Istanbul Guide

213

to travellers. The major bus stands are underneath Tak sim Meydanı and at Beşiktaş, Kabataş, Eminönü, Kadıköy and Üsküdar, with most services running between 6am and 11pm. Destinations and main stops on city bus routes are shown on a sign on the right (kerb) side of the bus (otobüs), or on the elec tronic display at its front. You must have an İstanbulkart before boarding. The most useful bus lines for travellers are those run ning along both sides of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn, those in the western districts and those between Üsküdar and Kadıköy.

run later into the night in many instances, and often ply routes that buses and other forms of transport don’t service. Most travel lers are unlikely to take a dolmuş during their visit to the city. The only routes they are likely to find useful are Kadıköy–Taksim, Kadıköy– Üsküdar, Beşiktaş–Harbiye and along the Bosphorus shores. Bicycle You would be putting your life at serious risk – don’t even think about it.

Dolmuş A dolmuş is a shared mini bus. It waits at a specified departure point until it has a full complement of pas sengers (in Turkish, dolmuş means full) then follows a fixed route to its destination. Destinations are displayed in the window of the dolmuş. Passengers flag down the driver to get on and indicate to the driver when they want to get off, usually by say ing ‘ inecek var!’ (someone wants to get out!). Fares vary (pay on board) but are usu ally the same as municipal buses. Dolmuşes are almost as comfortable as taxis,

Transport Getting Around İstanbul