5277, all at Baghdad, and Mesopotamia No. 3820, Babylonia No. 4326, and Basrah No. 5105, all at Basrah, and Kirkuk No. 7079 at Kirkuk. The Grand Lodge of Scotland warranted Faiha Lodge No. 1311 at Basrah. In 1954, there were 9 lodges under the English Inspector for the District of Iraq.
4. Kuwait
Kuwait lies at the head of the Persian Gulf near the mouth of the Tigris-Euphrates outflow. The first and only lodge there is the recently warranted Kuwait No. 6810 by the United Grand Lodge of England. (Comments Removed.)
5. Syria and Lebanon
Syria and Lebanon adjoin Turkey on the south and formerly belonged to it, being made a French mandate after W*rld W*r I. As stated under Turkey in the present article, a lodge was reported at Aleppo as early as 1738, and it is clear that one was established there as early as 1848 by warrant from Scotland. In 1861, Scotland warranted Palestine Lodge No. 415 at Beirut and, in subsequent years down to 1919, 4 others, but all 5 p*rished. In 1865, the Grand Orient of France and the Grand Lodge of Scotland each had a lodge at Beirut, and the Grand Orient of Italy had one at Damascus. On Jan. 4, 1869, the G. O. of France placed Loge le Liban, but it was employed in (comments removed) activities and endured only about 15 years. The largest number of lodges and those which display greatest signs of permanency have been established in the past half century. Those by Scotland are: Peace No. 908, Beirut, Syria; Kadisha No. 1002, Tripoli, dormant: Zahle No. 1047, Zahle; Light of Damascus No. 1058, Damascus; Emissa No. 1125, Homs; El Mizab No. 1130, Tripoli; Mt. Lebanon No. 1312, Lebanon (from Haifa, Palestine); King Hiram No. 1351, Tripoli. The following are under the Grand Lodge of New York: Syrio-American No. 1, Beirut; New York No. 2, Beirut; Fakhr ud Deen No. 3, Beirut; Ibrahim el Khalil No. 4, Damascus; Suleiman No. 5, Amioun, Koura; Chouf No. 6, Baakline; El Ber Dowie No. 7, Zehleh; El Merj No. 8, Mardjayoun; Turbol No. 9, Tripoli. In 1954, there were 8 lodges working under Scotland, and 7 under New York. Two of those lodges work in English, the others in Arabic.
6. Palestine (Israel) and Trans-Jordan
Palestine (Israel) and Trans-Jordan appear to have had no lodge prior to W*rld W*r I, which is not a very appreciative response from the legendary birthplace of Freemasonry! In recent years, the following lodges have been established there (the line between Palestine and Trans-Jordan being somewhat irregular and unsettled): By the United Grand Lodge of England: Lydda No. 4613 at Haifa in 1932; King Solomon’s Temple No. 4611 at Jerusalem in 1923 (moved to London, England); Lodge of Four Hills No. 5185 at Jerusalem in 1930; by Scotland: Salah-ed-Din No. 1071 at Acre, Israel in 1910; Carmel No. 1085 at Haifa in 1911; Star No. 1331 at Ramalia, Israel, dormant in 1935; Jordan No. 1339 at Jaffa in 1925, moved to Amman, Trans-Jordan in 1935; Lodge of the Golden Throne No. 1344 at Jerusalem in 1926; King Hiram No. 1351 at Haifa in 1926, moved to Tripoli, Syria; Lodge of Holy City No. 1372 at Jerusalem in 1930; Rubin No. 1376 at Haifa in 1931; Mizpah No. 1383 at Jerusalem in 1933; Sharon No. 1387 at Tel-Aviv in 1934; Aviv No. 1937 at Tel-Aviv in 1939. The Grand Lodge of Israel was formed Oct. 20, 1953 and soon had 40 lodges on its roll.
7. Oman
Oman is in the southeast part of the Arabian Peninsula and seems never to have had any Masonic lodge.
8. Yemen
Yemen is on the Red Sea near Aden and has never had a Masonic lodge.
