The terminal is located in Sirkeci, on the tip of Istanbul's historic peninsula, right next to the Golden Horn and just northwest of Gülhane Park and the Topkapı Palace.

An extension of the line to Sirkeci was demanded as the starting point since Yeşilköy was too far away from Eminönü, the main business district of that epoch.

The Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz decided and permitted the route to run on the shoreline of the Sea of Marmara bordering the walls of Topkapı Palace's lower garden.

[4] The terminus, which was initially named "Müşir Ahmet Paşa Station", was opened on 3 November 1890, replacing the temporary one.

The terminal building which rises on an area of 1,200 m2 (13,000 sq ft) is one of the most famous examples of European Orientalism, and has influenced the designs of other architects.

The building was also modern, having gas lighting and heating provided by large tile stoves, made in Austria,[4] in winter.

One service connected Istanbul with Thessaloniki in Greece - this so-called Friendship Express was stopped in 2011 in the wake of the Greek government-debt crisis, but is planned to be reinstated.

The other service was the Bosphorus Express, running daily between Sirkeci and Gara de Nord in Bucharest, Romania, with connecting cars to Sofia and historically to Belgrade.

[5] On 4 October 1883, the first Orient Express departed from the Gare de l'Est in Paris, with farewell music from Mozart's Turkish March.

The route passed through Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Ulm, and Munich in Germany, Vienna in Austria, Budapest in Hungary, Bucharest in Romania, Rousse and Varna in Bulgaria, ending in Sirkeci.

Once the rehabilitation of the existing rail lines are complete, Marmaray commuter service will run west to Halkalı and east to Gebze.