(dramatic music) (whistle blowing) Comm: For over a hundred years, the Orient Express, the world's most iconic train, crossed Europe.

If you were traveling on the Orient Express in its golden age, this is the kind of carriage you would be traveling on.

Until it's withdrawal, the train tied Europe together.

Prince Ferdinand was quoted in saying that the Orient Express is of vital interest to us.

A service famed for its glamour and luxury... This space was for the crème de la crème, the best of the best.

That became world famous.

The Cold War made the Orient Express the hotbed of spies.

And whose legacy is still felt.

Let's say 150 years ago you came here with the Orient Express, you would have seen exactly the same mosque of today.

(upbeat music) In this series, we'll take a 2,000-mile journey across Europe.

It's always a very exciting moment when we are doing a route for the first time.

And follow a new luxury train as it retraces the fabled route, exploring the history of a golden age of train travel along the way.

(upbeat music) In the golden age of rail, a single ticket on the Orient Express network took passengers from London all the way to Istanbul, the gateway to the East.

In the 1920s, Wagons-Lit, the company that ran The Orient Express had a luxury train network that stretched across three continents.

At the core of this network were their multiple Orient Express services.

On this final leg of the route retracing the Orient Express, we head deep into the Balkan States through Belgrade and Sofia before arriving into Istanbul.

(train brakes hissing) (uplifting music) Discovering a royal interloper... It's fascinating to think that one of the kings of Europe was not only a passenger but also a pilot of the Orient Express.

And a luxurious literary link... Some people believe that Agatha Christie wrote some part of Murder on the Orient Express in this room.

Before a grand final arrival... It's always a special moment when one arrives to Istanbul because Istanbul is such a unique place.

(vivacious music) After crossing the border into Bulgaria, the Orient Express slowly weaved its way through the Dragoman Pass.

Named after the Arabic word for 'guide', this pass was one of the highlights of this part of the route.

The same rails are still used by modern luxury trains today, retracing the journey of the Orient Express between Paris and Istanbul.

Initially, Orient Express trains reached Istanbul through Romania with passengers taking a boat to their final destination.

In 1889, railway connections through Serbia and Bulgaria were finally completed, allowing trains to run all the way to Istanbul, transforming small villages like Dragoman with new stations, maintenance depots and jobs, all associated with the Orient Express and its new route.

But another 45 minutes on from Dragoman was where passengers on the Orient Express would have experienced something special: the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.

(light-hearted music) In the shadow of the Vitosha Mountain and over 2,500 years old, Sofia is built atop Roman remains.

The city only became the capital of Bulgaria in 1879 when the region was liberated from The Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria established.

(birds chirping) Over the following decades, passengers would have experienced a booming city with lavish new buildings, public parks, and an extensive tram network.

A historic feature of these trams dating back to 1909 is a postbox by the front door, meaning you could post your letter into any tram and it will be collected by the post office.

Today amongst the city's grand architecture are hundreds of brutalist buildings.

(intense music) A clue to a period of time when this city was firmly behind the Iron Curtain.

We are now at the center of the so-called 'The Zone', also known as 'The Zone B5'.

(dramatic music) In 1944, a Soviet-backed coup overthrew the Bulgarian government.

For the next 45 years, Bulgaria was a communist country and a key ally of the Soviet Union.

Dimitar Uzunov is a local historian and guide born under communist rule.

There were no things like human rights, especially if you are dissident, if you have anything against the communist regime.

Some estimations, rough estimations about the people who died, oppressed during the regime goes up to 30,000 people.

So tight were the controls on the population that a simple joke could have you arrested and sent to a forced labor camp.

(vibrant music) Communism transformed Sofia as the country rapidly industrialized.

The city of Sofia had, at the end of World War II, had about 400,000 people.

40 years later it was at least three times more and in order to accommodate all those people, there was such kind of complexes built.

This is a residential complex, brutalist style, and it was built in the early 80s and compared to other complexes of such type, this is actually a very luxurious one, it is a very modern one.

There were the artists, the intelligentsia living here.

