Best Trains Ever

I entered Turkey from Georgia by the black sea. There are no trains up there, so I had the good sense to take a bus - of which there are plenty in Turkey - to the nearest train station.

This meant a 9 hour bus ride from Hopa - an alleged hooker town according to my young Norweigian friend - to Erzurum overnight. The bus was new and clean, but it's still a bus.

We stopped about every 30 minutes, and the open door letting the cold air in kept waking me up. It was miserable. I got dropped off in the middle of the night at an empty bus station in Erzurum, and got hosed for 10 Turkish Lira for a 5 minute cab ride to the station since I had no idea where it was and it was 3:30AM.

This is the situation I left when I got on the train at 5:30 in the morning. I had unknowingly bought a first class ticket for about $40 for the 16 hour ride. I had my own cabin to myself, with a little fridge and sink. The car attendant made my bed and gave me snacks. The train was modern and new and clean. There was a rug on the floor.

The window was enormous and crystal clear. It's surprising how big a difference something simple like a large, clean window can make to the enjoyment of the countryside.

And the countryside itself was spectacular: craggy mountain passes, muddy rivers, rolling hills with tongues of lingering snowfall.

The dining car was a bit overpriced, but beer and food were available, and I ate and drank since I brought no supplies with me.

I met a German kid who also had his own cabin, and we chatted in the dining car and I kicked his ass in chess due to an egregious oversight he made that gave me his queen. That seems to be the only way I win chess games.

I didn't want to get off when I arrived in Kayseri, bound for Cappadocia. The train was that comfortable and nice.

After my time in Cappadocia, I was happy to get back on the same train, the Dogu Express, Kars to Haydarapasa in Istanbul. It's not that I didn't like Cappadocia - it was fantastic - it's just that getting on a train is a real pleasure. The feeling of movement, the knowledge that you're going somewhere and all you have to do is sit back and read and rest, the luxury of space and being able to walk around.

I rode second class to Istanbul, about $20 for an 18 hour ride. My cabin could sleep 4 people, but I had it all to myself.

The best part about Turkish trains is that evidently, no one takes them. That means there are no crowds, no rush, no crammed compartments.

The second class bed wasn't quite as nice as the first class, but it was all to myself. Who can complain?

The car was second to the rear, in front of the first class car. The window was still big, the landscape was still pretty, though more development was obviously to be expected as we approached Istanbul.

I met no one this ride, but got to recline in my bed, reading Atlas Shrugged, and occasionaly entertaining some of the few other passengers with my presense as a foreigner.

Great views, cheap tickets, empty cabins, smooth rides. Turkish trains have been the best yet.