The Orient Express

Orient Express Terminus street entrance

Our first introduction to the Orient Express was lunch in its old Eastern Terminus. Sat at a table of four in the converted Waiting Room, we laughed as the waiter served drinks from a trolley shaped like a railway engine. It was the first time we’d laughed that morning: we were on a day tour of Istanbul and frankly disappointed – we’d understood it was to be a cruise on the Bosphorus and it had only been a quick jaunt. Our woes paled in comparison to our table companions though; they’d booked a German-language tour.   We’d managed to communicate with hand signals and broken sentences but there were no smiles until the waiter beeped his horn!

 

After lunch we stepped out onto the platform straight into a movie set. I hadn’t realized it at first, although the battered cases and dated woollen clothing of the passengers standing around seemed a bit odd. It was when they waved at us laughing, that I realized they were extras in a 1950’s plot. I know what you’re thinking but, no, we didn’t fit in.

The Orient Express ran from Paris to Istanbul, commencing its luxurious service in 1883. This Eastern Terminus was built in 1890 and it still operates as a railway station, although the famed train service ended its run in 1977. The 3,100-kilometre (almost 2,000 mile) journey used to take 80 hours.

Platform Movie Set

One of the reasons it has remained in our psyche is probably because it was the setting for one of Agatha Christie’s most iconic stories; Murder on the Orient Express. Even so, I was surprised to learn that Ms Christie had a fascination with Istanbul and visited many times, writing the story while here.

Today’s Istanbul transit system is an impressive mix of modern technology and nostalgia. After finding itself choked by fumes Istanbul systematically reintroduced trams. Starting with the pedestrianization of Independence Avenue (Istiklal Caddesi) in 1990, the Takzim-Tunel Nostaljic Tramway, was reinstalled running its length. A favourite with tourists, this uses refurbished trams first built in 1915. Tourists and adult locals pay with their Istanbulkart (transit smart card), young boys travel for free jumping on and hanging off the back for much of its 1-mile (1.6-km) length – their laughter providing a warm backdrop to the journey. The tram clanks from Taksim Square to the Tunel, another nostalgic railway that’s worth a trip.

Taksim Nostaljic Tramway

Opened in 1875, the Tunel is one of the oldest railways in the world. It’s a funicular and runs uphill between two stations for a total of almost 600 metres (1/3 mile) but this is one hill you need a leg up for. Istanbul is very hilly and this line runs from the waterfront beside the Galata Bridge past the Genoan-built Galata Tower and up to Independence Avenue.

The main public transport trains in Istanbul are new, comfy and high tech. We were able to jump on board at the Sultanahmet station beside the Blue Mosque. Paying the fare was easy once you knew how; two English ladies explained it to me on the first day. They had me trapped in a ferry terminal trying to escape pouring rain. Buy an Istanbulkart ($3 or £1.50) at a streetside cigarette/candy kiosk, then charge it with cash at a machine found at most stations, then swipe it as you board. One card was good for the two of us and a 20 lire top up ($10/£5) seemed to last us a few days of travel on trains, buses and ferries. Once, when I went to top up my card, a tall Chinese man pushed me a handful of bills and pointed at my card; he didn’t speak English and I couldn’t get through to him that he needed to buy a card from a kiosk first… I could have sold that card 10 times over.

The local people you meet on public transport are lovely. Every time I got on Transit, someone would get up and offer me their seat if it was crowded. Or, maybe I just look that old and decrepit.

One evening, we were back in a different Waiting Room of the Orient Express Station for a performance by Whirling Dervishes, and I needed to use the bathroom. I rushed in from the platform and used the facility – on the way out I noticed a man sat in a cubicle at the entrance. Shortly after, I had to go again. As I rushed past him, the man scowled and started from his seat. It was then that I realized I should have paid him. I had no change, so I sneaked out when there were others at his window and grabbed some change from Carol, went back, and handed him some coins. He smiled.

Istanbul skyline showing Galata Tower