Built in 1892,
the Palace was created to host passengers traveling on the famed Orient
Express, and it was here that Agatha Christie got the inspiration for her
acclaimed mystery, Murder on the Orient
Express.
Situated in
the Tepebasi neighborhood of the Pera district of Istanbul, the property is the
oldest “European hotel” in Turkey .
Until some much-anticipated renovations began in 2006, the once grand
establishment was fading from a century of elegance playing host to celebrity
guests such as Alfred Hitchcock, Ernest Hemingway, Sarah Bernhardt,
Greta Garbo, King Edward VIII and, of course, Agatha Christie herself.
Mata Hari, who also traveled aboard the
Orient Express, even stayed at the Pera
Palace a time or two,
which only adds another layer of allure to the fascinating atmosphere of the
hotel.
In 1981, the Palace was awarded the status as
a “museum-hotel” when it converted Room #101 into the Ataturk Museum .
When Mustapha Kemel Ataturk, the founder of modern-day Turkey , stayed
at the hotel for the first time in 1917, he was accommodated in that room. As a
tribute, Ataturk’s chamber is now filled with his possessions and painted in
his favorite color of “sunset pink.”
After countless delays, Pera Palace
re-opened in September of 2010, fully restored to the classical
style that made it famous. As you enter the colonnaded marble hall and view the
sedan chair that was once used to transport guests from the Sirkeci Railway Station
to the hotel, you have an overwhelming sensation that Agatha Christie really
had no imagination at all because of the mysterious aura that pervades the
interior surroundsngs.
So overpowering are the ghosts
of the past that you are captivated by an eerie perception that Murder on the Orient Express literally
wrote itself.
Today, guests are transferred
to and from the airport in a maroon 1949 Plymouth
which is usually parked at the entrance of the hotel when not in use.
One feature stands out amid
the antique furniture, the famous kubbeli (domes), the wrought-iron balconies
and the wood paneling, and that is the historic cast-iron elevator. Now
returned to working condition, the oldest elevator in Turkey
represents an innovation that, in its day, must have surely represented the
ultimate luxury.
Decorated with a red velvet
bench and mirrors, as you ascend to the floors above, the elevator conjures
omnipotent feelings of peering downward into the past.
Next to the elevator, white
marble steps lead from the main lobby to the Kubbeli Salon located in the heart
of the hotel. Carrara
marble columns, Michelangelo’s preferred material for his sculptures, rise from
parquet floors to six domed discs made of turquoise glass.
Add the music of a grand
piano, and you have the perfect setting for English-style high tea, which would
most certainly have met with Ms. Christie’s approval.
Ernest Hemingway, on the other
hand, preferred the Orient Bar in another corner of the Palace where he could
indulge in more manly drinking activities.
Christie stayed in Room #411
at Pera Palace
while en route to Baghdad in 1928 to visit her
husband who was on an archaeological dig in Iraq .
At that time, travelers would
cross the Golden Horn of the Bosphorus
Strait by the Galata Bridge ,
which has undergone numerous incarnations during its history. Galata
Bridge remains a popular
site because of the fish market on one side where local vendors continuously
hawk their fresh catches of the day and sell fish sandwiches to eager
customers.
Christie fans should take the
opportunity to dine next door to the hotel at the Orient Express Restaurant
where photographs and other memorabilia can be viewed at different stages of
her life.
Room rates are seasonal and
vary according to currency fluctuations. One night in a twin or double room is
approximately $400 per night during the spring shoulder season. Hair dryers,
breakfast and other amenities are included.
Travelers interested in
visiting Turkey
may contact the Turkey Tourist Office.
For customized itineraries, Crane Travel Tours has been endorsed by Namuk Tan, former U.S. Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey who said, “I recommend Crane
Travel Tours to anyone who wishes the cultural and historical riches of my
country.”
The Pera Palace
is the ideal spot to immerse yourself into the essence of the city. Provided,
of course, you are not murdered on the Orient Express before you arrive.
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