So, it was actually quite a prestigious place to live during the Communist period.

Communism and the Cold War caused serious problems for the Orient Express.

The Orient Express was everything that communism was against.

It was luxurious, it was for rich people, it was bourgeois.

That's why it was really not welcomed in communist Bulgaria right after World War II.

But when Orient Express reopened its service in the 1950s, it became actually quite a useful link between the East and West.

And also, it was probably the only way you could have a look at communist Bulgaria if you are, let's say, from Western Europe.

(uplifting music) When the Orient Express was allowed to run, it was very tightly controlled.

As the train entered Bulgaria, it was searched from top to bottom with even the lightbulbs being unscrewed to check for secret messages.

It meant the train was regularly delayed by hours.

But the Communist regime also saw the train as a propaganda opportunity.

The stations were newly painted.

Everything was proper, nice.

There were benches for people to sit on.

There were water fountains.

There were places for kids to play.

Basically, it should give a window into this paradise communist country on Earth.

Despite the careful stage management, the world that wealthy Westerners glimpsed from the windows of the Orient Express was a very different one to what they were used to.

One of the most common cars behind the Iron Curtain was the Trabant 601.

The communist answer to the Volkswagen Beetle... (upbeat music) (engine revving) ...over two million of these cars were produced.

But today they're a rare sight on Sofia's roads.

(upbeat music fades out) (tense music) Cars aren't the only survivors from the communist era in Bulgaria.

Dimitar: This is a monument of the people who resisted the Nazi regime during World War II.

This monument was built in the 1950s and it had a very strong symbolical meaning for the Communist party and the regime.

I was born in 1978 and I remember when I was ten years old, we were gathered here and there was a ritual with which we became members of the Communist youth movement which was called 'pioneers'.

It was really very ritualistic, you know, with all sorts of almost military movements.

As you can see today, it is really taken as a symbol of the Communist period and shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, many monuments like this were vandalized, destroyed.

This is actually one of the last monuments that still stands here in Sofia.

(tense music fades out) (spirited music) The regular service behind the Iron Curtain attracted a new clientele to the Orient Express.

It was probably the only link between West and East, but it was also a place where all sorts of spies would, in both directions, would go.

This was the easiest way to get from one side of the Iron Curtain to the other.

The Cold War made the Orient Express the hotbed of spies.

There was Fish, a person, an American spy in Bucharest in Romania.

But at one point, he was discovered by the Russians.

And instead of going out through the regular way, he would take the Orient Express.

On 23rd February 1950, American Captain Eugene Karpe, nicknamed "Fish", boarded compartment two on the train heading for Paris.

In Switzerland when the attendant knocked at his door of his cabin, there was no one inside and they discovered his dismembered body not far from Salzburg in Austria.

His body was so far from the train that they discovered that even if he wanted to commit suicide, he couldn't jump so far from the train.

That's why today they take this as probably the first and the only documented murder on the Orient Express.

(dramatic music) (train whistle blowing) The Orient Express and espionage became so intertwined that it became known as "The Train of Spies".

It soon became the stomping ground for the world's most famous spy.

The Orient Express was an inspiration for Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond books.

From Russia with Love , one of the main scenes happened on the Orient Express.

And this is actually where really the name, "The Train of Spies" came from.

The Orient Express stopped serving Sofia in 1977. but it wasn't until 1990 that Bulgaria relinquished communism and held its first free democratic election.

(dramatic music intensifies, then fades) (upbeat music) The Golden Eagle Danube Express is a modern luxury train that is traveling across the same route as the Orient Express on its journey to Istanbul.

With Paris almost 2,500 kilometers behind, our journey finds us in Bulgaria, on the outskirts of Sofia heading towards the Turkish border.

Hungry Orient Express passengers soon discovered that the train's dining car was as luxurious as its first-class carriages.

Menus changed daily, were written out by hand, and the food was extravagant.

A dinner consisted of seven courses including soup, a fish dish, two meat dishes, and two desserts.

It's a legacy that chefs on modern luxury trains seek to uphold today.

