Getting Around
The public transportation network in Istanbul is very reliable and easy to navigate. This applies especially to ferries, trams, and trains, because they don’t suffer from Istanbul’s traffic congestion. Rides on all of the following (apart from the dolmuşes and the funiculars) have a flat rate of 1.50 TL, but it’s cheaper if you use Akbil or another transit pass (see boxed text).
By Tram and Funicular
Tram: The tram line that runs from Zeytinburnu to Kabataş is excellent for transportation on the European side, stopping in Aksaray, Sultanahmet, and Karaköy ( Every 10min., 6am-midnight). There are two nostalgic tram lines. One runs along İstiklal Cad., connecting Tünel and Taksim, while the other follows a circular route in Kadiköy on the Asian side.
In addition to the trams, Istanbul is also connected by underground funiculars. Since there is no direct tram connection between Taksim and Sultanahmet, the funicular connecting Kabataş and Taksim ( 1 TL.) is almost necessary for getting from one to the other. Another funicular connects Karaköy and Tünel ( 1 TL).
By Metro
There’s a metro line running from the Atatürk International Airport through Büyük Otogar to Aksaray. Aksaray is a 5min. walk away from the Yusufpaşa tram stop (there are signs showing the way). Another metro line runs from Taksim north to 4. Levent. ( 6am-midnight.)
Two suburban trains complement the tram service. One line starts at Sirkeci Train Station and goes west through Kumkapi and Yenikapi, while the other starts at Haydarpaşa Train Station in Kadiköy and runs east through Göztepe and Bostanci. ( Every 20min., 5:30am-midnight.)
By Ferry
Commuter ferries are the best way to get to the Asian side or to access some of the more distant neighborhoods. The most useful lines are Eminönü-Kadiköy, Karaköy-Haydarpaşa-Kadiköy, Kabataş-Üsküdar, Eminönü-Üsküdar, Kadiköy-Beşiktaş, Kabataş-Kadiköy-Prince’s Islands, and the Golden Horn line (stops include Üsküdar, Eminönü, Fener, and Eyüp). (212 444 4436 www.ido.com.tr Every 20min., consult website for departure times.)
By Bus
There are many useful bus lines. See the table for a partial list of buses that connect major neighborhoods. For more specific information, contact IETT (800 211 6068, www.iett.gov.tr).
The dolmuş is a shared minibus that runs on set routes, stopping every couple of blocks to take on and drop off passengers. The system is chaotic, but the destinations are always listed on the boards visible through the windows. Especially useful is the Kadiköy-Taksim dolmuş ( 5TL), which leaves every 20min., even after ferries stop running.
BUS ROUTES
Üsküdar-Kadiköy 12, 12A
Kadiköy-Taksim 110
Fatih-Taksim 87
Fatih-Eminönü 28, 31E, 32, 336E, 36KE, 37E, 38E, 90, 910
Fener-Taksim 55T
Fener-Eminönü 33ES, 36CE, 399B, 399C, 399D, 44B, 99, 99A
Beşiktaş-Taksim 110, 112, 129T, 25T, 40, 40T, 42T, 559C, DT1, DT2
Ortaköy-Taksim 40, 40T, 42T, DT1, DT2
By Taxi
The initial charge for cabs is 2.50TL, and every additional kilometer costs 1.40TL. The rates are the same for day and night. If you’re taking a cab across the Bosphorus, you’ll have to pay the bridge toll as well. Tipping is not necessary. Beware of common taxi scams like a “broken meter” or roundabout routes.
gallipoli and troy
gallipoli and troy 212, 217, 286
Both Gallipoli and Troy are famous sites of war and worthwhile trips from Istanbul. The way Homer tells it, the Trojan War was actually pretty fun: Paris chooses the wrong goddess to receive his golden apple, Achilles is sensitive about his heel, and Odysseus outsmarts everyone in Troy with a wooden horse, only to get lost for ten years on his way home. These legends have little to do with what you’ll see in the actual remains of Troy, but they do give it a mysterious spirit that draws crowds. Gallipoli, on the other hand, is the site of unambiguous tragedy—the military campaign that took place here in 1915 had over 400,000 casualties. The events became a defining event for some of the participating nations. It was the first independent military action for Australia and New Zealand and the moment of metaphorical birth for Turkey’s national hero, Kemal Atatürk. Deceptively peaceful, the Gallipoli battlefields are among the most touching places you can find in Turkey. If you want to go to see Gallipoli and Troy, the easiest way to do it is by going to Çanakkale, a cheerful little seaside town on the Dardanelles. Çanakkale is no Istanbul, but maybe taking a short break from this metropolis is exactly what you need to appreciate it more fully.
