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The Pamukkale Ekspresi southbound departs Istanbul (Haydarpasa)
daily at 17:35 (5:35 pm) hauling
unreserved compartment cars, Pullman
cars, couchette
cars, sleeping
cars and a dining car.
(Note that in summer 2008, this
train was cancelled due to track repairs.
Before planning to ride it, check to
be sure it's begun running again.)
After late-night stops in Eskisehir, Kütahya, Afyon,
Isparta, Burdur and Dinar, the train
arrives in Denizli the
next morning at 08:34 am.
Its counterpart northbound train departs
Denizli at 17:00 (5 pm), and arrives
in Istanbul (Haydarpasa) the next morning at 08:34 am.
The spa town of Pamukkale,
with its Roman ruins
of Hierapolis, is
20-km (12-mile) taxi or bus ride from
Denizli.
You can make an interesting loop
itinerary among Istanbul, Pamukkale,
Ephesus and
Istanbul by taking the Pamukkale
Ekspresi between Istanbul
and Denizli/Pamukkale, then a bus or
train between
Pamukkale and Selçuk/Ephesus (or Kusadasi),
then the 6
Eylül
Ekspresi (a day train) between
Izmir and
Bandirma.
In Bandirma you catch the fast
ferryboat back to Istanbul.
Click here for
info on how to make
reservations and
to buy
train tickets in advance.
Please read this
safety notice about sleeping
car travel.
I rode the Pamukkale
Ekspresi in late June,
2006, in a sleeping car from Denizli to Istanbul.
It was a hot day, and the train was hot
when I boarded, the
air-conditioning
was weak (quite insufficient), but as
the sun set it became cool and comfortable.
Even though the train's route is east toward
Dinar, it started
out west,
got as far as Goncali (very
near Denizli),
then switched tracks to begin its eastward,
then northward run.
Unlike the Istanbul-Ankara
line, the Denizli
track has no seamless rail, so the
clickety-clack of wheels on track
became the background
sound.
The scenery was pleasant:
fields full of
tawny
grain,
lineyards
and orchards, farmers plowing or
threshing, or making a
last check of
vegetable plants in long rows.
This is the fertile Menderes (Meander)
River valley, of course, one of Turkey's
many bread- (and fruit-)baskets.
About 19:30 (7:30 pm) the porter came
through the cars ringing a bell and
announcing Tea Time in the restaurant
car. Dinner was announced the same
way at 21:30 (9:30 pm).
We passed the broad Aci
Göl (Bitter
Lake) on the right side of the
train well before dark (the days
are long in late June...).
Despite its express moniker,
the train stops periodically to let
other trains pass or to pick up and
set down passengers. If you're in a
sleeping
car (as I was), it doesn't
matter: you sit or recline in comfort
and do as you like. Plug in your laptop
computer
and write about your trip on the Pamukkale
Ekspresi (as I'm doing
now...).
The next morning I woke at 06:00 am,
washed and dressed, and admired the
early morning views of
the Bay of Izmit. The porter didn't
come through with
his
bell,
but I knew
that by 07:00 am breakfast would
be served. I wandered forward to the
dining
car and it was already full of people
having breakfast and, after that, a
cigarette and a chat on the mobile
phone before pulling into Haydarpasa
Station in Istanbul.
Turkish
State Railways Route Map
Types
of Turkish Trains
How & Where
to Buy Train Tickets
Train
Fare Discounts
Money-Saving
Monthly Passes
Pullman
Car
Couchette
Car
Sleeping
Car
How
to Decipher the TCDD Website
Train
Travel
Transportation
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