Fire at historical Haydarpasa train station in Istanbul

I heard yesterday that the beautiful and impressive train station at Haydarpaşa was damaged by fire at the end of last month. The Haydarpasa station is one of the most instantly recognisable landmarks in Istanbul and well loved by travellers, Turks and Istanbulites alike. The last most westerly train station in Asia where you can catch a train that travels the Hejaz Railway which terminates in Medina running via Syria and Jordan before arriving in Saudia Arabia. The Haydarpasa terminal sits on the shoreline built on reclaimed land overlooking the Bosphorus. It is a terrible shame for Istanbul and I hope the Turkish government will make every effort to return this splendid building to it's former glory.
The fire started on 28th of November in the middle of the afternoon, the damage is mostly to the roof and the fourth floor. No people were injured.



                                   Haydarpaşa Train station in better days:



Other articles about Istanbul

Basilica Cistern

Galata Tower, Istanbul

The Grand Bazaar

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Istanbul City Guide

Eminonu


.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poisonous creepy crawlies and snakes in Turkey

Image
People often ask me about this, are there any poisonous snakes in Turkey? Or do you have to worry about scorpions; it always makes me laugh as I get a mental image of some hapless British tourist with a knotted handkerchief on his head, lobster red suntan and union jack boxer shorts trying not to spill his beer whilst grappling with a giant man eating scorpion at the hotel bar like an outtake from Clash of the Titans. The short answer is yes Turkey does have some poisonous inhabitants but the chance of you coming across any of them is so negligible as to be almost nonexistent. I have travelled around Turkey and visited many times and have managed to spot a poisonous snake on just one occasion, which means I see more poisonous snakes in my hometown in the south of England ( Adders ) then I do in Turkey. Admittedly the one snake I saw in Turkey was a horned viper , considered to be the most dangerous snake found in Europe, which my mother in law almost trod on when we were visiting a
Read more

Istanbul - City of the World's Desire

Image
Istanbul without a doubt my most favourite city in the world, located in north western Turkey split in half by the Bosphorus, the straits that separate Europe from Asia. Not only is it the only City in the world to be situated in two continents simultaneously, but it is also one of the largest cities in Europe. The sheer scale of the city is at first intimidating and later impossible not to fall in love with, hence the reason I return every year. For most visitors your first glimpse of the city will be as your plane comes in over the Sea of Marmara, complete with seemingly motionless boats, once you sight land you notice the glittering minarets and tightly packed high rise blocks before touch down at the thoroughly modern Atatürk Airport. Once you venture out into the city you will be immediately struck by the hustle and bustle of life in Istanbul, the packed streets and noisy roads as twelve and a half million people go around their daily business. Istanbul is not known as the “Cit
Read more

Travelling by Dolmus in Turkey

Image
The humble Dolmuş (pronounced Dol-moosh) sometimes referred to as a shared taxi is the cheapest way to travel in Turkey, Dolmus buses vary from city to city sometimes a small minibus sometimes a converted transit van. They normally stick to a set route although I have known them to go off route to drop you off closer to you destination in Istanbul. Dolmuş stops are indicated by a blue bus stop style sign with a large white “D” on it in some areas in other areas there are no marked stops, however Dolmus buses will stop and pick up or drop off anywhere along their set route you just have to hail them like a taxi. The sign in the front window of the Dolmuş usually indicates the route of the bus saying both the departure and destination point. It is generally accepted that the Dolmus never runs on time, and in fact the name Dolmuş translates as a taxi that doesn't start until its full (stuffed full) with passengers. Once you have hailed the Dolmus take a seat and pass your money to th
Read more