Alsancak: Atatürk’s Train Car

De-training at the Alsancak Garı at the end of our ride back from Selçuk, we detoured into the historic station building to check out the train car that was put at the disposal of Atatürk, the founder of modern Türkiye, for his travels around the country.

Atatürk used the custom-built train car between 1927 and 1937. In addition to an outdoor platform at the rear of the car — designed specifically for him to address the people during his travels — the interior is set up with a salon, a conference room, his private bedroom and connecting facilities, a kitchenette, and accommodations for his senior aide. The car could accommodate five passengers. A dynamo provided lighting; and steam was used to heat the car in cold weather.

The train car is open for visitation on weekdays … two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. We arrived just as the train car was being locked up for the day, but Mui charmed the attendant at the nearby kiosk into giving us 5 minutes to check it out.

Afterwards, we wandered down the train tracks to check out a few other old train cars, including a passenger car, a field hospital car, and a couple of old engines.Read more