Durak railway station

Durak railway station (Turkish: Durak istasyonu) is a railway station in the Mersin Province of Turkey. Since the station is not near any settlement, it is used mainly as a siding. Durak station was originally opened on 27 April 1912 by the Baghdad Railway. Sitting at the base of the Taurus Mountains, the station was used as a staging point to construct the railway further through the mountains, similar to Ulukışla station.[1] The station house was built in the Turkish Neoclassical style, similar to the Yenice station house.

DURAK
TCDD Taşımacılık intercity rail station
Locationİncirgediği Mah. 33400
Tarsus, Mersin
Turkey
Coordinates37.1199°N 35.0020°E / 37.1199; 35.0020
Owned byTurkish State Railways
Operated byTCDD Taşımacılık
Line(s)
  Erciyes Express
  Taurus Express
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks3
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
ParkingYes
History
Opened27 April 1912
Services
Preceding station   TCDD Taşımacılık   Following station
toward Kayseri
Erciyes Express
toward Adana
toward Konya
Taurus Express

The choice of a railway station at Durak (also called Dorak) was not accidental, since the site is near the junction of two very strategic ancient roads that once connected the Mediterranean Sea to the Cilician Gates. In the 12th or 13th century during the period of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia an impressive three-storey fortified estate house, today known as Kız, was constructed just northwest of Durak to guard these roads.[2] Like the nearby Tece Castle the masonry and architectural features of Kız indicate that it was built by Armenian masons, perhaps for the Crusaders.[3]

TCDD Taşımacılık operates two daily intercity trains from Konya[4] and Kayseri[5] to Adana.

References
  1. "CIOB - Chemin de Fer Impérial Ottoman de Baghdad". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  2. Carefully documented photographs and plan of Kız Kalesi near Durak station
  3. Edwards, Robert W. (1987). The Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia: Dumbarton Oaks Studies XXIII. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University. pp. 157–161. ISBN 0-88402-163-7.
  4. "Toros Ekspresi". tcddseferleri.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  5. "Erciyes Ekspresi". tcddseferleri.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 10 April 2018.
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