Sirkeci railway station

Check out this beauty! This isn’t just any station – it’s the former terminus of the Orient Express! It was built in 1890 by a Prussian architect, commissioned by the Sultan to work for the Ottoman Empire. As for the legendary train, it was created by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits back in 1883, initially running from Paris to Vienna, then on to Venice and finally Constantinople. It was the brainchild of a young Belgian engineer who drew inspiration from the Pullman sleeping cars – he traveled in them once, while in the United States. He found them super efficient, but oh-so-uncomfortable; so he figured there had to be a better way to travel in luxury. And he made it happen! His creation came to be known as the Train of Kings and the King of Trains! Its cabins featured all the top-of-the-line comforts of the day: central heating, hot water, and even gas lighting! The same goes for its decor: silk sheets, marble bathrooms, crystal goblets and silver cutlery. In the 1920s, interior decoration was left to the care of renowned art deco artists. The train was adorned with precious wood marquetry and gorgeous glass panels. Simply put, it got a whole Art Deco makeover! The big names on board turned it into a legend in no time: King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, Leo Tolstoy, Marlene Dietrich, Lawrence of Arabia, the spy Mata Hari and, of course, Agatha Christie, who immortalized the train in her famous novel “Murder on the Orient Express”. All these celebrities arriving in Istanbul caused a bit of a headache; there was no hotel big enough to accommodate them all. That’s when they built the infamous Hotel Pera, still in use today. On May 20, 1977, 94 years after its inauguration, the Orient Express made its final round trip between Paris and Istanbul. It was mainly due to declining demand in response to air traffic increase, rising operational costs and political tensions between certain countries and Turkey. Today, the French national railway company, SNCF, owns seven of the original carriages, some of which have been listed as historical monuments. If this all sounds interesting to you, be sure to visit the railway museum inside the station. It’s very small, but admission is free of charge!