Türkbilig

Abstract

The Eastern Express, which has been operating on routes varying between east and west in Turkey since 1939, is one of the important railway routes containing natural, cultural and historical riches. This historical train, which first started operating between Istanbul and Erzurum, departed from Ankara in 1991 and reaches Kars by following the Kırıkkale-Sivas-Erzincan-Erzurum route. TCDD started Touristic Eastern Express services in 2019 upon increasing interest. These trips, which have become a nostalgic train tourism with the influence of social media, play an important role in terms of creative tourism and experience economy. The touristic Eastern Express also attracts attention with the rich cultural heritage of the cities on its route. Activities on this route contribute to the development of sustainable tourism by increasing cultural awareness at national and international levels. Eastern Express, one of Turkey's important railway travel routes, is examined in the article with its social, cultural and economic effects and discussed in the context of the experience economy. The aim of the article is to examine and evaluate the role of the Touristic Eastern Express from a folklore perspective within the framework of the experience economy developing under the influence of social changes and postmodernism. After a literature review, document analysis and cultural analysis methods were used in the article. The social media posts of people who experienced the Eastern Express and the visual content on the relevant tourism companies' own websites were also used as data. Based on these data, the position of the Touristic Eastern Express at the intersection of folk culture, local cultural heritage, experience and daily life has been examined in depth. Among the findings obtained, the finding that different sectors benefit from folklore products, as well as the local cultural elements on the Touristic Eastern Express, are experienced through places, products and traditions during the thirty-one hour journey, stands out. This experience process serves as an example for the use of folklore products in the field of creative tourism and a cultural model for creating similar experience areas.