As a person attached to her car ever since she got a driver's license, I must say, I am enjoying the public transportation options that Istanbul has to offer. I still do not recommend anyone to try to use the public transportation during the rush hours (yes plural in this city!).
However, if you are flexible as I am, there are plenty of options in this overly crowded and busy city. For instance, tomorrow I have a few errands to run around the city. Here is what I am going to do:
I will take my car to the Kozyatagi Metro station which is about 5 minutes from my home. I will take the Metro (the Tube if you are British, the Subway if you are American) all the way to Kadikoy. I will hop on a ferry to Eminonu or Karakoy and walk to pick-up my prescription glasses. I will then take the Tram to Kabataş and ride the Funicular to Taksim where I will get on the Metro to Mecidiyekoy to visit a friend at his office. Then, I will probably take a taxi to Okmeydani to a hospital in order to visit a very close friend who will be out of surgery hopefully by then.
The best thing is that I use an Istanbul Kart on all these vehicles which makes it real easy.
If I take my car, all these are still doable but the amount of time I would spend just sitting in my car and the stress of finding a suitable place to park does not make it logical. Besides, I love having tea on the ferry crossing the Bosphorus and I will make sure I will post some photos later in the week. And of course, this not only saves time but plenty of money as well.
All these names sound so exotic! Perhaps one day you can give me a tour of Istanbul this way. :)
ReplyDeleteI sure would like to give you a tour of Istanbul:) I haven't had time to respond to your comment earlier due to a family emergency. I have always found Alaska fascinating too. May be you can give me a tour of your hometown too.
Delete