In the books opening chapters it is endeavoured to explain the historical background and the processes undergone by The Ottoman Empire, including the Holy land, with respect to the introduction of postal services and there rates and calculations from 1840 onwards.

Where there are no items associated with the Holy Land, examples are given from elsewhere in the Ottoman Empire, for example the Istanbul City Post.

The book includes all the known post offices in the historical Holy Land under Ottoman rule, (between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River), without entering into political issues. Post Offices listed in the official Ottoman postal guides are included , as well as those that are not mentioned but are known to us from postal items or archived handstamps and postal markings. the only post office in the book that is not located in the Holy Land is the Turkish post office at Merdjaoun / Jdeideh, in view of the fact that colonists from Metulla used this post office to send and receive mail.