by It is 11.30am in Diyarbakır train station. Women in sunglasses and oversized hijabs pose for pictures under backdrops bearing the TCDD logo of Turkey’s state railway network. A young, lightly bearded man crouching on a bench, his heart-shaped balloon on a string fluttering in the wind taking the edge off today’s scorching 38C. A red bunting hangs from the terrace ceiling. A shrill whistle cut through piped bağlama music as the Mesopotamia Express pulled up.
The 653-mile (1,051km) Mesopotamia Express between the Turkish capital Ankara and Diyarbakır, the Kurdish capital not far from the Syrian and Iraqi borders, was launched in April, running once a month in each direction for three months. I am giving its last service of 2024, and the TCDD says that it should return in 2025.
Making long stops at several cities and offering only two-decker private cabins, the Mesopotamia Express is a more comfortable and tourist-friendly version of the Güney Kurtalan Express, which travels the same route but makes 52 short stops between Ankara and Diyarbakır . I paid 8,000 lira (£194) for my Mesopotamia Express cabin; a government-subsidised seat on the Güney Kurtalan Express costs £8.50.
This two-tier model was also implemented in April for the Van Gölü Express between Ankara and Tatvan, a city near Lake Van, Turkey’s largest lake. The “tourist” service is said to be part of the Turkish authorities’ effort to get more tourists to think beyond their hot spots, such as Istanbul and Antalya.
The Doğu Express, which runs between Ankara and Kars, close to the Armenian and Georgian borders, was responsible for this change of attitude on the Turkish night train from function to fun. After vloggers showed the beautiful mountainous route of the Doğu Express, tourists started booking tickets together with the countryside locals on the train, before the “official” tourist version was launched in 2019.
The gallery is a taste of contemporary freshness in the ancient, sand-carved city, and not just because the air-con is set to ‘tundra.
To find out if one of these new services is worth a try, I booked the Mesopotamia Express westbound, starting in Diyarbakır, where visitors are usually drawn to the historic center’s antique shops and smoky grill restaurants. Cafes were built around the walls of the ancient city; others remain abandoned after clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish militants, mainly in the mid-2010s.
Following a tip from the artist Erkan Özgen, I go to a residential area 20 minutes west of the old town. Here, in the shadow of the high-rise apartments, the Rıdvan Kuday Gallery was recently opened to showcase Kurdish art. As I arrive, young artists are giggly pegging fresh prints on washing lines to dry. Fine ceramic shoe sculptures by Sinan Kaplan complement the gallery’s white walls. Color-saturated portraits by Bedran Tekin show residents facing the destruction of a black-and-white building. The gallery is an explosion of contemporary freshness in the ancient, sand-carved city, and not just because the air-con is set to “tundra”.
The air-con in my train cabin is not as powerful, but the price of the premium tickets is attractive. I get my own sink, plug socket, door key, fridge that doesn’t work, plus juice and chocolate to put in it. I go to the food carriage. Here I meet Hayriye and Seher, two women from Ankara armed with a violin and a guitar respectively. At midday, as the train departs, they tune up as the train staff pour plates of donor meat around us. The passengers show their appreciation for a relaxing rendition of the classic Turkish song Fikrimin İnce Gülü.
At 4pm, we pull into the tiny Yolçatı station for the first of two long stops. A coach convoy drives us through the nearby city of Elâzığ and up winding roads to a dusty, sun-drenched peak. This is, it turns out, the ancient town of Harput. A man in a red ball cap, a guide of sorts, led us past the half-abandoned Harput Castle and into the Great Harput Mosque. The violinist Hayriye explains through Google Translate, that this building was built around 1157 and is famous for its crooked stone tower. A large bent tree near the mosque also receives extensive comment. We are told that the tree is also famous for appearing to erupt itself.
The bent tree is amazing to consider. A fellow passenger, traveling with his two children, invites me to eat adana kebab at a nearby restaurant. A member of the train crew, in his wine-red waistcoat and TCDD pin badge, starts calling me “Tolstoy” after hearing that I am a journalist. The school trip starts even more difficult when the coach takes us back to the train, and I join passengers singing Turkish pop in earnest. Well, I clap and sing “lalala”, apparently the only non-Turkish person on the tour.
Sitting on stools outside the Kayseri restaurant, then back in the dining carriage, passengers share bread, sugared nuts and wet wipes
After a merciful night without snore, we reach the city of Kayseri at 9am. We think there are three hours here but, because the train is late, we get two. This stop was promoted as an opportunity to visit the Great Mosque of Kayseri and the Museum of Seljuk Civilization, but there is no time. The musicians and I pick a restaurant near the station and make sandwiches out of rich, dark purple pastirma: Kayseri’s cured beef specialty.
I would prefer this stop to the Harput journey that the coach is on. Sitting on stools outside the Kayseri restaurant, then back in the dining carriage, passengers share bread, sugared nuts and wet wipes, and I horrify many with stories about putting milk in tea. Before we arrived in Ankara at 7pm, I put together a long list of restaurants that are recommended to visit, although they are all kebab joints.
So, is the Mesopotamia Express worth the cost? I really enjoyed it, especially when I enjoyed the music in the dining car. With long stops that allow you to visit four cities over two days (on the eastbound route there are three cities: Ankara, Malatya and Diyarbakır), it’s a good option if you’re pressed for time – and also if the train isn’t there. late. Despite the train being officially a “tourist” service, I felt a sense of purpose and drive as we headed towards the capital.
However, if you don’t mind stretches in back-straining open-plan seats, you could take the “standard” Güney Kurtalan Express in the same way as the Mesopotamia Express, spend a few days in the same city with stops, and pay a lot. of your hotel cost to save money. Although the Mesopotamia Express is completed for 2024, the Güney Kurtalan Express runs all year round, five times a week in each direction.
Still, whether officially “touristy” or not, Turkey’s eastern night train option probably isn’t there. Now I am waiting for Van Gölü Express tickets to complete the series.
The Mesopotamia Express is expected to return in 2025. A two-person cabin costs 9,000 Turkish lira (£218) Ankara to Diyarbakır one-way, and £194 in the opposite direction. Train tickets are sold through the Turkish state railway network (TCDD) website and app (on the Apple App Store and Google Play), as well as through English-speaking agencies, such as Amber Travel. Radisson Blu Hotel, Diyarbakır provided accommodation in Diyarbakır (double from £115 B&B). Accommodation in Ankara was provided by Crowne Plaza Ankara (duplicate from £125 B&B)
