Istanbul’s Haydarpasa railway station on the Asian side of the Bosphorus has witnessed history: from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire to military coups. But the station which featured in the opening chapter of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express lacked trains for a few years. Now it is set to change
Symbol of friendship between Ottoman Empire and Germany
Haydarpasa station—designed by two German architects—was inaugurated in its current form in 1909, five years before the outbreak of World War I. It was a symbol of the friendship between the Ottoman Empire and Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II, who yearned to expand Berlin’s influence deep into the Middle East and had sealed a strong relationship with Sultan Abdulhamid II. The station was to be the key hub of the kaiser’s dream of a Berlin to Baghdad railway passing through Constantinople, Aleppo and Mosul, with a branch line south to Damascus
Start point for Armenian genocide
One of the darkest moments in its history came on 24 April 1915 when Haydarpasa was used as the start point for the deportation of the first convoy of Armenians rounded up in Istanbul. Turkey denies Armenian assertions that the ensuing mass slaughter amounted to genocide
Back on track
Since 2013, the celebrated terminus has not seen any train traffic after being shut for restoration work and a major upgrade of Turkey’s railway network. With the refurbishment stalling, top local officials openly spoke of plans to sell off the station, possibly turning it into a hotel, shopping centre or entertainment complex
The situation sparked alarm among Turkish architecture and heritage activists, who staged weekly demonstrations to salvage its future. Now a Turkish State Railways official has told the AFP that trains will begin to arrive at the station inn 2019