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The tram you'll use the most
in Istanbul is
the T1 Zeytinburnu- Kabatas (-Besiktas)
tram. (Click here to
download a map of Istanbul's
Metro, tram, Tünel & Funicular system
[363Kb .pdf].)
You can use your Akbil electronic
transit pass on the trams.
This route goes from the district
of Zeytinburnu on
the shore of the Sea
of Marmara northeast through the Byzantine city walls at Topkapi (the Cannon Gate, not
the palace),
then eastward via Yusufpasa/Aksaray, then past the Grand
Bazaar (Kapali Çarsi) and along Divan
Yolu to Sultanahmet—the
Hippodrome—the historic center of Old Istanbul.
From Sultanahmet the
tram continues north past Sirkeci
station and Eminönü (ferry
docks), across the Galata
Bridge over the Golden
Horn to Karaköy Square (Galata,
starting-point for the Tünel up
to Beyoglu's Istiklal
Caddesi), very near the Yolcu
Salonu passenger ship dock.
From Karaköy the
tram continues to Tophane,
near the Istanbul
Modern Art Museum,
then to Kabatas, with
its "Sea
Bus" catamaran ferry dock and Füniküler
(funicular tram)
to Taksim
Square.
The tram line will
eventually be extended
northward
along
the
European shore of the Bosphorus via Dolmabahçe
Palace to Besiktas (ferry
dock).
The tram fare is
YTL1.40
and must be paid by token or Akbil.
Trams run about every 10 or 15 minutes
from 06:00 am until 00:00/24:00 (12
midnight)
daily.
Use this tram and the Metro to
travel between Atatürk
Airport and Sultanahmet
Square (click
here for details) (Map).
Here's what the signboard
on the front of the tram means:
Zeytinburnu: Westbound/outbound
tram going all the way to the end of
the line, where you transfer to the
Metro to
go to Atatürk
Airport or the Otogar (bus terminal).
CBG.A.Ö.Y: Westbound/outbound
tram going only as far as Cevizlibag-Atatürk
Ögrenci Yurdu station (just outside
the city walls), not all
the way to Zeytinburnu. You can take
it, but then you'll have to get out
at the last stop and wait for a Zeytinburnu
tram to take you farther.
Eminönü: Eastbound/inbound tram going
into the center of the city (Laleli-Üniversite,
Beyazit-Kapali
Çarsi, Sultanahmet,
Sirkeci) but only as far as the Eminönü
ferry docks, not across
the Galata
Bridge to Karaköy.
Kabatas:
Eastbound/inbound tram going to the
end of the line at Kabatas,
past all the stops, beyond
Eminönü and
across the Galata
Bridge to Karaköy (change for Tünel), Tophane and Kabatas.
Bagcilar: Short tram line from Zeytinburnu
to Bagcilar suburb. You probably don't
want this one!
Istanbul's other prominent tram is
the Nostalgic
Istiklal Caddesi tram that runs along the former Grande
Rue de Péra in Beyoglu, from
Tünel Square via Galatasaray
Square to Taksim
Square. More...
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