Three times a day, this tiny kitchen springs to life, preparing restaurant quality food for all the guests.

We're usually working in this kitchen, and you can see we don't have too much space.

Here's the oven.

We have some fridges here and on the other side as well.

So, we have a small space, but we're just working here.

Head pastry chef Rebeka Krupa has been working on the Golden Eagle Danube Express for six years.

It's her job to prepare decadent desserts.

She has worked in some of Hungary's finest restaurants, but it's the train that is her first love.

So, I just enjoy it because I love being creative and I really love the special things, so, it makes me happy.

The chefs on the Orient Express were some of the finest in Europe.

Wagons-Lit, the company that ran the train, did all they could to hold onto the best of the best.

Like Rebeka, they made everything fresh and from scratch.

Usually when I'm making the desserts I just... first I just imagine it.

I just think about it a lot, and after I just try it, and after, I just make it and it will be amazing.

(vibrant music) Every week, the Orient Express restaurant cars served 10 tons of meat, 70 tons of vegetables, and over five and a half tons of fruit.

The chefs of the Orient Express were expected to produce custom food whenever requested.

Luckily the Golden Eagle guests aren't so demanding.

But similarly to the standards set originally by the Orient Express, these chefs are producing an eight-course exclusive dinner menu.

(stately music) It's quite difficult because first I have to start with the cream and with the ganache before one day I want to serve a tart.

(soft music) And there's no expense spared on that extra touch of luxury, with Rebeka and her fellow chefs getting through £3,000 worth a month of edible gold.

It's a pretty long time to put together, for example, this tart, but it's okay.

With the finishing touches in place, the food heads to the dining car to be enjoyed by the passengers.

We are all the time trying to fix everything, because the first thing, our guests must be happy.

Continuing along the old route of the Orient Express through Bulgaria, we reach the village of Kazichene.

Now completely abandoned, it is difficult to tell from the ruins just how important this station once was.

Opened in 1911, this was the private halt of the Kings of Bulgaria.

The station was built for Ferdinand I, a flamboyant ruler who soon became an overly passionate fan of the Orient Express.

The King's guests would depart their private train and then catch a miniature railway to his grand Vrana Palace.

(regal music) Having been built as his private residence, it really gives a more intimate feeling.

So, it's not as grand as other European palaces, but it made up through its household service and the way it was managed.

Georgi Bozhidarov is a Bulgarian royal historian.

Royal guests who were staying here would be treated in the best way possible.

Their dishes were never cold, of course.

The uniforms of the staff members were gilded.

So were the menus, which were always cooked by a French cook who King Ferdinand brought to Bulgaria.

(uplifting music) The palace was full of luxury.

Its central lobby leads to a grand marble staircase and an elaborate reception room.

But it wasn't just the house that was impressive.

From 1905 until 1924, visitors may have spotted something spectacular in the grounds.

I mean, it's really weird to think about the fact that a hundred years ago there were two elephants just strolling in the park.

Bought by Ferdinand for his children, the two elephants were named Nal and Damayanti after ancient Indian heroes.

You can imagine two animals, they need their physical activity.

So, the only way to provide that was really for them to be used as oxes.

But of course, although it may sound not traditional, and it's not traditional, they were still cared for.

They had separate houses here.

(light-hearted music) King Ferdinand I was a second cousin of Queen Victoria.

In 1887, he became the second elected ruler of Bulgaria, nine years after it was liberated from the Ottoman Empire.

He was a man who demanded respect for his authority.

Even though he ruled over a land which was pretty much unknown at the time, he himself had quite a prestigious heritage.

He set about transforming Bulgaria and its new capital Sofia into a modern, European-style state.

The railways were a key part of his plan.

It was vital for Bulgaria to be connected to Europe which at the time could only happen through the railway system.

When he ascended the throne, he inherited unfortunately a railway system here in Bulgaria which was underdeveloped.

(train rattling) Ferdinand's desire to build a line across Bulgaria was music to the ears of the Orient Express.

