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Anger at Fate of Istanbul’s Legendary Train Station

This photograph shows a view of Haydarpasa train station at Kadikoy in Istanbul, on August 22, 2025. (AFP)
This photograph shows a view of Haydarpasa train station at Kadikoy in Istanbul, on August 22, 2025. (AFP)
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Anger at Fate of Istanbul’s Legendary Train Station

This photograph shows a view of Haydarpasa train station at Kadikoy in Istanbul, on August 22, 2025. (AFP)
This photograph shows a view of Haydarpasa train station at Kadikoy in Istanbul, on August 22, 2025. (AFP)

When Senay Kartal worked at Türkiye’s most beautiful railway station, her days were filled with the rumble of locomotives and the bustle of passengers at Haydarpasa on the banks of the Bosphorus.

But gone are the days when passengers from Anatolia would walk its marble halls, suitcases in hand, marveling at the grandiose landmark on Istanbul's Asian waterfront.

Today the tracks lie silent at what was Türkiye’s busiest station, the great eastern hub of the Berlin to Baghdad railway.

Once immortalized in old Turkish films and portrayed in numerous novels, the station has been taken over by the Turkish culture ministry which wants to transform it into an art center.

Yet for the 61-year-old retiree, who still hears the echo of whistles and the cries of simit sellers hawking their sesame-coated bread rings, the iconic building should remain a railway station.

"People would step off the train and we had waiting halls where they could stay the night -- there was no need for a hotel," recalled Kartal.

"It was such a beautiful place, there was so much movement and energy, people were full of excitement and joy. That beauty no longer exists today," she told AFP.

"I gave 38 years of my life to Haydarpasa, and yet even to me, its doors are closed."

The picturesque railway station perched right on the water was inaugurated in 1908 at the end of the Ottoman Empire as Europe's gateway to the East.

It has witnessed some of the most turbulent and tragic moments in Türkiye’s history, surviving the collapse of empire, World War I, the deportation of the Armenians, military coups, earthquakes and a devastating fire.

"Haydarpasa has witnessed many historic events throughout its history including the influx of migrants from rural Türkiye to Istanbul," said Ayca Yuksel, a researcher, sociologist and author of books about Haydarpasa.

"That's why it holds a special place in the memories of people who experienced this migration. We see reflections of this in literature, art and cinema," she told AFP.

But today it lacks the very thing that gave it life: trains.

Since 2013, Hadarpasa has been closed -- initially for restoration, then by an archaeological excavation that unearthed artifacts dating back to the fifth century BC, which is still ongoing.

Last year the station was handed over to the culture ministry, with the first phase of the new arts center to be finished next year.

That involves emptying out the entire building, even though part of the complex is still used as housing for railway staff, who have been told they must leave.

"This isn't just a building, it's everything to us," said train driver Hasan Bektas, a union member who belongs to the Haydarpasa Platform -- a group of academics, urban planners and railway staff who are protesting against the government's plans.

For Bektas, it's clear the lucrative waterside location has whetted the appetite of investors.

"Their aim has always been the same: to turn every beautiful place into profit -- to strip it of value and cash in. The public's interests were never part of the equation. That's what we're against," he told AFP.

In October 2024, Culture and Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy pledged it would continue functioning as a station.

"There will be trains... a cultural and arts center, and a public garden. But there will never be a shopping mall or hotel here," he said.

Back in the early 2000s, there were bold plans floated for the site -- it would house seven skyscrapers, a new World Trade Center, an Olympic Stadium; some even spoke of a Venice-style makeover.

"But the building itself is already a world-renowned icon. No one ever fought to keep it exactly as it was, in its original form," said Bektas, clearly furious.

Every Sunday, protesters gather near the station shouting: "Haydarpasa is a train station and must stay that way."

Although Nehir Guner was just a child when the station closed, the 22-year-old student would gaze at it every time she caught a ferry to university and wonder about its future, eventually joining the protests.

"Railways are so important for a city, we want this to remain a train station," she said.

"It's painfully clear the art center project is all for show -- designed to impress, not serve any real purpose."

Architect Gul Koksal said Haydarpasa, with its lodgings, repair workshops and nearby port, was much more than just a station and had a unique place in Turkish cultural memory.

"It's like a jewel -- but it has meaning only if it's preserved and kept alive with everything that makes it."

