By Train Across Eight Thousand Years: Pendik

1. 01
   Exploration

   Stand Above the Invisible Mound

   Pause around Marmaray Kaynarca Station, where an 8,400-year-old settlement lies buried beneath the modern rail line. It was first found during railway construction in 1908, then rediscovered in the 2012 Marmaray excavation, when a four-month dig uncovered 64 graves, bone spoons, obsidian tools, and a female figurine before the site was covered again.

   Kaynarca Marmaray Station, Istanbul, Turkey
2. 02
   History

   See a 150-Year-Old Station

   Visit Pendik Train Station, part of the Constantinople–Izmit railway line opened in 1872. The current station building was rebuilt and expanded in 1936, and today both Marmaray and high-speed trains still use the same platforms. The line that revealed the previous stop is still working here.

   Pendik Tren İstasyonu, Istanbul, Turkey
3. 03
   Local

   Ask Where the Name Came From in the Bazaar

   Walk through Pendik Bazaar by Çarşı Camii and trace the district's name back through time: from Pantichion in Roman and Byzantine sources, to Pantiki in Turkish, and finally Pendik. The oldest known structure in the district is not a mosque but a 12th-century cistern in Doğu Mahallesi, while the bazaar fabric here still feels lively and lived-in.

   Pendik Çarşı Camii, Istanbul, Turkey
4. 04
   Culture

   Find the Only Historic Building You Can Enter

   Step into the Old Pendik Municipality Building, a public building from the early 20th century that was restored in 2003 and turned into an art and culture center. In central Pendik, this is the only historic public building you can enter: a place that once governed the district and now hosts it.

   Pendik Eski Belediye Binası Sanat Merkezi, Istanbul, Turkey
5. 05
   History

   View the Roofless Church from Across the Fence

   See the ruined Pendik Protestant Church from the outside. It was built in 1907 by the Latin Catholic community living in the area, used by Catholics until 1945, then by an Orthodox congregation until the late 1960s. It has been closed since the 1970s, and after abandonment a fire caused the roof to collapse. Even the name it is still known by adds to the inconsistency.

   Pendik Protestan Kilisesi, Istanbul, Turkey
6. 06
   Local

   End the Day at the Fishing Harbor

   Finish at Pendik Fishing Harbor by Sahil Parkı, where the shoreline ties the whole route together. This coast has been used for eight thousand years: the settlement buried under the mound also lived from the same sea. The only difference is that the trace of that era lies under a train station, while the trace of this era sits on the fish counter.

   Pendik Balıkçı Barınağı, Istanbul, Turkey

Check opening hours before you go. Hours, access conditions and weather can change.