ORIENTATION
In the middle of town is the Cumhuriyet Meydani Square. Just a few steps south you can find the Clock Tower (1897), a good point of orientation. Restaurants and bars run in both directions along the shore, and a few hundred meters north from the jetty you can find the wooden horse that was used as a prop in the 2004 movie Troy. The naval museum and the Çanakkale fortress are 500 m south from the jetty. The bus station is a 10min. walk away from the center on Atatürk Cad., and the dolmuş stop is under a bridge over the Sari River fifteen minutes away. The ruins of Troy are located 30km south of the town, while the Gallipoli battlefields are on Gallipoli peninsula across the Dardanelles strait from Çanakkale.
ACCOMMODATIONS
YELLOW ROSE PENSION
Kemalpaşa Mah. Aslan Abla Sok. 5
HOSTEL
286 217 3343 www.yellowrose.4mg.com
There’s an Australian flag at the front door and jovial “G’day mate!” sign pointing you this way, so it’s pretty obvious who the target customer group is at Yellow Rose Pension. This is one of the most appealing budget choices in the area—the rooms are clean, and many of them have fans. The reception desk also offers tours to Gallipoli and Troy (60TL each).
From the Clock Tower head down Kemal Yeri Sok. and turn right onto the 2nd street. It will be to your left. Breakfast included. Dorms 17TL; singles 25TL, with bath 30TL; doubles 40TL, with bath 50TL; triples 60TL, with bath 75TL; quads 80TL, with bath 100TL. Reception 24hr.
KONAK HOTEL
Kemalpaşa Mah. Fetvane Sok. 12
HOTEL
286 217 1150 www.konakhotelcanakkale.com
The amount of money that it takes to get a damp hostel room and a sleepy receptionist who spends most of his time in the hotel next door in Istanbul will get you much more in Çanakkale. Equipped with a minibar, A/C, and civilized-looking bathrooms, your lovely room might make you question going back to the bigger city. The prices here don’t fluctuate with seasons, and it’s one of the cheaper mid-range hotels in the area.
From the Clock Tower head down Fetvane Sok.; it will be on your right. Breakfast included. Singles €19; doubles with bath €36. Reception 24hr.
SIGHTS
GALLIPOLI BATTLEFIELDS
NATIONAL PARK
Almost one hundred years ago during WWI, the Gallipoli peninsula was the site of an eight-month-long military campaign that resulted in over 400,000 casualties and no military progress. These battlefields are now covered with shrubs and grass, but even today the soil here contains bones, pieces of shrapnel, and bullets. Cemeteries were built, monuments were erected, and the whole area is now a national park that commemorates the soldiers of this battle.
The objective for the Allies (British Empire, France) was to capture Constantinople (Istanbul) and thus knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war. They thought it would be an easy thing to do, but this takeover was actually very difficult. After failing to cross the Dardanelles by sea, the Allies decided to disembark on the Gallipoli peninsula and attack by land. Their progress was stalled early on, led to trench warfare, and ultimately ended with a withdrawal. This campaign has a special importance for the collective memory of Australians and New Zealanders because Gallipoli was the first major military operation for the Australia and New Zealand Armed Corps (ANZAC) since gaining independence. It was also important for Turkey, as the superhero lieutenant Mustafa Kemal made a name for himself as an extraor
dinarily capable leader in battle. This victory paved his way to becoming Atatürk, the father of modern Turkey.