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Culture

After Louvre Heist and String of Thefts, Europe’s Smaller Museums Are on Guard

People visit The Orsay Museum in Paris, on August 30, 2023. (AFP)
People visit The Orsay Museum in Paris, on August 30, 2023. (AFP)
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After Louvre Heist and String of Thefts, Europe’s Smaller Museums Are on Guard

People visit The Orsay Museum in Paris, on August 30, 2023. (AFP)
People visit The Orsay Museum in Paris, on August 30, 2023. (AFP)

Two men wearing head torches climbed through a forced-open window ‌at the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum near Parma on the night of March 22 and calmly lifted artworks by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse from the walls.

Within three minutes, they had passed the works, valued at about €9 million ($10 million), to an accomplice and fled. At the museum's main gate, a fourth man discharged a fire extinguisher when the alarm sounded, distracting the custodian.

"Whatever could go wrong, did," said Stefano Roffi, director of the private foundation that runs the museum.

The raid was one of a string of museum thefts in France, Italy and Spain since last year's heist at the Louvre in Paris, raising concerns that criminals are increasingly targeting smaller institutions with fewer resources to protect valuable collections.

"This is where we see the 'Louvre effect'," said Marc Balcells, a Barcelona-based researcher specializing in crimes against cultural heritage. "If the Louvre was so easy to rob, just imagine a tiny museum in a rural area or a smaller town."

Works by Antonello da Messina vanished from a museum in his Sicilian hometown in August, while two Renoirs were stolen from Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera the following month.

In Spain, thieves stole hundreds of historic gold coins from museums in Badajoz and Albacete and made off with a Bronze Age treasure in Villena, near Alicante.

A 2024 survey by France's Culture Ministry found only one in four cultural institutions had an emergency and risk-prevention plan, while nearly half lacked video surveillance.

WHO CHECKS WHEN THE ALARM GOES OFF?

A French parliamentary report in May said museums lacked ‌the resources and preparation ‌to adequately protect artworks and artifacts.

In Italy, the challenge is amplified by the way the country's cultural heritage is spread across ‌hundreds ⁠of towns and institutions, ⁠a legacy of centuries of fragmented rule.

"That is also what makes our system distinctive: works remain in the places where they were created,” said Antonella Pinna, president of the Italian committee of the International Council of Museums. "But we need to make life harder for criminals."

The council worked with Italy's Culture Ministry and the Carabinieri on museum security guidelines published in 2015, but Pinna said technology alone was not enough.

"If an alarm goes off, someone has to make sure it is checked," she said.

In a narrow street in the Tuscan town of Sansepolcro, the civic museum displays four works by Renaissance master Piero della Francesca, born just steps away in the 15th century.

The Louvre theft "affected us deeply because cultural heritage is central to Sansepolcro's identity. It is our soul," culture councilor Francesca Mercati told Reuters.

After the Louvre raid, officers from the Carabinieri's cultural heritage protection unit recommended more cameras, longer retention of CCTV footage and tighter controls on bags and bulky ⁠clothing.

"We immediately implemented those recommendations," Mercati said.

A VAST NETWORK TO PROTECT

The scale of the challenge is daunting.

Italy has more than ‌4,400 museums and similar institutions, according to national statistics agency ISTAT. Spain has about 1,500 museums, while France has more ‌than 1,200 institutions carrying the official "Musees de France" designation, alongside hundreds of smaller collections.

Protecting such a broad network is particularly difficult for smaller institutions that depend on local funding.

Florence Imbert, a Paris-based ‌security consultant for cultural institutions, said 85% of small French museums were run by local authorities with limited financial resources.

"The budget is key to winning the war," she ‌said.

France's Culture Ministry announced a 33-point security plan in July, backed by €30 million over three years for local museums.

Recent figures suggest concern is warranted. The Carabinieri art squad recorded 17 thefts from Italian museums and galleries in 2025, up from 14 a year earlier.

Europol said in an August report that museum thefts were becoming more forceful and increasingly focused on precious metals, gemstones and other high-value artifacts.

A FAST BUCK?

Unlike gold or jewellery, which can be broken up or melted down, a well-known painting is difficult to turn into quick cash.

Celebrated works such as those by Renoir can rarely be ‌sold openly, Pinna said. Instead, stolen art is more likely to be hidden, used as leverage in ransom attempts or offered privately.

