Agatha Christie's novel "Murder on the Orient Express" returns to the spotlight as the most famous spy train in history becomes a reality, thanks to a businessman who renovated the train and turned it into a luxurious tourist transport service along the route from Venice to Paris, London, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Istanbul.
The luxury tourist train arrived in Istanbul last Wednesday after departing from Paris on June 3, and is set to return to Paris on the 10th of this month. The train left Paris with 57 passengers and reached Turkey after stops in Budapest, Hungary, and Bucharest, Romania. Upon its arrival in Edirne, western Turkey, the train was welcomed by a folk dance troupe.
The mentioned train began its journeys in 1883, making its first trip from the French station of Strasbourg to Romania, with its last journey occurring in 1977, and this marks its first return since that time.
The luxurious train is known as the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which was inaugurated on October 4, 1883, with notable figures such as Tolstoy, Lawrence of Arabia, the spy Mata Hari, Trotsky, and Marlene Dietrich traveling in its luxurious carriages. The train gained fame after being featured in several films, including "The Spy Who Loved Me" in 1963 starring Sean Connery. In 2017, Agatha Christie's novel was adapted into a film starring Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Kenneth Branagh.
Businessman James B. Sherwood successfully rehabilitated the old train after purchasing it at auction in Monte Carlo in 1977.
