Gettin Around Istanbul

I'm going to take this moment to stop reliving my experiences in Istanbul and give all of you a few helpful tips for getting around Istanbul.

Tip #1: If you are American, DO NOT RENT A CAR! Turkish drivers are, to put it mildly, insane. I cannot count the number of times I have seen a driver, 1 hand on the cell phone, the somewhere else besides the wheel, swerve through three lanes of traffic. Whether they are driving a moped or a bus, they all drive fast and crazy. I don't care what you may say about New Yorkers or Massholes, Turkish drivers are some of the scariest drivers I've ever seen. That being said, I haven't seen too many accidents, so I guess they're all used to it, and that's fine for them, but seriously, don't drive in Istanbul.

Tip #2: Always add at least a half an hour to all your travel plans, because traffic here is horrendous.

A typical dolmuş

Tip #3: Come to worship the dolmuş (dohl-moosh). It is a minibus that has a set route to take, however they can stop at any time to pick or drop off passengers. In Turkish, dolmuş means "full" or "stuffed" because drivers will literally stuff as many people as possible inside. The upside is, there is only a flat fee to ride, and I have never had to pay for than 2 Turkish Lira, meaning they are a great bargain! Frankly, I don't know how taxi drivers make a living, except that they must make all their money from stupid tourists who do not understands the wonders of the dolmuş.

Tip #4: Like the dolmuş, most public tranport is actually very cheap and affordable, even for a college student. Ferries almost all cost about 1.75 Lira, though be careful where you buy your ferry pass, some ferries take tokens, some take tickets, and some just take the cash, so it is very easy to pay for a ferry token, only to realize that they ferry you want only takes tickets, so you have pay all over again. The metro isn't the best because it doesn't cover the whole of the city, but it is also relatively cheap, and I would venture to say, more modern than the T in Boston.