Sirkeci Terminal

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Side entrance to Sirkeci Terminal

Sirkeci Terminal is a terminus main station of the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) in Sirkeci, on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. International, domestic and regional trains running westwards depart from here.

1 History
2 The terminal building
3 International lines
4 Orient Express
5 Public transport links
6 See also

[edit] History

After the Crimean War, it was concluded that a railway has to be built between Europe and Istanbul. First contract signed was with Labro, a British member of parliament in January 1857. The contract was cancelled three months later because he was unable to provide the investment capital required. Similar second and third contracts in 1860 and 1868 signed with some British and Belgian entrepreneurs ended with the same result. On April 17, 1869 the concession for "Rumeli Railraod" was awarded to Baron Maurice de Hirsch (Moritz Freiherr Hirsch auf Gereuth), a Bavaria-born banker from Belgium. The project foresaw a route from Istanbul via Edirne, Plovdiv and Sarajevo to the shore of Sava River. The construction of the first 15 km from Istanbul to Halkali began on June 4, 1870 and was completed on January 4, 1871. An extension of the line to Sirkeci was demanded as the starting point Yeşilköy was too far from the business center Eminönü. First option for the line was a route from Beyazit down to the shore of Golden Horn. The Ottoman Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz decided and permitted the route to run on the shoreline of Sea of Marmara bordering the walls of Topkapi Palace’s lower garden. The extension line was completed on July 21, 1872. In 1873, a terminus station in Sirkeci was built which was known as "temporary".

[edit] The terminal building

The interior of the Sirkeci terminal

The construction of a new terminal building began on February 11, 1888. The terminus, which was initially named "Müşir Ahmet Paşa Station", was opened on November 3, 1890 replacing the temporary one. The architect of the project was August Jachmund, a Prussian who was sent to Istanbul by the German government in order to study Ottoman architecture, but lectured architectural design at the School of Polytechnic in Istanbul. The terminal building on an area of 1,200 m2 is one of the greatest examples of the European Orientalism , which also influenced the designs of other architects. The building was also modern, having gas lighting and heating in winter.

The terminal restaurant became a meeting point for journalists, writers and other elite people from the media in the 1950s and 1960s. The same restaurant called "Orient Express" today is a good selection by tourists after a city walk.

The current building is preserved in its original state. But the station surroundings changed very much since 1890.

[edit] International lines

The terminal constitutes the main connection node of the Turkish railway network with the rest of Europe. The two main lines of connection are provided by the line running between Istanbul and Thessaloniki, Greece, and the Bosphorus Express serving daily between Sirkeci and Gara de Nord in Bucharest, Romania. Connections to Sofia, Belgrade, Budapest, and Chişinău are established with wagons attached to the Bosphorus Express train.

[edit] Orient Express

Main article: Orient Express

On October 4, 1883 the first voyage of the Orient Express departed from Gare de l'Est in Paris, France with farewell music from Mozart’s Turkish March. The train was a project of Belgian businessman Georges Nagelmackers. The route passed through Strasbourg in France, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Ulm, Munich in Germany, Vienna in Austria, Budapest in Hungary, Bucharest in Romania, Rousse and Varna in Bulgaria ending in Sirkeci. The travel took 80 hours for the 3,094 km. The famed Orient Express, which transported kings, princes and statesmen, stopped running on May 19, 1977 due to difficulties in passing through the Iron Curtain countries. Orient Express was revived in 1982 by an American businessman and runs various routes that include London and Venice, but not in the same grand style as before.