Cycling in Istanbul
pangolin
Posts: 6,313
Hey guys so I live in Istanbul now. Cycling here is a bit crazy, drivers tend to go for any space they see, and will cut straight back in front of you. That said, despite all the 'You're not going to cycle there are you?' comments from friends, most of it so far has been fine. You've got to take that stuff with a pinch of salt or you'd never cycle anywhere, there's always someone who thinks it's nuts.
Here's a short video if you're interested. I'm quite lucky, it's about 4 miles from my house to the sort of countryside.
http://youtu.be/EvAAMD_hb4o
Bike is a croix de fer 2014, which seems perfect for the riding here.
Here's a short video if you're interested. I'm quite lucky, it's about 4 miles from my house to the sort of countryside.
http://youtu.be/EvAAMD_hb4o
Bike is a croix de fer 2014, which seems perfect for the riding here.
- Genesis Croix de Fer
- Dolan Tuono
- Dolan Tuono
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Comments
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Honestly, that does not look fun.
Cute kitten though.0 -
Things must have improved. It used to be known as constant no pedal.....
IgmcNobody told me we had a communication problem0 -
Really interesting video. Fascinating to see how different it is to cycling in London.0
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First Aspect - it's not as fun as cycling back in/around London, but it's a whole lot more fun that sitting on a bus here. Much the same as London actually.- Genesis Croix de Fer
- Dolan Tuono0 -
Hos geldiniz, what takes you to the smoke? sounds like you must be in Zek, in which case you have the forest reasonably close for MTB action.
I lived there for 13 years on and off, still have an apartment in Besiktas; lots of fun but the city can be hard work.0 -
Çok iyi! My wife is teaching English, not sure what I'll be doing yet. We're both learning Turkish at the moment. Nope, over on the Asian side in Üsküdar for now, we may move after a bit though. Not sure where Zek is, is it Belgrad forest it's next to? Did you do much cycling while here?- Genesis Croix de Fer
- Dolan Tuono0 -
Heheh, I remember taking a taxi ride from my hotel to Taksim Square when I was there for the Champions League final in 2005. Wondered if I was going to make it in one piece.
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Great stuff pangolin!
Looks a testing commute though. What a fabulous city it is though - one of the world's greatest. Love the kitten.
Keep the rubber side down.0 -
Zek or Zekeriyaköy to be precise is between Belgrade forest and Kilyos (beach) and because of this is where a lot of yabancis (yabanciler?) end up. That's one of the downsides, the other is it's remoteness in terms of getting into the city, as it can be a long slog in the traffic, that and being cut off in the Winter because of the snow.
Probably seems hard to believe at the moment that there will be snow but the winters in Istanbul can be hard but not as bad as Ankara where temps can plummet below -20.
Uskudar's OK, when we moved out of the apartment we moved to a house in Kandili, which is just down the road, one of the best things about Uskudar are the boats, as you can get to an enormous amount of Istanbul by boat and then underground e.g. Taksim, boat across to Kabatas, hop across or under the road and then the metro up to Taksim.
Living in Beskitas for the most part meant that cycling wasn't really considered as the drivers are complete nutters; makes Italy and London look very tame. Think real life grand theft auto but with consequences and you're not too far away from the reality.0 -
I've through Istanbul as a pedestrian and in a car
While I was there I think I saw one person cycling, the traffic is pretty insane
Probably be ok on the backstreets but away from the river istr it was quite steep
There are some totally marvellous roads elsewhere in Turkey. One day I hope to go back with my bike0
