Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Elbow-deep in flour, sugar and sprinkles this week, I thought I'd at least post some photos. (My Valentine's Day baking classes started today and will continue through the 14th.)

On Sunday, we took advantage of the short-lived sunshine and walked along the Bosphorus - all the way from Üsküdar to Kadıköy. Last week, I hibernated inside our apartment except for the single day I captured some snow photos in Sultanahmet. I needed to get OUTSIDE!

The weather felt like a warm, spring day, and people were everywhere! I took a ton of photos, and we both soaked up the rays while we enjoyed our çay.


It was almost 5 p.m. when we walked across the bridge that spans over the train tracks by Istanbul’s Haydarpaşa Garı (Train Station). This castle-looking structure, dating from 1906/1908, is the first and last stop in Asia, depending on how you look at it.
Apparently, Haydarpaşa was an important link in the railway chain of the Kaiser's "Berlin-to-Baghdad" railway scheme, part of the German Empire's Drang nach Osten ("Drive to the East") during the late 19th century.

Soon, Haydarpaşa will close for renovations, and some people fear it probably will be turned into a hotel down the road. Let’s hope the building’s structural integrity will remain and not be forsaken for modernity (as has been the latest case for an ancient palace in Sultanahmet.) (Sadly, as of June 19, 2013, I’ve learned the last train used the station, and it will be converted into another shopping mall. See this article: Haydarpaşa Train Station is Closing with New Terminal.)


When you catch a ferry along the Bosphorus over to Kadıköy, Haydarpaşa is one landmark you can't help but notice. I often wonder about the thousands of people who have passed through here. Now, I'll just have to continue to wonder as another historical building closes.

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8 comments:

Sue Narayan said...

I especially love the second photo. The clouds seem to match the mood of the old building!

Julia said...

We fear for dear old Haydarpaşa. REALLY hope it reopens after all the work is done to the new tracks...Great photos though and glad you got some sunshine. We've had a couple of days recently but we're still feeling a bit starved of blue sky!! :)

Joy said...

@Sue, thank you! Got really lucky with the photos. That bridge is really a perfect spot to capture the station.

@Julia, I know it's hard to say what will happen. =( Today, we've got rained mixed with a pinch of snow it looks like from our windows. Yuck.

Adventures in Ankara said...

Love the photos - and especially how you made them look so dramatic with the edging!

Joy said...

@Terry, thanks for the nice comment! Trying some new photo editing techniques.

Joy said...

@Jana, welcome and happy to have you join us here!

Took a peak at your blog and love all your cooking too. I used to speak pretty decent Spanish, but since living in Turkey the more Turkish I've learned, my Spanish has disappeared. "Ahora, estoy hablando un pocito espanol!" =)

Andrew Graeme Gould said...

Beautiful images in this interesting post!

Mrs Ergül said...

What they are closing this station for renovation?! Guess we will have to stop at the second or second last station (depending on how you see it) next time!