Haydarpaşa station ( tr, Haydarpaşa Garı) is a railway station in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, that was, until 2012 the main city terminal for trains travelling to and from the Anatolian side of Turkey. It used to be

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

's busiest railway station. (Its counterpart on the European side of the city was

Sirkeci station Sirkeci railway station ( tr, Sirkeci garı), listed on maps as Istanbul railway station ( tr, İstanbul garı), is a railway terminal in Istanbul, Turkey. The terminal is located in Sirkeci, on the tip of Istanbul's historic peninsula, right n ...

which served train services to and from the Thracian side of the country.) The station building still houses the headquarters for

District 1 District 1 may refer to: * I District, Turku, in Finland * District 1, Düsseldorf, a district in Düsseldorf, Germany * Sector 1 (Bucharest), also known as District 1, in Bucharest, Romania * District I, Budapest in Budapest, Hungary * Distric ...

of the State Railways but since a fire in 2010 the station has not been in use and its future remains uncertain. Haydarpaşa stands on an embankment over the Bosphorus just south of the

Port of Haydarpaşa The Port of Haydarpaşa, also known as the Port of Haidar Pasha ( tr, Haydarpaşa Limanı) or the Port of Istanbul, is a general cargo seaport, ro-ro and container terminal, situated in Haydarpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey at the southern entrance to the ...

(one of the main container terminals in Turkey) and is slightly north of busy

Kadıköy Kadıköy (), known in classical antiquity and during the Roman and Byzantine eras as Chalcedon ( gr, Χαλκηδών), is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district in the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, on the northern shore of the Sea of ...

. Until the rail service was suspended, ferry services connected it to

Eminönü Eminönü is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is connected to Karaköy (historic G ...

Karaköy Karaköy (), the modern name for the old Galata, is a commercial quarter in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus. Karaköy is one of the oldest an ...

and

. The closure of the station has been very controversial and a group known as the Haydarpaşa Solidarity Group ( tr, Haydarpaşa Dayanışması) has staged regular protest sit-ins in front of it amid fears that the station and port would be sold; a plan involving seven skyscrapers provoked especially strong adverse reaction.In December 2015, the reintegration of Haydarpaşa station into the Marmaray network was theoretically approved along with the restoration and rehabilitation of the station building and platforms. However, in 2022 its future still remained unclear.

History

Ottoman era (1872–1922)

In 1871

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Abdülaziz ordered the first railway line to be built from

Haydarpaşa Haydarpaşa is a neighborhood within the Kadıköy and Üsküdar districts on the Asian part of Istanbul, Turkey. Haydarpaşa is named after Ottoman Vizier Haydar Pasha. The place, on the coast of Sea of Marmara, borders to Harem in the northwes ...

in Istanbul to

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the ...

.CFOA History
- Trains and Railways of Turkey Haydarpaşa station opened in 1872, by which time the railway extended as far as

Gebze Gebze (,) is a district in Kocaeli Province, Turkey. It is situated 65 km (30 mi) southeast of Istanbul, on the Gulf of Izmit, the eastern arm of the Sea of Marmara. Gebze is the largest district per population size in the province as o ...

. In 1888 the

Anatolian Railway The Chemins de Fer Ottomans d'Anatolie ( tr, Osmanlı Anadolu Demiryolları, en, Anatolian Railway), founded on 4 October 1888, was a railway company that operated in the Ottoman Empire.Chemins de fer Ottomans d'Anatolie The Chemins de Fer Ottomans d'Anatolie ( tr, Osmanlı Anadolu Demiryolları, en, Anatolian Railway), founded on 4 October 1888, was a railway company that operated in the Ottoman Empire.ships. Haydarpaşa station saw its first regular passenger service - daily train from Haydarpaşa to İzmit - in 1890. In 1892 the CFOA laid a line to

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

and shortly afterwards a daily train started to run between the two cities. Haydarpasa-1070032 1070097a

Haydarpaşa was chosen as the northern terminus for the

Baghdad Railway Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

and the Hejaz Railway in 1904, and, with rail traffic increasing, a larger building was required. The Anatolian Railway hired two German architects, Otto Ritter and Helmut Conu, to build the new building. They chose a Neo-classical design and construction started in 1906. Its foundation is based on 1100 wooden piles, each 21 metres long, driven into the soft shore by a steam hammer. German and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

stonemasons crafted the decoration of the exterior. The work was completed on land reclaimed from the sea on 19 August 1909 and the new terminal was inaugurated on 4 November 1909 for the birthday of

Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd ( ota, محمد خامس, Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; tr, V. Mehmed or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) reigned as the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan (). He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I. He succeeded his half-brother ...

. While the work was in progress the community of German engineers and craftsmen established a small German neighbourhood with its own school in the Yeldeğirmeni quarter of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out in 1914 and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

sided with the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

against the Allied Powers. When the Ottomans lost İstanbul was taken over by the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and Haydarpaşa fell under British military control during the occupation. In 1917 the architect

Vedat Tek Mehmet Vedat Tek (1873–1942) was a Turkish architect who was one of the leading figures of the First Turkish National Architectural Movement. Early life and education Of Cretan Muslim origin, Vedat Tek was born in Istanbul to the governor of ...

designed the pretty terminal decorated with Kütahya tiles where ferries used to deposit would-be train passengers in front of the station.