Previously, Orient Express passengers would have had to have taken a stagecoach through Bulgaria, but the new line meant trains could run right through.

On the occasion of the opening of the line, Prince Ferdinand was quoted in saying that the Orient Express is of vital interest to us.

(vivacious music) Ferdinand's belief that the Bulgarian railways belonged to him caused headaches for the Orient Express.

His demands were often acquiesced so as not to lose a powerful ally.

He would often times take interest in going to the locomotive, having a chat with the pilots, even helping to operate it.

Now can you imagine other royals helping operate the trains at the time?

King Ferdinand's rule came to an abrupt end with Bulgaria's defeat in World War I. He was forced to resign.

Therefore, on 3rd October of 1918, King Ferdinand gave his very last dinner here in the palace.

He announced the accession of King Boris III and left Bulgaria.

Unfortunately, he never came back.

(dramatic music intensifies, then fades) (suspenseful music) King Boris III's rule was much less flamboyant as Bulgaria dealt with hardships following the war.

But one thing he did inherit from his father was his passion for the railways, and similarly to his dad, he actually used to operate sometimes trains, although I'm not sure if he ever operated the Orient Express.

(light-hearted music) As it steamed its way towards Istanbul, the Orient Express arrived into Plovdiv, the last major stop before the Turkish border.

Built around six hills, Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Europe.

Its narrow streets have changed little in the past 500 years.

In the 1920s, any visitor coming to Plovdiv from the Orient Express would see this part of the city as still a residential area, where the families of the merchants of the 19th century still lived.

It was also in the 1920s that we slowly started discovering all of the ancient Roman heritage that lies underneath these houses.

(tense music) As Plovdiv developed, more and more Roman remains were discovered, sparking a fascination with the city across Europe.

Orient Express passengers would have known this city for its ancient heritage.

Ilia Iliev is a registered tour guide with a deep love of Plovdiv's Roman past.

This is the original entrance to the ancient Roman theater, through which from the first century onwards local patricians and all of the ancient spectators would come to watch the events held in this venue, which nowadays is one of the best preserved such in the entire world.

(dramatic music) The theater was built during the reign of Emperor Trajan, when the Roman Empire was at its height.

Twenty-eight concentric rows of seats were carved into the side of one of Plovdiv's hills.

Back in the day, the theater used to be able to seat roughly 6,000 people, which happens to be around 10% of the ancient population.

Etched into some of the seats are clues as to what it would have been like to visit the theater.

So, it's very interesting that we actually know a lot of things about the theater from the different inscriptions that are found around here.

For example, who sat where?

The preserved ancient inscription on this side says FU-EE-LU-OO, the ancient Greek word, phyllo, which means a neighborhood.

And then the continuation, part of which is lost in time, would most likely say the name of the neighborhood from which people would be seated in this respective sector.

Most likely you would be sat with all of your friends, with all of your neighbors, and people that you know from your own community.

(vibrant music) During the time of the construction of the theater, Plovdiv, then known as Philippopolis, was the provincial capital of the Roman province of Thrace, which stretched across modern day Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria.

People came from across the area to witness the performances on this stage.

Imagine being here surrounded by 6,000 people worth of spectators, the theater going much higher and you, an ancient orator, an ancient artist, speaking to the public, addressing the nation or just being one of the local politicians of the provincial council.

It wasn't just the performances that were designed to impress.

These columns, for example, used to be much more colorful, not just the plain white marble, and the statues in the distance, we believe were made out of gold.

(foreboding music) In the 5th century, Plovdiv was attacked and the theater was damaged by Attila the Hun.

It soon fell out of use and was forgotten.

As many other ancient ruins in Plovdiv, the Roman theater was also found completely by accident.

All these columns and everything at the backstage was found spilled, broken down all around the excavation site.

So, it was of course rebuilt using modern and ancient material together to form as best a reconstruction of the Roman theater as possible.

(intense music) Amazingly, almost two thousand years after it was built, the theater is still in use.

Ilia: We use the theater for various different events, mainly cultural.

