Anyone who is a fan of rail travel in Turkey would certainly be impressed by the beautiful trains stations of Istanbul - Sirkeci on the European side and Haydarpasa on the Asian side. Haydarpasa is the terminal from which trains from Istanbul to Iran, Syria, Southeast Anatolia, Central Anatolia and Eastern Turkey departs. It is easily accessible by ferry from Eminonu and Karakoy on the European side of the city.
The current station building of Haydarpasa Terminal was designed by two German architects in neo-classical style and was open to rail traffics in 1909. Since then it has been one of the busiest train stations in Eastern Europe and Turkey.
Although of the two major train stations in Istanbul, Sirkeci is the more famous one, having been immortalised by the term 'Orient Express', I personally prefer Haydarpasa to Sirkeci because of the former's picturesque location on the shore of the Bosphorus and its grand interiors. There is a nice station hall, a nice bistro-cafe serving hot food and snacks, a station barber, a waiting lounge, and wonderful views of the Bosphorus right at the door steps of the main entrance to the station.
Numerous overnight trains leave from Haydarpasa to different parts of Turkey and the Middle East. Unfortunately, rail travel within Turkey has not been the preferred method of most travellers to Turkey, in part due to the absence of rail routes to some of the countries top tourist destinations (for instance, no train stations in places such as Fethiye, Marmaris or Antalya), but also due to the fact that rail services are rather infrequent compared to the highly efficient inter-city bus systems in Turkey. And then the longer-than-planned upgrading programmes for existing rail networks all over the country also kind of put people off from using trains as a mode of transport for a long period of time - who would like to get off the train at 3 in the morning and continue the rest of their journey on board a crowded bus? One might as well take a bus right from the beginning or fly there. The fact that train travel in Turkey takes much longer than other modes of transport, and most travellers are not familiar with Turkey's train systems and routes, also make things rather complicated: for example, although one can travel from Istanbul to Cappadocia by night train via Ankara and Kayseri, this journey involves two whole days of travel, arrival at a very awkward time in the middle of the night in Kayseri, and 2 change-overs on the way (first at Ankara train Station, second at Kayseri train station in downtown Kayseri to the inter-city bus terminal outside of Kayseri's city centre by taxi or municipal bus to catch a bus to Cappadocia. For those who are on a very tight schedule, it is often faster and cheaper to fly directly from Istanbul to Kayseri with one of those budget carriers.
With the construction of an ambitious high-speed rail network which covers most major towns and cities in Turkey, I hope the use of train as a mode of transport within Turkey is going to become popular once more.
On a sunny morning, the first thing you see after alighting from the night train from somewhere in central or eastern Anatolia is this delightful ferry pier covered with Iznik tiles and a kiosk selling snacks and beverages with a huge 'TCDD' (abbreviation for Turkish State Railways) logo on the front.
The pier in front of Haydarpasa Terminal's main entrance is a popular place for locals to chill out and enjoy the views of the Bosphorus, as it is much less crowded than the promenade in next-door Kadikoy. There is also an inexpensive seaside cafe next to the Haydarpasa ferry terminal, with good views of the Haydarpasa harbour and the busy shipping traffics across the Bosphorus, where one could enjoy some turkish tea or coffee in open-air seatings.
Regular ferries shuttle between Haydarpasa and Karakoy or Eminonu on the European side of Istanbul, and Kadikoy on the Asian side. In addition to the Hayarpasa-Karakoy ferries operated by the Istanbul Municipality, on the left-hand side of the pier is the boarding point of Haydarpasa-Eminonu ferries operated by Turyol, a private ferry company.
Copyrights@2011. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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