I leave March 31 and arrive in Istanbul at 11:40 am the next day. Barbara gets in at 5:15 pm. So I plan to run into town and visit the Archaeological Museum, then run back to the airport to greet her—it will be our first face-to-face meeting. I think she's taller than I am.
Then we'll want to get from Istanbul to Cappadocia and not spend a day doing it, nor spend the money on a flight. So we plan to go overnight. Most people take the bus, but there's also a train with sleepers and couchettes. They go to Kayseri, the largest city in that area. Why don't most people take the train, which is much more comfortable? Probably because the train station lies on the other side of the Bosphorus, the waterway the separates European Istanbul from Asian Istanbul. The main airport and the main attractions are on the European side, and you have to take a ferry to get to the Haydarpasha terminal on the Asian side—as my Turkish friend in New York told me. Good to know.
Here's a map that explains things:
The terminal serves the ferries and is also a train terminal, one of the busiest in Europe and Asia. We'll catch the train that leaves after midnight and gets there the next morning.
Then we'll want to get from Istanbul to Cappadocia and not spend a day doing it, nor spend the money on a flight. So we plan to go overnight. Most people take the bus, but there's also a train with sleepers and couchettes. They go to Kayseri, the largest city in that area. Why don't most people take the train, which is much more comfortable? Probably because the train station lies on the other side of the Bosphorus, the waterway the separates European Istanbul from Asian Istanbul. The main airport and the main attractions are on the European side, and you have to take a ferry to get to the Haydarpasha terminal on the Asian side—as my Turkish friend in New York told me. Good to know.
Here's a map that explains things:
The terminal serves the ferries and is also a train terminal, one of the busiest in Europe and Asia. We'll catch the train that leaves after midnight and gets there the next morning.
Thanks you for taking us all on your most inspirational trip. For those of us who cannot accompany you in the flesh, we can at least enjoy your peregrinations vicariously. Bon Voyage!
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