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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
arrival of the overnight
expresses from Istanbul and Izmir, then the departure
of the day trains to all 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 ASTI (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 YTL25.
A light meal can be had for YTL15.
Clientele in the
Gar Lokantasi is a coterie of local
regulars rather than travelers, 95%
male, chatting over meze and
glasses of raki.
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 Havas airport
bus stops here
on its route between Esenboga
Airport and AŞTI,
Ankara's main bus terminal.
The most important 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)
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 Tandogan Çarsisi,
an underground shopping area with a
total of 17 steps up (few ramps).
At
the end of the Tandogan Çarsi
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
AŞTI,
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/underground train system is
to walk out the front
of the Gar and straight
along Cumhuriyet Bulvari, keeping Gençlik
Parki on your right. At the next major
street (Istiklal Caddesi), by the tall
Radisson SAS 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 Kizilay.
ASTI (Main
Bus Terminal)
Esenboga
Airport (ESB)
Metro & Ankaray Subway
Trains
Distances & Travel
Times to/from Ankara
Ankara
Transportation
What
to See & Do in Ankara
Ankara
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