Haydarpaşa Terminal

What is Haydarpasa Terminal?

We know that Istanbul is full of historic buildings and it’s impossible to focus your attention on just one. For every single famous sight, you have several more to think about too. That’s what makes this city so vibrant, historic, cultural, and downright wonderful!

As you look over towards the Asian side of Istanbul, from the European side, you can just about make out a large and opulent-looking building on the shores of the Kadikoy Ferry Terminal. This has nothing to do with the ferries themselves, and it looks far too important to be nothing at all. That would be right – this is a very important building, and one who ch is steeped in history. This is Haydarpasa Terminal.

Where is Haydarpasa Terminal?

As you disembark the ferry from Eminonu or Karakoy over to Kadikoy, look to your left and you’ll see a Haydarpasa Terminal. Overlooking the waters of the Bosphorus, the building is an old train station firstly, but it is so historic that it has witnessed wars, celebrations, and everything in-between.

Haydarpasa Terminal was built in 1871, at the orders of Sultan Abdulaziz, who wanted to install a railway line between Istanbul and Izmit, to ease transportation of goods between the two destinations. Having first been constructed out of wood, as many Ottoman buildings were, it was clear that this wasn’t going to stand the test of time so in 1888 it was reconstructed in stone, as it was taken over by the Anatolian Railway company. After that time, passengers began to use the line from Istanbul to Izmir, and vice versa. This was a huge advance in transport at the time, and it paved the way for many other high speed transport links across the country, to and from Istanbul.

As time moved on, a further reconstruction was required, and this time, in 1906, two German architects were commissioned to make the changes. Haydarpasa Terminal was then rebuilt in a neo-renaissance style, and that is the design you can still see today. As more and more transport links begin to enter and exit Haydarpasa Terminal, it was referred to as the ‘Door of Asia’.

Is Haydarpasa Terminal Still a Working Train Station?

No. These days Haydarpasa Terminal is a museum, and you can easily visit and enjoy learning all about how transport has changed over the years, as well as the history that the terminal itself has lived through. It may only take you an hour or two to get around the museum, but there are also many other places of interest within walking distance, as well as checking out the amazing view at sunset, over the Golden Horn.

In World War I, the terminal was transformed into an armoury, before it was devastated by fire in 1917. A rebuild occurred in the 1930s, after rail links with Ankara were established. Over the years, famous rail links have begun and ended at Haydarpasa Terminal, including the iconic Taurus Express which ran between the station and Baghdad, as well as the Trans-Asia line, running over to Tehran.

Many fires hit Istanbul over the years, and Haydarpasa Terminal was devastated once more in 1979, due to an explosion from a Greek freight ship passing by on the Bosphorus. After that, another restoration took place, which was completed in the early ‘80s.

Yet another fire occurred in the years following this restoration, and although it was rebuilt quite quickly, it never reopened as a railway station. There are rumours that there are plans to turn it into a hotel, and from the outside design you can see why that is the case, especially as the terminal sits right on the banks of the Bosphorus. To date however, that hasn’t been confirmed, and these days Haydarpasa Terminal is a museum, showcasing artefacts from the time, as well as giving you an insight into the important journeys that began and ended at this historic station.

How to Visit Haydarpasa Terminal

You can easily reach Haydarpasa Terminal by foot once you get off the ferry in Kadikoy; it is literally two minutes’ walk to your left as you exit the ferry. There is no entrance fee to go inside, and it is open seven days a week.

Haydarpasa Terminal is certainly worth a visit, and although it’s only going to take you an hour or so, that is a good hour well spent! The outer view is also something to click away on your camera.