The most commonly visited group of cemeteries and monuments lies near the Anzac Cove, the place where ANZAC forces disembarked. A few kilometers south is the Kabatepe Museum (286 814 1297 3TL, students 1.50TL Open 9am-1pm, 2-6pm), where you can see a gruesome collection of objects from the campaign, including a soldier’s skull embedded with a bullet, old shoes with pieces of foot bones still inside them, artificial teeth, detached mandibles, unexploded hand grenades, and bullets that hit each other midair. There are also letters written by soldiers during the campaign. Look for a letter written by a certain William, who wrote to his mother and referred to one of the military skirmishes as “rather a hot job!” Make sure after visiting the museum to backtrack and find the walking trail to the left that leads to the Lone Pine cemetery, where almost 5000 soldiers who died in the span of a few days are buried. The pine standing in the center of the cemetery came from a seed that was produced by a pine tree in Australia, which in turn came from a cone that an Australian soldier sent from Gallipoli to his mother in 1915.
Continuing north up the road you will pass a number of cemeteries, including the Turkish 57th Regiment Cemetery. In its graves are the people who received Atatürk’s famous command: “Men, I’m not ordering you to attack. I’m ordering you to die. In the time it takes us to die, other forces and commanders can come and take our place.” The soldiers obeyed the order, and in their honor, the Turkish army has never had a 57th regiment again.
Finally, a few kilometers up past some eroded trenches is Chunuk Bair, the only hill that the Allies captured during the whole campaign. Their success didn’t last long, and the Turks regained the hill just a few days later.
Free. Tours around 60TL.
TROY
Tevfikiye Köyü
RUINS
286 283 0536
After visiting this place, many people complain that it’s just a heap of stones. Perhaps there are a lot of stones, but these are some of the most interesting stones around. Troy wasn’t just one city—the ruins go back to 2900 BCE and contain the remains of nine different cities, all built on top of another. Sundried mudbricks and trash from older periods weren’t always removed but were actually paved over and used as foundation, creating the 15m mound on which the ruins are now located.
There are disputes about whether it was Troy VI or Troy VII that was the famed location of Homer’s Iliad. Based on the signs of siege and fire that can be seen on the remnants of Troy VII, many believe this iteration was the subject of the myth. Troy VI seems to have been damaged by an earthquake, and even though there’s no earthquake in Homer’s version of the story, some think that the Trojan horse was in fact built to celebrate Poseidon, the god who possibly caused the earthquake that facilitated Troy’s fall. These legends seem to be the main draw of the ruins today, and the tourist authorities know it—they recently built a big wooden horse near the entrance. Climb in and hope that the Trojans don’t hear you sneeze.
Over the centuries, Troy was abandoned and forgotten. It was rediscovered for the Western world by German businessman Heinrich Schliemann in 1868, who excavated the ruins believing they were the site of the Homeric legend. More of a businessman than an archeologist, Schliemann believed Troy was only one city and destroyed many valuable buildings during the excavations. Notice the Schliemann Trench, which cuts through a number of settlement layers. Another subject on the list of grievances against this man is Priam’s Treasure, a collection of valuable items that Schliemann found here, believing they originally belonged to the Trojan King Priam. Not only was he wrong about their origin (the artifacts come from Troy II, not Troy VII), but he smuggled the objects out of the Ottoman Empire. The ownership of Priam’s Treasure remains problematic even today, as many of the objects were seized by the Russian Army after World War II and are now tucked away in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, which refuses to return them to their country of origin.
Some of the more interesting heaps of stones include the Roman Odeon from Troy XI, where musical performances took place, the sanctuary dug into the remains of Troy VI and VII that was dedicated to unknown deities, and the ramp from Troy II close to where Schliemann discovered Priam’s Treasure. Under a hideous white roof nearby, you can find the megaron, a house with a porch from the transitional period between Troy II and III. Down the hill, there’s also a water cave that originated in the third millennium BCE and was associated with the god Kaskal.Kur (no, that’s not a website).
Near Tevfikye village. Also known as Truva, or Troia. 15TL, ages 9 and under free. Open daily in summer 8am-7:30pm, in winter 8am-5:30pm.
FOOD
YALI HANI
Fetvane Sok. 28
CAFE
286 212 4926 www.yalihani.com
This is possibly the best down-to-earth hangout in town. Shaded by a huge wisteria tree and full of small wooden tables, this popular courtyard is an excellent place to come for some beer (4TL), a few cigarettes or nargile, and friendly conversation. If you don’t feel like sitting in the courtyard, there’s always the darker, less spacious upper level.