Even when works are recovered, museums can face significant costs linked to investigations, recovery efforts and upgraded security.

The recent thefts have ⁠also reignited debate about insurance.

Most major state-backed museums in ⁠Western Europe rely on government indemnity schemes rather than commercial cover, but some institutions have begun reassessing the risks, said Filippo Guerrini-Maraldi, a private wealth and fine art insurance specialist at broker Howden Specialty.

"And for the first time, really, in my 40-year career, I've seen art theft now becoming more of a major, major risk. It was always the minor risk," he said.

Insurers are also turning to technology. Beazley is exploring how AI can be used to analyze CCTV footage to identify suspicious behavior in museums and galleries, helping security staff spot threats sooner, said fine art underwriter Dishni Mahendran.

SECURITY VS ACCESS

For museum directors and cultural officials, the challenge is how to tighten security without cutting collections off from local communities or diminishing the visitor experience.

"Ultimately, museums must remain easy to access," Imbert said. "People should be able to enter without having to pass through 50 security checks."

Julien Volper, a conservator at Belgium's Africa Museum, said particularly vulnerable treasures should only be displayed when adequate security measures are in place.

"I'm not saying that's the ultimate solution, but it seems better than displaying replicas," he said. "We're not at Disneyland."

In August, the Carabinieri recovered the three artworks stolen from the Parma museum from a cardboard box hidden in an apartment. Five Moldovan nationals were arrested in connection with the theft.

Investigators said wiretaps indicated the suspects had unsuccessfully tried to find buyers in Eastern Europe and Russia.

The works have since returned to the museum in what Roffi called a "homecoming party".

"The theft triggered an outpouring of solidarity in Italy and abroad," he said. The museum now has round-the-clock guards funded by a local cheese consortium.

"It was seen not simply as a theft from a museum, but as an attack on art as a shared cultural heritage."

Culture

European Film Festival Returns to Riyadh for Fifth Edition with 16 Films

File photo of the Saudi capital Riyadh - File/AAWSAT
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European Film Festival Returns to Riyadh for Fifth Edition with 16 Films

File photo of the Saudi capital Riyadh - File/AAWSAT

The Delegation of the European Union to Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with the embassies of its member states and with the support of the Film Commission, has announced the fifth edition of the European Film Festival in Riyadh, featuring 16 films from 16 European countries, SPA reported.

The festival will begin on November 2, with public screenings running from November 3 to 10, building on the success of its four previous editions.

The program includes a diverse selection of cinematic works reflecting the variety of European film schools and traditions. All films will be presented with Arabic and English subtitles.

Culture

‘Rashrash’: A Silver Necklace Reflecting Jazan’s Traditional Women’s Jewelry Heritage

Adornment was not limited to silver jewelry but also included the use of kohl, henna, perfumes and hair-care products - SPA
Adornment was not limited to silver jewelry but also included the use of kohl, henna, perfumes and hair-care products - SPA
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‘Rashrash’: A Silver Necklace Reflecting Jazan’s Traditional Women’s Jewelry Heritage

Adornment was not limited to silver jewelry but also included the use of kohl, henna, perfumes and hair-care products - SPA
Adornment was not limited to silver jewelry but also included the use of kohl, henna, perfumes and hair-care products - SPA

Traditional jewelry in Jazan Region preserves part of the memory of women and reflects aspects of their social lives in the past.

Among these ornaments is the Rashrash necklace, a silver piece worn around women’s necks, valued for its aesthetic appeal and cultural significance, which are deeply rooted in the community’s customs and heritage.

According to SPA, silver held a prominent place in traditional Jazan women’s adornment, with jewelry ranging from necklaces, earrings and bracelets to decorative pieces worn on the upper arms and feet.

The Rashrash was among the ornaments worn by women in Jazan and was one of the pieces worn by brides as part of traditional wedding customs. Together with other jewelry, it formed the bride’s adornment for the occasion, reflecting the attention women paid to aesthetic details and the variety of silverwork used for personal adornment.

Adornment was not limited to silver jewelry but also included the use of kohl, henna, perfumes and hair-care products.

Women also used local plants and flowers to adorn their hair on special occasions. These practices were closely linked to the natural environment, which provided the plants and materials women used in their daily lives and social gatherings.