9. Turkey
Turkey is in the extreme northern part of the Peninsula, fronting on the Bosporus and Black Sea. The earliest reference to Freemasonry in Turkey is in a letter from Florence to the St. James Evening Post, May 24, 1738 stating that ”We hear from Constantinople that the Lodges at Smyrna and Aleppo are greatly increased, and that several Turks of distinction have been admitted to them.” On Feb. 3, 1748, a lodge was constituted at Aleppo either by or under the auspices of Alexander Drummond, British Consul, who had been Master of Greenoch Kilwinning Lodge in Scotland, and who held a deputation to establish lodges in Europe and Asia bordering on the Mediterranean. This was the first foreign lodge warranted by Scotland. As evidence of the informal way in which such matters were handled two centuries ago, the minutes of Canongate Kilwinning Lodge for April 8, 1752 recite: ”The Lodge being mett according to adjournment * * * a charter for constituting a lodge at Aleppo was signed by the Most Worshipful Master and the other proper office-bearers of the Grand Lodge, and also by the office-bearers of this Lodge.” The minutes of the Grand Lodge showed no similar entry. Also the broad and inaccurate geographic sweep of authority granted by some deputations was amazing, as shown by one granted by the Grand Master of England, Earl Ferrers, in 1762-64, to Dr. Dionysius Manasse as Provincial Grand Master for all Armenia and the East Indies! In 1769 and 1787, the Grand Orient of Geneva warranted lodges at Constantinople and Smyrna, respectively.
We hear nothing more about Freemasonry in Turkey until the middle of the 19th century. A writer in Freemasons Quarterly Review (1844, p. 21) stated that there was a Masonic meeting in Constantinople but that the government had (comments removed) any more. The first lodge warranted in Turkey by the Grand Lodge of England was Oriental Lodge No. 988 (later 687) Nov. 25, 1856, which subsequently was dropped from the roll. The same authority established 10 other lodges in Turkey between 1860 and 1870, but their average life was only 25 or 30 years and, until after 1900, lodges there were few and unstable. Six of the last mentioned English lodges were erased in 1894, indicating some cataclysm, probably governmental action. In 1859, Oriental Lodge complained to the Grand Lodge at London about irregular lodges at Smyrna, and the Board of General Purposes expressed the opinion that the lodges at fault, Ionic, Anatolia, and Benzenzia, were irregular and that they had formed the Grand Lodge of Turkey, which was also irregular. It was later reported that the irregularities were caused by someone who held an Irish warrant; the lodges were declared spurious.
In 1861, Scotland warranted Palestine No. 415 at Beirut and, in subsequent years down to 1919 it warranted several others which (comments removed). In 1861, the Grand Lodge of England created a District Grand Lodge for Turkey which, by 1885, had under it six lodges at Smyrna, three at Constantinople, and one at Ephasus. In 1863 the G. O. of Italy formed a lodge at Constantinople and, in 1865, the Grand Lodge of Ireland warranted Lodge No. 166. The G. O. of France had three lodges at Constantinople and one at Beirut. The G. O. of Italy had two at Constantinople and one at Damascus. The Grand Lodge of Ireland had one at Constantinople, and the Grand Lodge of Scotland, one at Beirut. The A. & A. S. R. entered Turkey in 1869. In 1908, the Grand Orient of Turkey was formed which, in 1930, had 23 lodges with 1960 members. Nothing has been heard of this body for some years. In 1951, a Grand Lodge of Turkey under the auspices of the Scottish Rite was announced. It seems that there were no English-speaking lodges in Turkey in 1954.
In 1955, a second Grand Lodge was formed in Turkey, and some effort has been made to merge the two to form a body independent of the Scottish Rite Supreme Council.
10. Iran (Persia)
Iran (Persia). In 1810, the Persian Minister to England, Mirza Abul Hassan Khan, was made a Mason in London by Lord Moira; and Sir George Ousley, the Ambassador to Persia, was deputized as Provincial Grand Master for that country, although we know of no resultant Masonic developments in Persia. W*rld W*r I, together with the discovery of petroleum, produced a considerable and a rapid Anglicizing of the commercial centers and the capitals of many Near East areas, inevitably followed by the establishment of Masonic lodges. Beginning in 1919, the Grand Lodge of Scotland formed the following lodges in Iran: Light of Iran No. 1191 at Shiras, moved to Teheran in 1922; Pioneer No. 1305 at Adaban in 1923; Masjid-i-Suleman, Maidan-i-Naftun No. 1324 at Mohammerah; and Bahrein St. Andrew No. 1431 at Amali, Bahrein, Iran. All four were working in 1954. The United Grand Lodge of England warranted St. George Abadan No. 6058 at Abadan in 1945.
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