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Istanbul's Metro system of underground
and surface rapid-transit trains is
growing quickly.
You're most likely to use the M1
Metro line that
runs from Aksaray northwest
to the city's main Otogar (intercity
bus station), then on to Atatürk
Airport (map).
Here's
a map of the complete system. (Click
on a section to magnify it.)
Here's how you pay your fare.
M1: Aksaray—Havalimanı,
going from Aksaray Square in Old
Istanbul via Istanbul's main Otogar (bus
terminal) to Atatürk
Airport. This line will
soon be extended from Aksaray to Yenikapı,
the terminal for "seabus"
catamaran ferryboats and fast
car ferries., and also a stop on
the suburban
train line.
M2: Şişhane—Hacıosman, going
from Şişhane Square, near Tünel
Square in Beyoğlu through Taksim
Square and Şişli
north through modern business and
residential sections of the Levents
to Hacıosman. By the end of 2013 the extension of this line from Şişhane Square across the Golden Horn to Yenikapı and its Fast Ferry Terminal should be completed.
M3: Esenler
Otogar-Kirazlı (under construction),
going from Istanbul's main intercity
bus terminal to the suburb of Kirazlı,
meeting the M5 Metro
line there.
M4: Kadıköy-Kartal,
going from Kadıköy on
the Asian
shore of the Bosphorus southeast
via Kozyatağı and Bostancı to Kartal. Board City Bus KM22 to go to Sabiha Gökçen Airport. More...
M5: Kirazlı-Olimpiyat Parkı/Başakşehir
4 (under construction),
in the western suburbs.
Istanbul's Metro system is operated
by Istanbul
Ulaşım. Their website has an English-language version that proves to be surprisingly unhelpful. As of May 2013 the Journey Planner is not yet implemented, and to use the Routes and Timetables function you must input your Arrival station first, and your Departure station second (counterintuitive!)know your beginning and ending stations (which, as a foreigner unfamiliar with the system, you are unlikely to know.
The Network Maps are at least useful. Here's the most useful map.
Here's info on fares.
The
Metro and tram system runs from about
06:00 (6 am) to a little past 24:00
(12
midnight).
Arriving in Istanbul by intercity
bus, you can take Metro Line 1 right
from the Otogar to Zeytinburnu and
board the T1
Kabataş tram for Sultanahmet
Square and Eminönü.
(Here's how
to transfer.)
(The last Metro train from Atatürk
Airport via the Otogar to
Aksaray departs the airport at 01:00
am. More...)
Imagine the difficulty of constructing
a Metro in Istanbul,
a city that is nothing but layers
of history.
Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul—every
excavation discovers some new archeological
site that must be studied,
catalogued, preserved.
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