Sirkeci Garı
Istanbul
Sirkeci Garı is the historic station for trains to Europe, near the Golden Horn. Its 19th-century building, with round windows and turrets, blends styles from Europe and the East.
The gateway to Europe
The first trains reached Sirkeci at a temporary station. Today's building opened at the end of the 1800s, designed by the German architect August Jasmund. For more than a century, trains for Europe left from here.
The luxury train
This is where the journey of the Orient Express ended, the luxury train that crossed Europe. Its carriages had velvet curtains, dark glossy walls and soft armchairs. Nobles, businessmen and famous writers travelled on it.
What to see from the forecourt
Look at the big round windows with coloured glass, the pointed arches and the turrets on the roof. The walls alternate pale stone and brick. It is one of the best-known examples of a style invented in Europe to recall the East.
A railway by the sea
The station stands near the water, at the foot of the hill of the sultans' old palace. To get here, the tracks curve around the tip of the city, along the sea. So travellers got off the train right beside the water.
