Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa railway station imperiled (Interview) (Includes interview)

Istanbul – After an “accidental” fire, the Haydarpaşa railway station in Istanbul is slowly being restored to its former glory. Yet its future remains clouded by uncertainty.

A famous landmark in Istanbul recently was damaged by an unexplained fire which apparently was due to a “short circuit” in the electric wiring. The roof has been badly damaged as a result of the calamity. Turkish officials have pledged to restore the roof. For its part, the New York City-based “World Monuments Fund” has undertaken to officially consider ( thanks to local and international preservation campaigns) to include the historic railway station on its watch-list.

Here’s an exclusive Digital Journal interview with local architect and heritage preservationist, Mr. Mete Kiyan on the station’s historical importance and significance, to “Istanbulites” and foreign visitors.

What is the importance of the station as a functional railway building for Istanbul?

M.K: “Since it has been built in 1908 as the starting station of Istanbul-Baghdad railway line, Haydarpaşa Railway Station is a symbolic building connecting Anatolia with Istanbul. With being the most important point from where one reach to the European side in minutes, it is remarkable just because until now it has continued as a functional railway station, with no change of its function.

“It is the old Istanbul that you see across the Bosphorus from the docks after passing through the station’s splendid halls. Namely, Haydarpasa Railway Station was always the last stop of a modern migration path from Anatolia to Istanbul. Furthermore, the mid-stop for transcontinental migration paths.

“What is respectable in the short history is the fact that Haydarpaşa Railway Station is the witness of rural-urban migration for the last 50-60 years in Turkey, similarly the fast growing countries are facing today. As interesting is the fact that, Haydarpasa Railway Station was one of the rare buildings that people remember about Istanbul in their minds migrating from Anatolia to Europe for several years.”

What makes this railway station a unique feature on the urban landscape of the city?

M.K: “When looking to the European side from Anatolian ( Asian) side, the historic peninsula is seen as the Istanbul panorama… Or how about looking from European to Anatolia? It is the lonely Haydarpaşa Railway Station that you see as the symbol of Istanbul. It’s similar to how the Maiden’s Tower symbolizes the Bosphorus. Frankly, Haydarpaşa as a Railway Station is a symbol on the landscape, as important as any other building on the historic peninsula.”

How can Haydarpaşa’s be preserved for future generations to admire and take delight in?

M.K.: “I am concerned that Haydarpaşa Railway Station, will [likely] be out of function [or service] after the conclusion of the Marmaray project. It is to be transformed willingly or unwillingly though existing and preserving, its own function for now. After that transformation, there should be at least a museum expressing the station’s importance in the history [ of Istanbul] . As it has served the public so far, it must be transformed as a public space hosting art and cultural activities, with its surrounding landscape remaining intact. All these should be done part by part, via architectural competitions to be held numerous times.”

via Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa railway station imperiled (Interview) (Includes interview).