|
The historic Ankara Gar (railway
station) is among the best examples
of the 1930s Bauhaus style
that once defined the look of Ankara along
with several graceful buildings from
its Ottoman past.
The Gar is an active place,
with suburban commuter trains starting
early in the morning, followed by the high-speed
trains to and from Eskişehir
and Konya, and the arrival of overnight
expresses from several
cities (though not, currently, from
Istanbul—More...),
then the departure of the day trains
to various parts of the country (map).
Services include
ticket sales windows, snack stands,
newsstands, bancomat/ATM
machines,
waiting
room, toilets,
and Left
Luggage/Baggage lockers.
(The aternative to the lockers is
to use the left luggage/baggage checkroom
at AŞTİ (Ankara's
main bus terminal) if you want to drop
your luggage, see Ankara,
then continue your journey the same
day.
Ankara Gar has a
good, old-fashioned (some would say "historic") restaurant open
for lunch and dinner. The Gar
Lokantasi offers decent traditional
Turkish cuisine and drinks at reasonable
rates. A three-course dinner with one
drink need cost no more than TL35.
A light meal can be had for TL25.
Clientele in the
Gar Lokantası is a coterie of local
regulars rather than travelers, 95%
male, chatting over meze and
glasses of rakı.
It's a mellow scene. Women are completely
welcome. There's a fair amount of cigarette
smoke. The waiters take good
care of everybody.
Taxis wait in front
of the Gar, and the Havaş airport
bus stops here
on its route between Esenboğa
Airport and AŞTİ,
Ankara's main bus terminal.
The most important trains, including
the high-speed trains, arrive
and depart the Ankara
Gar on Peron
1 (Track
1), the most convenient track. A subterranean
passage down
30 steps leads to the other tracks.
The passage also leads to the Maltepe
Ankaray (subway/metro)
station, but it's
not an easy walk. First you must
go down the 30 steps of the passage
(there is a ramp for wheelie bags),
then walk several hundred meters
along the passage, then pass through
the Tandoğan Çarşısı,
an underground shopping area with a
total of 17 steps up (few ramps).
At
the end of the Tandoğan Çarşısı
you must climb 50 steps (no
ramp or lift),
exit
to the street, turn left and walk for
several minutes to the Maltepe
Ankaray station and
descend its several flights of steps
to the trains.
If your luggage
is heavy, this may seem like too
much of a bother. The reward is that
AŞTİ,
Ankara's main intercity bus terminal,
is right at the western end of the
Ankaray subway
line.
The other way to reach Ankara's
subway/metro train system is
to walk out the front
of the Gar and straight
along Cumhuriyet Bulvarı,
keeping Gençlik
Parkı on your right. At the
next major street (İstiklal
Caddesi), by the tall
Radisson Blu Hotel,
is the Ulus
Metro station.
Walking from the Gar to the
Ulus station is easier, more pleasant,
and about the same distance as to
the Maltepe station, but if
you board at
the Ulus station you must change
trains (from the Metro line
to the Ankaray
line) at Kızılay to reach AŞTİ.
AŞTİ (Main
Bus Terminal)
Esenboğa
Airport (ESB)
Metro & Ankaray Subway
Trains
Distances & Travel
Times
Ankara
Transportation
What
to See & Do in Ankara
Ankara
Homepage
Central
Anatolia
|
