Railways were the symbol of modernisation for the Ottoman Empire as it enabled the Empire to connect with the western world as well enabling different parts of the Empire to connect with one another. Sultan Abdülaziz was the first Ottoman Sultan to travel to Europe through the railway that took him from İstanbul to France and Austria. He came back as a completely different man. His observations in Europe led to many reforms in the Empire including education, army, architecture and the arts.
Photo of the train’s interior that took Sultan Abdülaziz to Europe
The train that took Sultan Abdülaziz to Europe can be visited in the Koç Museum in Sütlüce, Haliç
Following Abdülaziz, Sultan Abdülhamid II had an obsession with railways which he thought was essential for the progress of the Empire. This is a world before us in which there were no highways, no cars and no aeroplanes that connected cities, countries, ideas and people.
Sultan Abdülhamid II
Sultan Abdülhamid II’s most ambitious project was to connect Damascus and Medina which were both part of the Ottoman Empire through a railway. This ambitious project was completed in 8 years in 1908.
During the Empire, İstanbul had two major railway stations: one on the Asian Side and one on the European Side. Art historians say that it is an irony that the train station in Sirkeci, on the European side has an Oriental style, whereas the one in Haydarpaşa, on the Asian side has an European style. This does not come as much of a surprise to me as İstanbul has always been a very eclectic city in terms of architectural styles.
Railways have connected cities, people and stories up until 1950s in the modern Republic. It was the railways that liberated my mom to travel freely within the country; it was the railways that connected my mom and dad who met on a train from İstanbul to Adana and ‘fell for each other’. It was the railways that granted my maternal grandfather a position that enabled him and his family to live and visit different regions of the country.
Railway Museum interior
There is a very cute railway Museum in Sirkeci Train Station which will be closed for ever within a month. I was there today to say farewell to the only Museum that has been keeping the secrets and memories of the modern Republic’s Railways with its photographs, documents, maps, costumes, medals, personal belongings and daily objects.
This Museum will be a pure nostalgia within a month very similar to age of railways that had revolutionised the way people lived, traveled and ‘thought’ about the world!
Here is a lovely photo I took in the Museum today as its reminder!
But it is still a relief to think that at least the Sirkeci Train Station built in 1890 and which was the last stop of the Orient Express up until 1977 is alive and well!
