Sirkeci Gare – Istanbul’s emblematic train station

Orient Express and Sirkeci Gare are two tightly connected key words. Although the famous luxury train no longer runs all the way to Istanbul, a visit to the station is a worthwhile trip down memory lane.

The pink brick, white stucco and black wrought iron structure is a prime example for late 19th century Ottoman architecture which sought to combine oriental elements with western modern style. The architect of the train station was a German, August Jachmund, who had come to Istanbul to study Ottoman architecture and ended up lecturing at Istanbul’s polytechnic. The building was completed in 1888 and inaugurated in 1890.

Approach the station from the street car stop of the same name and admire a gleaming steam engine which is exhibited at the left of the side entrance. The exterior is beautifully maintained whereas the interior serves as a modern day train station which connects Istanbul to the Balkans and Greece.

However, 19th century nostalgia remains very much in evidence. First is the Orient Express restaurant which serves excellent food and is full of photographs and memorabilia of times gone past.

Next to it is a tiny museum. Admission is free and it’s only one room, but you can admire a lot of exhibits connected to the Orient Express, like old log books, the reconstruction of a luxury dining car, a conductor’s uniform, even cutlery and crockery which was used on the famous train. The charm of this museum lies in its small size and the fact that, short of touching, you can get really close to the exhibits and study them at your leisure.

Also within the station is a community hall. For some reason this is the venue where several nights a week the Sufi lodge of Istanbul arranges a performance of the whirling dervishes, the best I have seen outside of the festival in Konya because the performers are Sufi who have trained many years to achieve perfection. Tickets to the event can be obtained from many shops and kiosks in the vicinity or along Divan Yoglu.

Leave by the front entrance, cross the square and take a last look at the graceful structure which is an important historical landmark of Istanbul before crossing the Galata Bridge to sample some fish buns and perhaps proceeding to visit the Galata Tower.

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