On Sunday morning, I'd made brief visits to Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and the Museum of Archaeology (described here). After a simple lunch at my hotel, I took a 20-minute ferry trip to Kadikoy, on the Asian side (described here).
I arrived at Kadikoy by public ferry and spent a little time exploring the waterfront. It was quite mild, with a pale sun and lots of people seemed to be enjoying their Sunday afternoon in a relaxed manner. To the south of the pier where I'd arrived was the Princes' Islands Pier. I'd watched the ferry 'M/S ŞEHİT MUSTAFA AYDOĞDU'(brief information here) leaving the berth . The pier appeared to serve two destinations - Adalar on the Princes' Islands and Besiktas (near the First Bosphorus Bridge on the European side).
Around Istanbul: Princes' Islands Pier, Kadikoy.
A small crowd was watching some sort of presentation publicising (I think) culture, entertainment and activities but I haven't worked it out, I'm afraid. The presentation was being made from a plinth mounting an elaborate statue commemorating the reform of the Turkish language. I assume this statue refers to the changes in alphabet introduced in 1928 and the creation of the Turkish Language Association in 1932 but, again, I'm not sure. Wikipedia has an article on the Turkish language here.
Around Istanbul: A publicity presentation drew a small crowd at Kadikoy. A figure forming part of the language commemorative statue is just visible behind the speakers in yellow jackets.
I sat watching the people coming and going for a while. A middle-aged Turkish woman joined me and opened a chocolate biscuit snack, immediately sharing it with me in a charming gesture. We sat companionably in silence for a few minutes, then I thanked her, said 'goodbye' and made my way towards the town. I had intended to explore the town a little but when I saw how crowded the streets were I decided, instead, to head for the Kadikoy Metro.
Around Istanbul: Kadikoy
On my way to the Metro station, I crossed the single, 1000mm-gauge line of the Moda Tram (Line T3) which forms a short, circular route advertised as a 'nostalgic tram'. It didn't appear to be operating on Sunday. There's a useful Wikipedia article here.
Istanbul's Metro: Entering Kadikoy Station, Kadikoy Line Metro (oh dear, the down escalator's not working).
Istanbul's M4 Metro line ('Kadikoy Metro') extends for 26.5 km and opened in 2012, using rolling stock from the Spanish company CAF. It's Standard Gauge to 'Light Rail' standards, powered from a 1,500 volt d.c. overhead conductor. There's a Wikipedia article here and an article on all Istanbul's Metro lines here.
I only travelled one stop on the Kadikoy Metro, to Ayrilik Cesmesi, so that I could transfer to the present Asian terminus of the Marmaray Line, one stop from Uskudar. The Marmaray platforms at Ayrilik Cesmesi are on the surface and there was quite a crowd waiting as the next train pulled in from the turnback sidings.
Marmaray Line surface-platform at Ayrilik Cesmesi, with train arriving.
Phase 1 of the Marmaray project, from Ayrilik Cesmesi (Asian side) to Kazlicesme (European side) opened in 2013. The line is Standard Gauge to 'Heavy Rail' standards, powered from a 25 kV a.c. overhead conductor. I'd already traversed the Marmaray Tunnel twice the previous day, travelling between Sirkeci and Uskudar and back again (described briefly in the post here). The engineering achievement of crossing the Sea of Marmara with an immersed-tube tunnel construction (I believe the deepest in the world) in an earthquake zone continued to impress me.
I had to stand during the speedy journey back to the European side. Some people got off at Sirkeci but the train remained quite full as we continued to Yenikapi, one stop beyond Sirkeci. There was a mass exodus at Yenikapi, as I anticipated, since Yenikapi is an interchange station with two Metro Lines - M1 ('Ataturk Airport Metro') and M2 ('Taksim Metro').
Istanbul's Metro: The Mezzanine Concourse at Yenikapi Station (interchange station serving Taksim Metro, Ataturk Airport Metro, Marmaray Line).
The Ataturk Airport Metro Line not only serves the airport but the coach station at Otogar and a branch to Kirazli which connects with the Basaksehir Metro. There was no time to sample these routes, instead, I'd decided to take the Taksim Metro Line as far as Taksim. It would also have been interesting to explore beyond Taksim, as there is yet another Metro Line (the Etiler Metro) and a branch serving a funicular at Havaray which runs on a concrete viaduct but, with limited time at my disposal, Taksim was to be my destination.
Istanbul's Metro: Boarding the Taksim Metro at Yenikapi
Istanbul's M2 Metro line ('Taksim Metro') extends for 23.5 km and opened in 2000, using rolling stock from Alstom. Standard Gauge to 'Light Rail' standards, it is powered from a 750 volt d.c. third rail. There's more information on Wikipedia here.
Istanbul's Metro: Yenikapi - Taksim
The journey to Taksim was swift and uneventful, stopping at Vezneciler, Halic and Sishane and I was glad that the long escalator to return me to the surface was working.
Istanbul's Metro: Returning to the surface at Taksim.
There's a Wikipedia article with more details of Taksim Metro Station here. A short walk from the metro station, I came to Gezi Park, very peaceful on that Sunday afternoon. But, in 2013, it had been the trigger for a series of wide-ranging, violent protests in Turkey. There's a detailed analysis of the escalation of what was initially a demonstration against an urban development plan into a major uprising against the state in the Wikipedia article here.