From the Clock Tower continue down Fetvane Sok.; the courtyard will be to your right. Beer 4TL. Nargile 7TL. Sandwiches 2-3TL. Tiramisu 3TL. Open daily 11am-midnight.
ESSENTIALS
Practicalities
• TOURIST OFFICES: The throbbing heart of all things practical is Cumhuriyet Meydani. The Tourism Information Office has current schedules for ferries going to Eceabat and for dolmuşes going to Troy. (286 217 1187. Call ahead for schedules. Open daily in summer 8:30am-7pm; in winter 8:30am-5:30pm.)
• TOURS: There are a number of companies offering tours of Gallipoli and Troy, including TJs Tours (286 814 3121) and Hassle Free Travel Agency (286 213 5969).
• CURRENCY EXCHANGE: Use the PTT booth (286 212 6981) to exchange money, send postcards, and make phone calls.
• ATMS: Can be found mostly near the ferry jetty.
• INTERNET: There are no public wireless hotspots, but many cafes and hostels provide their own networks.
• POST OFFICE: The Post Office is 10min. away from Cumhuriyet Meydani. (İnönü Cad. 78 286 217 1022 Open daily 8am-7pm.)
Emergency!
• EMERGENCY NUMBER: 112.
• POLICE: 155.
Getting There
By Bus
The intercity bus companies have their offices both in this square and inside the bus station (286 217 5653). There are numerous direct buses running from Istanbul to Çanakkale ( 35TL 6½hr., 5 per day) operated by Truva, Kamil Koç, Metro, and Ulusoy. You can board these at the Büyük Otogar, but some of these companies have minibuses at Taksim that will take you to the otogar.
By Ferry
A more pleasant way to get to Çanakkale can be to take the ferry from Istanbul’s Yenikapi Ferry Terminal (accessible by suburban train from Sirkeci) to Bandirma (www.ido.com.tr 32TL 2hr., 3 per day) and then transfer to a Çanakkale-bound bus. ( 20TL 3hr.) To get to Bandirma’s bus station from the ferry terminal, take the #8 bus (286 217 5653 1.25TL 20 min.) that’s 50m to the right of the terminal’s exit.
By Plane
Turkish Airlines offers direct flights between the Atatürk International Airport and Çanakkale Airport. (286 212 3366 Transportation between the center and Çanakkale Airport is supplied by a shuttle bus. Airlines have office under the Anafartalar Hotel. Call for exact shuttle times. Flights vary. Shuttles 2TL each way. 1hr.; Tu, Th, Su at 4:15pm, return at 6:05pm.)
Getting Around
In Çanakkale everything is within walking distance. To get from the bus station to the city center, leave through the main exit (there are silver letters saying otogar above it), turn left, and continue to the traffic light. Here, turn right and continue straight all the way to the ferry jetty. To get to the dolmuş stop from the jetty, walk inland toward the bus station, but instead of turning left at the second light, turn right and continue straight u
ntil you see a bridge (the dolmuşes stand is directly underneath). If circumstances require it, you can easily get a cab at Cumhuriyet Meydani.
Troy
You can get around Troy with a guided tour or on your own. To get there by yourself, take a dolmuş from under the bridge. ( Call for weekend times. 4TL. 40 min., weekdays hourly 9:30am-5:30pm, return hourly 7am-3pm.)
Gallipoli
If you don’t have your own transportation and don’t want to take a tour, moving around Gallipoli on your own is a bit tricky. First, you’ll need to take the ferry across the Dardanelles from Çanakkale to Eceabat. ( 2TL. 20min., hourly during the summer.) In Eceabat you can hop on a dolmuş going to Kabatepe (they aren’t too frequent and run primarily to connect with ferries that go from Kabatepe to Gökceada three times a day). The dolmuş will let you off at Kabatepe Museum, where you can walk to catch a dolmuş back. The distances are in kilometers and the area is hilly, so don’t be too optimistic when estimating the time it will take you to cover most of the sites. Sometimes it’s possible to arrange transport with guided tours or hire a taxi to drive you around, but these tend to be expensive for a student traveler.
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