Republican era (1923–present)

The

Turkish Independence War The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

ended on 29 October 1923 with the British withdrawal from Istanbul and the formation of the Republic of Turkey. Haydarpaşa terminal was still under CFOA control but in 1927 the newly formed

Turkish State Railways The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları), abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible with the ownership and maintenance of railway infrastructure in Turkey ...

(TCDD) took over the CFOA and the terminal as part of the process of nationalising all the Turkish railways.TCDD History
- Trains and Railways of Turkey In 1927 the

CIWL Newrest Wagons-Lits, formerly (lit. ''International Sleeping-Car Company''), also CIWL, Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, or just Wagons-Lits, is a division of particularly known for its on-train catering and sleeping car services, as well as being ...

started a premier train service, the all-sleeper

Anatolian Express The Anatolian Express ( tr, Anadolu Ekspresi, french: Anatolie Express) is one of the four direct train services operating between İstanbul and Ankara. The train is an overnight train consisting of eight sleeping cars and one dining car A dinin ...

, that travelled daily between Haydarpaşa and Ankara. In 1938 the

Eastern Express The Eastern Express ( tr, Doğu Ekspresi) is an overnight passenger train operated by the Turkish State Railways. The train runs from Ankara Railway Station to Kars Railway Station in Kars. The train was the first overnight service east of Anka ...

started running from Haydarpaşa to the eastern Turkish city of

Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...

, a distance of . The famous Taurus Express from Haydarpaşa to

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, a distance of , entered service in 1940. In 1965 the Trans-Asia Express began running from Haydarpaşa to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, a distance of . In 1969 the tracks from Haydarpaşa to

were electrified with 25 kV AC

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superfici ...

for the Haydarpaşa-Gebze commuter line. Haydarpaşa Terminus And Pier

In 1979 a tanker burning on the Bosphorus damaged the terminal building, but it was restored a few months later. On 28 November 2010 a fire caused by carelessness during restoration work destroyed the station's roof and the 4th floor. Three people were sentenced to ten months in prison for "recklessly causing the fire". In 2011 the

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

, the New York-based heritage preservation organisation, placed the railway terminal on its 2012 Watch, drawing attention to its uncertain future. In November 2012 the station hosted a three-day art exhibition entitled ''Haydarpasa: Past, Present and Uncertain Future'', which was organised in collaboration with the WMF, and featured Canadian and Turkish artists and photographers seeking to raise international interest in preserving the station as a transportation hub. On 2 February 2012 Haydarpaşa Station closed to long-distance trains to allow for the construction of the Istanbul–Ankara high-speed railway and the

Marmaray The Marmaray () is a intercontinental commuter rail line in Istanbul, Turkey. A rail tunnel running under the Bosphorus strait was connected to an upgraded version of the old suburban train service (known as the banliyö), allowing trains ...

which now connects Istanbul's Asian and European sides, halting train services between Istanbul and the Anatolian region of Turkey). Although work on the Marmaray has now been completed along with high-speed train services to

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it ...

and Eskişehir, these now leave from stations other than Haydarpaşa which remained closed and under restoration in 2022.

Archaeological excavations

Restoration works of the Haydarapaşa railway station

In 2018, remains of a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

coastal town were uncovered during restoration work on the station. The excavations also unearthed a Byzantine-era fountain, a large fortification wall and a ceramic brick

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

.Intact skeleton found in Haydarpaşa train station excavations
/ref>Dozens of graves were also discovered; in October 2018, archaeologists found an intact skeleton wearing a scented necklace. Jewellery and coins dating back to between 610-641 and 527-565 A.D were also found. A podium made of sheared rectangular blocks found between the railway platforms is believed to date back to the

Hellenistic era In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...

Service

Historic monuments in the vicinity of the station

The small Haydarpaşa Cemetery is dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who lost their lives during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

(1854–1856) and the two World Wars. It also contains the graves of members of the Levantine community who used to live in

and Moda. The north-west wing of the 19th-century Selimiye Barracks was transformed into a military hospital during the Crimean War and became the place where the nursing pioneer

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...

cared for wounded and infected

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

soldiers. Her room is maintained in a small museum which also contains other items dating from the Crimean War. Permission from the military is required before visiting the museum. The buildings of the Haydarpaşa Numune Hospital, GATA Military Hospital, Dr. Siyami Ersek Hospital and the present-day Haydarpaşa Campus of the

Marmara University Marmara University ( Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a public university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university is named after the Sea of Marmara and was founded as a university in 1982. However, it was created in 1883 under the name of ''H ...

Alexander Vallaury Alexander Vallaury (1850–1921) was a French- Ottoman architect, who founded architectural education and lectured in the School of Fine Arts in Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire. Biography Vallaury was born in 1850 into a Levantine fa ...

and

Raimondo D'Aronco Raimondo Tommaso D’Aronco (1857–1932) was an Italian people, Italian architect renowned for his building designs in the style of Art Nouveau. He was the chief palace architect to the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II in Istanbul f ...

are also near the station.

References

External links

Başkent Ekspresi

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haydarpasa Terminal 1872 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Historic sites in Turkey Transport in Kadıköy Ottoman railways Railway stations in Istanbul Province Railway stations opened in 1872 Railway stations opened in 1908 Railway stations closed in 2013 Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey 2013 disestablishments in Turkey