What is "sirkeci"

Sirkeci /ˈsiɾkedʒi/ is a quarter in the Eminönü neighborhood of the Fatih district of the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The neighborhood borders to the North the mouth of the Golden Horn, to the West the neighborhood of Bahçekapı, to the East the Topkapi Palace area, and to the South the Cağaloğlu neighborhood. Sirkeci hosts Sirkeci Station, the Southeastern (thus " Oriental") long distance passenger train terminus in Europe for the Orient Express.

The neighborhood consists mostly of commercial and tourist oriented uses. A combination of small shops, hans (larger workshops), offices intermingle with boutique hotels, traditional Turkish restaurants, Turkish and foreign-language bookstores, and tourist offices.

In the Byzantine period, the area was known in Greek as Phosphòrion.