We have an annual opera festival where you can watch some of the biggest and most popular opera shows.

It's incredible watching, for example, my own favorite opera performance, Orpheus and Eurydice, since they partially flood this stage so as to let a ship walk in, and then they partially set everything behind me on fire when Orpheus himself goes into the underworld.

(upbeat music) Plovdiv's Art Nouveau Station remains much as it was when the Orient Express stopped here.

Then, as now, when luxury trains departed, passengers would be full of anticipation and excitement for their final destination, Istanbul.

(vivacious music) Four days after leaving London, Orient Express passengers would find themselves traveling through rural Bulgaria.

Soon after leaving Plovdiv, the Orient Express reached its final border crossing.

Just 598km remained to its final destination... Istanbul.

For passengers like Bill Tenner, following in the footsteps onboard a modern luxury train, the prospect of arriving in this legendary city is every bit as exciting today as it was a century ago.

We've just gone through Europe, we've just gone though Christendom if you would have it, now we're into the Muslim world.

We're on the border between Europe and Asia.

The history here is fascinating, so yes, I'm looking forward to being here.

One can travel the world in various ways, but in this way, you're fully immersed wherever you go.

You know, you're there.

This is sort of a very epic trip, Paris to Istanbul.

Everybody dreams about this.

But no, Istanbul should look great.

I don't know.

Seasoned traveler Helen is taking home more than just memories.

This one I leave.

I have another bottle in there.

I only take one bottle in a suitcase and God knows if it doesn't break.

(vibrant music) (seagulls calling) For almost a hundred years, Istanbul was the final destination for many Orient Express trains.

The city held a fascination for Western tourists as somewhere exotic and "Orient".

Initially the train arrived into a modest terminus, but as the service became more popular, it was decided that it needed something more grand.

(spirited music) In 1890, Sirkeci Station was opened.

Covering 12,000 square meters, it was designed to induce awe in anyone who stepped inside.

It's a blend of traditional Turkish design and exoticism, all reinforcing the idea that you'd just stepped foot into a very different world.

That's not to say that the station didn't have all the mod-cons.

It had gas lighting and heating and it was run just as smoothly as any station in Western Europe.

(dramatic music) To this day, it still welcomes international trains, retracing the route of the Orient Express.

Six days after leaving Paris, The Golden Eagle Danube Express finally reaches the end of the line.

(dramatic music intensifies, then fades) Dori: Welcome to Istanbul.

Hope you enjoyed the journey with us.

I did, very much so.

Thanks very much, darling.

-You're very welcome.

-Thank you for all your help.

You were fantastic.

Thank you.

With the passengers safely disembarked, chief cabin attendant Dori Keres can finally relax.

It's always a special moment when one arrives to Istanbul because Istanbul is such a unique place.

It's really interesting to arrive in style.

But it's sad at the time because a journey that was spent in good company with lots of great memories is coming to an end.

Dori and her team don't get long to rest.

Tomorrow the train welcomes its next set of passengers.

It's a very busy time for the staff because we have to prepare the cabins again and welcome a new group tomorrow.

(vibrant music) Passengers disembarking the Orient Express didn't necessarily end their journey here in Istanbul.

They could cross the Bosphorus by ferry and swap onto another Wagons-Lit service on the Asian side of the strait.

These services traveled as far as Cairo, Baghdad, and Tehran.

For those staying in Istanbul, just because they'd left the train didn't mean their adventure was over.

The Orient Express had one final luxury surprise waiting.

(mysterious music) Welcome to Pera Palace Hotel, the first luxury hotel that is in Istanbul, Turkey and the hotel that Orient Express passengers have stayed in when they reached the city.

(gentle music) Since 1894, the Pera Palace Hotel has been the final word on luxury in Turkey.

Ezgi Pek has worked for the hotel for the past two years.

Ezgi: The hotel was based on a palace.

It was built in a shady, large park with windows opening up towards the Bosphorus to catch the breeze.

It was cool and calm, an oasis away from the city.

The first European-style hotel in Istanbul, it was owned by the same company which ran The Orient Express.

