No train comes to this century-old railway staion

Istanbul

BUILT in the first decade of the 20th century as Europe's gateway to the east, Istanbul Haydarpasa railway station stands proudly on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, its gothic towers looming over the waters.

The imposing facade has witnessed and survived more than a century of turbulent and sometimes tragic history; the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, World War I, the deportation of Armenians, military coups and a devastating November 2010 fire that destroyed the roof.

But this most historic of railway stations now lacks its most fundamental component - trains.

Since 2013, the celebrated …