Sirkeci

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sirkeci is an area in the Eminönü district of the city of Istanbul, Turkey. It has evolved as the place name of the area in Eminönü surrounding Sirkeci Station, the Southeastern (thus "Oriental") long distance passenger train terminus in Europe for the Orient Express.

The neighborhood consists mostly of commercial and tourist oriented uses. A combination of small shops, hans (larger workshops), offices intermingle with boutique hotels, traditional Turkish restaurants, Turkish and foreign-language bookstores, tourist offices, and of course many of the great monuments of Istanbul.

Important historical buildings in the Eminönü/Sirkeci area include Aya Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Roman cisterns and Topkapı Palace.

[edit] Transportation

Famous as the terminating point for the Orient Express, Sirkeci remains one of the main travel hubs for Istanbul, connecting suburban train, tram and ferry systems. The Sirkeci Station of the Turkish State Railways is the terminating node of the European railway network leading into Istanbul, the two main lines from Thessaloniki, Greece and Bucharest, Romania. The Marmaray project under construction, an underwater railway tunnel being built under the Bosporus connecting the European and Asian networks, will also serve this area.