It was designed to live up to the luxury and spectacle of the train.

If you were here 100 years ago as a passenger of the beautiful Orient Express, you would recognize so many features that we have today.

This room used to be a ballroom, and the chandeliers that are in the room are 100 years old.

The domes were used for air conditioning and lighting, and the windows allowed people to look down on the balls that were hosted here.

The hotel was not just upmarket for the luxury.

It was ostentatious.

The hotel meant to make you say, wow, even if you stayed in the best hotels in Berlin, Paris or London.

The Pera Palace was probably the most famous of a whole chain of hotels owned by Wagons-Lit, built along the route of the train.

The hotel was the first non-royal building in Turkey to have electricity, and boasted running hot and cold water at a time when even Londoners didn't have access.

But one of its greatest attractions was this... (regal music) This is the first elevator, first electric elevator in Turkey, Istanbul, the second one in Europe.

Incredibly, over one hundred years later, it's still in daily use.

While our guests are coming into our hotel, when they check in, we are leading them to their rooms with our historical elevator.

Right from the start, the Pera Palace became the haunt of the rich and famous.

Zsa Zsa Gabor, Greta Garbo, and Jacqueline Kennedy all stayed here.

Suite 101 became the home of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the revolutionary statesman who helped create the modern state of Turkey.

It was his government that changed Istanbul's name from Constantinople in 1930 to better reflect the city's heritage.

(vibrant music) The hotel was also the preferred home away from home of the woman who made the Orient Express infamous.

This is the room where Agatha Christie had stayed in while she was visiting Istanbul.

Room 411 was Agatha Christie's room.

Today, it stands in her honor.

Ezgi: Some people believe that Agatha Christie wrote some part of the Murder on the Orient Express in this room.

But that's not the only connection between this room and Agatha Christie.

In the late 1970s, Warner Bros.

wanted to make a movie about Agatha Christie's life, but there was a gap in her history.

In 1926, she got lost for 11 days in England and they couldn't find anything about her.

When she reappeared, she couldn't tell anything about it.

So, it's a bit mysterious.

(eerie music) Bizarrely Warner Bros.

drafted in Hollywood psychic Tamara Rand to see if she could provide some details about what had happened.

Tamara conducted a séance and reportedly spoke with Agatha Christie.

During the séance, she asked Agatha Christie where was she during those 11 days and Agatha Christie pointed out to the 411 room in Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.

Tamara instructed the hotel to look under the floorboards of room 411 for a key that would unlock a box containing a journal explaining the missing days.

And they found a key right where the psychic Tamara Rand pointed out.

While the key was found, unfortunately the box containing the journal never was.

The mystery what happened to Agatha Christie about those 11 days still remains to this day.

(eerie music intensifies, then fades) (seagulls calling) (upbeat music) When Orient Express passengers stepped off the train in Istanbul, they were faced with a city totally different to any they had experienced on their trip.

Istanbul was seen as a place of mystery and intrigue.

A city on the edge of two worlds where anything could happen.

For Western travelers, the city was the definition of "The Orient", an idea that had taken hold across Europe after Islamic architecture was seen for the first time at the Paris World's Fair in 1867.

It was an idea that the Orient Express leaned heavily into, playing up the romance of its final destination in its advertising and guidebooks.

For passengers wanting a sense of "The Orient", Istanbul's 3,000 plus mosques were a must-see.

One of the most iconic of all is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, or the Blue Mosque.

(Islamic call to prayer) Abdil Bicer is a local guide.

This is one of the largest mosques in Istanbul today.

It was built by Sultan Ahmed I in 1609, so basically about 400 years ago.

The Blue Mosque has six minarets, which is more than any other mosque in the city, and with the number of six it even rivals the Grand Mosque of Mecca.

The location of it is not randomly chosen.

It's sitting on the ruins of the Roman Royal Palace and also standing next to one of greatest churches ever built by human history, the Hagia Sophia, Sultan Ahmed I ruled over the Ottoman Empire that at its height stretched all the way from Vienna across the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula.

