Taking the Orient Express, the legendary train journey from Paris to Istanbul, you would end the journey at the İstanbul Sirkeci station. The station was opened in 1890 and has the Orient Express resturant as part of the station.
It’s a little faded, a bit worn and jaded, but has a charm that remembers the glory of the Orient Express. It’s a far cry from a modern expresso emporium like Starbucks, but for a station cafe, I think it holds it’s own. The pace is a little more relaxed, although the waterfall in the hall is a little bit out of place.
There are pictures on the walls from the stations heyday, and I can’t help but imagine a smokey scene from a late 30’s or 40’s film being shot there. It would fit very well with a smoking steam locomotive outside the hall.
The Orient Express doesn’t travel to Isanbul anymore, it terminates in Venice. Bit of a shame really as I personally don’t regard Venice as in the Orient. Istanbul, sitting at the junction on two continents and access to three, certainly fills the criteria. Unfortunatly, in a modern age of high speed everything, the Cafe is the reminder of a bygone era when life was slower.
More to come….
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