Haydarpaşa Railway Staion is not only the most modern entry point from Anatolia to Istanbul, it is also the most magnificent and poetic location to depart from Istanbul to Anatolia and the Middle East. This symbolically important, century-old building handles an average of 100,000 people per day with 140 commuter trains and 28 express trains. This old building will soon be given a new look when the Marmaray Project is completed.

Haydarpaşa Station, the starting point for railroads in Anatolia, is perhaps the most important of all railways stations in Turkey because of its architectural features and its history. Although it looks as if it has been standing there since steam locomotives were invented, this building's history only goes back 100 years, making it one of the younger train stations in Europe.

At the end of the 19th century, Haydarpaşa Station became the departure point for railways connecting Istanbul to Baghdad and the Hejaz region. At that time, Sultan Abdülhamit II ordered that a railway line be constructed from Istanbul to Baghdad and the Hejaz region in order to put an end to the increasing problem of highway bandits in the empire. Other goals included increasing agricultural production, collecting more taxes and strengthening Islamic unity on Ottoman soil. Unfortunately, he was removed from the throne in 1908, the year Haydarpaşa Station opened, without seeing the fruits of his labor.

The symbol of the Ottoman-German alliance
Haydarpaşa Station became the symbol of the Ottoman-German alliance which was forged in the last quarter of the 19th century. When Abdülhamit’s “Pan-Islamic strategy” meshed with the “Middle Eastern policy" of German Emperor Wilhelm II, who wanted to expand his empire’s sphere of influence, it became possible to lay the groundwork for an incredible railway project extending 4,000 kilometers from Istanbul to Basra. The German Deutsche Bank provided the necessary funds for the railway. The Germans were given extensive concession rights in the region where the railway passed and construction began on the railway. The construction began in 1902 and was completed in 1908 with help from 700,000 laborers. Naturally, only a very ostentatious railway station would suit the starting point of such a magnificent railway. No expense was spared to this end. Architects Otto Ritter and Helmuth Cuno designed the building and the foundation was laid in 1906. First of all 1,100 wooden piles, each 21 meters long, were driven into the sea with steam pile drivers that made all of Istanbul groan with their noise for many days. A foundation was laid on top of these piles with pink granite stone brought in from Hereke. The building rose from this pile foundation. Teal-colored soft stones brought from the town of Osmaneli in Bilecik were used for the outer walls. The German architects brought in craftsmen from Italy to do detailed work. In addition, a breakwater was constructed in front of the station and silos and facilities were built for loading and unloading commercial goods from railcars going to or arriving from Anatolia.

German architecture in neo-Renaissance style The building, which is a classic example of German architecture in neo-Renaissance style, was completed on August 19th, 1908 when it joined the ranks of other well-known buildings in Istanbul such as the mosques and Leander’s Tower. Wide corridors extend down the center of the building’s U shaped layout and both sides of the corridors are lined with large rooms that have tallceilings.		A nostalgic steam locomotive in front of Haydarpaşa Station
Today only the ceiling of the ticket room still has the original hand painted decorations featuring motifs with the winged wheel logo of the German railways. This motif was later stylized and became the symbol of the Turkish State Railway (TCDD). The slate tiled roof of the Haydarpaşa station building features the steep roof design frequently used in German architecture. A large clock was imbedded on the pediment under the eaves on the south face of the building. The clock face is also decorated with a wheel and eagle's wing. The windows on the outer walls of the station were originally adorned with priceless stained glass designed by O. Linnemann. However, this valuable stained glass was shattered during the Independenta Disaster on November 15th, 1979 when a Romanian-flag ship loaded with petroleum fuel named the Independenta collided with another ship just in front of the Haydarpaşa breakwater. After the disaster, repair work began on Haydarpaşa Station and by 1983 repairs had restored the station to its original condition.

Destroyed by a major act of sabotage The Independenta was not the first disaster that Haydarpaşa had experienced. The station went through a much greater disaster 10 years after it opened. During World War I, ammunition stored at the station building on its way to Anatolia was exploded in an act of sabotage on September 6th, 1917, causing a huge fire. Hundreds of soldiers lost their lives in the fire, while dozens of railcars were burnt and the station building’s roof and towers collapsed. Repairs and changes carried out after that fire gave the station building its current appearance.		An interior view of Haydarpaşa Station

No more trains in its one hundredth year
All the people passing through the station and the different events occurring in its inner courtyard and on its dock made Haydarpaşa Station the setting for many stories experienced during a century of rail transportation. Even the railway workers became part of the tales told about this historical building. This railway station was the prime witness of the changing socio-cultural makeup of Istanbul after World War II. Haydarpaşa Station was a frequently repeated theme in Turkish films of the 1970’s that depicted people migrating from Anatolia. As those films portrayed, it was the first place that many Turks got a glimpse of the minarets of the Blue Mosque, a lighthouse or the breakwater that protected Kadıköy from the waves of the open sea. For many, it was the first time they had ever seen the sea. Many people have very fond memories of Haydarpaşa Station, which will be 100 years old on August 18th, 2008. The station will close to cargo and passenger traffic at the beginning of 2009 because of construction work to improve the Gebze-Haydarpaşa-Sirkeci-Halkalı commuter train lines as part of the second stage of the Marmaray Project. Various recommendations have been made as to how the station building would be used in the future.

Sources:
• Signboard describing the station’s history at Haydarpaşa Garı
• İzmir Demiryolları, A. Nedim Atilla, İzmir Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kültür Yayını,
İzmir, 2002
• İstanbul’un kapısı kapanıyor, Mehmet Yaşin, Hürriyet Gazetesi, 30.07.2006
• Haydarpaşa Garı’nın 100 Yıllık Yolculuğu, Enis Umuler, Sabah Gazetesi Pazar
Eki, 29.10.2006

We would like to thank the TCDD Directorate of the Press and Public Relations for their support with photographs and archived information.