His mosque was designed to show his power.

Once you walk inside the inner courtyard, a beautiful pyramid of domes faces you here.

With this structure, they actually spread the weight of the main dome to the sides.

And in this inner courtyard in busy days, people bring their mats and carpets, prayer carpets and they put them on the floor and they pray.

(evocative music) After removing their shoes, Orient Express passengers would have entered into the palatial prayer hall.

Measuring 64 by 72 meters, it can accommodate upwards of 10,000 worshippers.

When you look up here in the center, you see this gigantic dome.

This is 23.5 meters wide, big dome, surrounded by 28 windows and with these lights coming from the outside, the dome looks actually as if it's floating.

And the structure is sitting on four massive, solid marble pillars, as you see in every corner.

We actually call them elephant legs in architecture.

And these are some of the largest columns ever built.

And one other very interesting detail here we see is these beautiful globe-looking pendants on the chandelier.

In the 1540s and 1550s, the Ottoman Turks, they discovered one very important thing; that the ostrich egg has a special smell that works like a repellent.

So, they designed their chandeliers with all these beautiful ostrich eggs and they don't get any spiders.

The mosque is decorated with over 20,000 hand-painted blue tiles from the Turkish town of Iznik.

Sultan Ahmed I, who built this mosque, he loved the Iznik tiles so much.

And he banned the tile makers of Iznik to sell their tiles to anyone else.

So, for seven years' time, they produced their tiles only for the Blue Mosque.

(spirited music) Their unique designs result from Islamic tradition.

The depiction of humans or faces is not allowed in Islam religion.

Therefore, we use floral designs, geometric patterns, and these are all symbolizing important characters of the religion.

The most common floral design of the tile is the tulip flower, and tulip is a symbol of God in Turkish Islamic culture.

When especially French and Austrian travelers visited Istanbul back in time, they named here the Blue Mosque.

In fact, they call the color of the tile the turquoise, the color the Turks.

Five times a day, hundreds of Muslims still come to the mosque to pray.

When you walk inside the main gallery where the Muslims pray, on your left you see the niche called Mihrab.

So, whenever you pray, you face Mecca direction and that is the niche indicating the direction.

And on the right-hand side of it we see the preaching pulpit.

And we call it 'Mimbar'.

Every Friday, the Imam, Muslim priest, basically, he gets up there halfway, and he preaches about 20 minutes during the sermon.

Finally completed in 1616, the complex contained not just the mosque, but a hospital, school, soup kitchen, and shelter for the poor.

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire post-World War I, Western visitors flocked to it to see the achievements of a fallen empire.

If I were a traveler coming with the Orient Express here, first time let's say, it would be amazing for me to see these gigantic mosques, these beautiful harmonical structures all around.

And what is more amazing, actually, let's say 150 years ago you came here with the Orient Express train, you would have seen exactly the same mosque of today.

No difference almost.

(dramatic music) The golden era of the Orient Express only lasted for a few decades.

Over time, competition from other luxury trains, political upheaval, and the dawn of the Jet Age took much of the shine from the legendary service.

By the second half of the twentieth century, some Orient Express services were little more than carriages attached to other trains.

Much of the luxury was gone.

(gentle music) In 1977, the train stopped serving Istanbul, terminating in Budapest and Bucharest.

In 2001, trains were cut further, terminating in Vienna.

With the TGV opening between Paris and Strasbourg in 2007, the Orient Express only ran between Strasbourg and Vienna.

On 12th December 2009, the service was finally canceled and the Orient Express disappeared from European timetables.

Today the train's legacy is continued by the modern luxury trains that still cross Europe, some incorporating original carriages from the Orient Express.

For almost 100 years, the Orient Express was a constant, crossing a Europe that transformed beyond recognition.

Its inability to keep up with this change is what led to its collapse.

The service transformed travel forever.

With the help of books, movies and newspaper articles, it developed a legendary status.

The Orient Express continues to be the world's most famous, and infamous, train.

(train whistle blowing) (gentle music)