Around Istanbul: Fountain in Gezi Park, Taksim.
I walked towards Taksim Square, passing through the temporary market for 'Beoglu Antiquarian Book Fair'. I found Istanbul's other tram line, called simply 'Nostalgic Tram' (line T2) but, like the 'Moda' tram, not running on Sunday. This line is described in the Wikipedia article here. The local bird population seemed well aware that the trams weren't operating, as large numbers were perching on the tramway's overhead conductors and guy wires.
Around Istanbul: Taksim Square.
The centrepiece of Taksim Square is the Republic Monument, by the Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica, which was completed 1928. Wikipedia has additional information here.
The Republic Monument, Taksim Square, Istanbul, by Pietro Canonica, completed 1928.
Determined to travel on at least one of Istanbul's funiculars, I walked back to Taksim Metro Station and through the long pedestrian tunnels leading to the Kabatas Funicular. This is a modern, underground system with two cable-hauled counter-balanced trains operating on a single line with a passing loop. Because of the gradient the doors, stepped floors and seats in each coach are set at an angle to the rails. There's a Wikipedia article here and a video (by MBC) here.
I emerged from the underground funicular a few yards from Kabatas Terminus on the T1 (Sultanahmet) tram line as it was getting dusk. The modern tram station is on a double-track line which runs on the central margin of a busy dual-carriageway road. An empty tram arrived and I took my seat. Before the tram left, quite a few more passengers had boarded and, after three intermediate stops had picked up more passengers, it was standing room only. We crossed the Galata Bridge and, after some difficulty, I left the crowded tram at Eminonu where it was already dark.
The waterfront was just yards away so I crossed to the nearest ferry waiting room which was crowded with people waiting for the next service to Uskudar. This route seems to be operated by modern,'double-ended' ferries with passenger ramps each end and accommodation for 500 passengers inside plus a further 200 outside. The Yalova Yard in Turkey built four of this design in 2015 named ŞH-KÜÇÜKSU, ŞH-GÖKSU, ŞH-GÜMÜŞSU and ŞH-DURUSU, each powered by two Scania DI13 070M diesel engines (engine data here). Earlier in the day, I'd photographed ŞH-DURUSU operating the route.
Istanbul's Ferries: 'SH-DURASU', arriving at Eminonu earlier in the day.
I took a seat in the noisy waiting room and, after a few minutes, the large ferry docked and, having passed through the automatic ticket barrier with my 'Istanbulkart', I was swept up the broad loading ramp with the boarding crowds. I assume the ferry was ŞH-DURUSU but, in the dark and the crush of people, I didn't confirm that. It was a little chilly on the water and rather damp so, for once, I was content to take a seat in the lower passenger saloon and watch through the misted window as we made our ten-minute crossing to Uskudar. I disembarked and was once again swept along as we passed through the broad exit gate into the street. As I was now noticeably tiring, I turned left, re-entered the terminal building and passed through the ticket barrier in time to rejoin the ferry I'd just left. Although still busy, the return crossing was not as crowded as the outward journey.
Safely back at Eminonu, I decided to head towards my hotel using the Sultanahmet tram which uses the 'Citadis 304', a 3-section, fourth-generation version of the successful Alstom 'Citadis' range. There's a Wikipedia article here. I was too tired and it was too dark for pictures but I'd photographed one of the Alstom 'Citadis' trams (at Sirkeci) the previous day.
Istanbul, Turkey: Sirkeci Tram Stop with a Sultanahmet line Alstom 'Citadis 304' tram heading for Kabatas.
I stayed on the tram to the Grand Bazaar tram stop but found the area quiet and uninviting so decided to cut short any further exploring and slowly make my way (largely downhill, thankfully) back to my hotel, amazed at how much I'd seen since my arrival the previous day.
The next morning, I finished my packing and said 'good-bye' to the hotel staff. My booked car arrived on time and took me back to Ataturk Airport for my final flight back to Birmingham and home after an extremely stimulating and instructive trip which, together with my Caspian Odyssey tour, had embraced four countries.
Related posts on other websites
The Marmaray Tunnel and railways
Marmaray Railway Engineering Project.
Haydarpaşa railway station (Wikipedia).
TCDD Taşımacılık (Wikipedia).
TCDD (Wikipedia).
Marmaray (Wikipedia).
Marmaray Tunnel (Wikipedia).
Istanbul Ferries
Ferries in Istanbul (Wikipedia).
IDO fleet list.
Sehir Hatlari History.
Sehir Hatlari typical modern ferry.
Light Rail and Trams
Istanbul Metro (Wikipedia).
M1 (Istanbul Metro) (Wikipedia).
M2 (Istanbul Metro) (Wikipedia).
M4 (Istanbul Metro) (Wikipedia).
Kabatas Funicular (Wikipedia).
Taksim (Istanbul Metro) (Wikipedia). Istanbul Tram (Wikipedia).
Istanbul nostalgic tramways (Wikipedia).
Related posts on this website
This is one of a number of posts describing my weekend in Istanbul, starting with Arriving in Istanbul.
Alternately, clicking on the 'All my Istanbul reports' link displays all the posts on this weekend in reverse date-of-posting order.
All my Istanbul reports.
My pictures
Istanbul, Turkey.
Istanbul's Ferries: Eminonu - Kadikoy.
Istanbul's Metro.
Istanbul's Railways.
All my pictures in Turkey.
