Corlu
From Wikitravel
Çorlu is an industrial city in Eastern Thrace, Turkey.
[edit] Get in
Buses from Istanbul. They depart at about any time (except late at night). İstanbul Seyahat (tel 444 59 59, dialed without a prefix anywhere in Turkey, except cell phones from which +90 212 444 59 59 should be dialed) is one of the bus companies connecting Corlu with Istanbul.
The buses go to the main otogar in Istanbul, although you can specify a through ticket, which will mean (for a small surcharge) you can be dropped on the Asian side, usually in Uskudar or Kadikoy. Small service buses also offer free transfers to main routes from either the bus station or the bus company's office. In terms of time, it takes around 2 hours to the main Istanbul bus station when it is busy, another half hour to either cross Istanbul to the Asian side or to get to Ataturk airport, and perhaps another hour to transfer from there to the new airport, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (IATA: SAW) [1], on the Asian side.
There are two daily trains from Istanbul’s Sirkeci Station (one departing at 8:30AM and the other at 3:50PM) which call at Çorlu station, which is situated about 5 km west of city (transportation to the city centre is possible by minibuses which depart from right in front of the station).
There is also an international airport nearby (about 15 km east of city centre, IATA: TEQ), but there are flights from only Russia and some other ex-Soviet countries to that airport.
[edit] By car
Corlu is conveniently located on highways D100 and O-3/E80 (motorway/toll-road) which link Istanbul with Europe. There are also secondary roads from other directions.
It takes just over an hour to get to Istanbul which is 100 km away, although this can be doubled during busy times.
[edit] Get around
cheap minibuses ply the route along the main road in and out of town (Ataturk Boulevard). The centre is very compact and walkable. For longer distances, there are minibus taxis (dolmus taksi) which start from near the army base in the centre of town. These offer an express service to the surrounding towns, the coastal villages, Edirne, and even Istanbul, for not much more than the bus. The downside is that the times tend not to be fixed- the taxi leaves when it is full.
Top tips- a) there is a free minibus service crossing town, from the Emlak Bank estate to the municipality office (the east to west end of town, and vice versa), which runs quite regularly; b) the bus companies have free pick up and drop off services from/to Orion shopping centre, where the intercity bus depot is situated (the east end of town), to coincide with the bus times. You can buy tickets at the depot or inside the Emlak Bank shopping centre (same price).
[edit][add listing] See
[edit][add listing] Do
wander around the villages north of the D100, as you enter Corlu, by bicycle. There are numerous quiet, shady spots under trees to have picnics, especially behind the Emlak Bank housing estate.
[edit][add listing] Buy
Textile fabrics which are produced in factories located around the city. Some factories have a sale shop. There is also an outlet stores complex located about 15 km north of the city (on the highway to Cerkezkoy).
[edit][add listing] Eat
[edit][add listing] Drink
tea in the municipality tea garden, in the centre of town. It has a sleepy atmosphere, a reserved family enclosure where noone will disturb you, and is the cheapest cuppa in town. You can also chat to the friendly locals, who come from all over Turkey.
[edit][add listing] Sleep
[edit] Stay healthy
Corlu is a good place to get private medical care. There is a very reasonable, highly professional private hospital on Ataturk Boulevard, on the left as you come from Istanbul. A range of cheap check ups is available (for around 5 euros each), and there is, conveniently, a good-value 3 star hotel next door. Given Corlu's compact size and relative lack of traffic, this is a good place to recuperate after hard travelling around the region, and get minor ailments fixed before moving on.
[edit] Contact
[edit] Get out
| Routes through Corlu |
Plovdiv ←  Turkish- Bulgarian border ← Edirne ←
| W  E
| → Junction  → Istanbul → Ankara
|
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