Difference between revisions of "Izmit"

Revision as of 18:22, 10 March 2013

İzmit is a big and a heavily industrialized city in Marmara Region, Turkey, located east of Istanbul, at the very tip of long and narrow Gulf of İzmit, that long indentation of the Sea of Marmara towards east. İzmit is the capital of Kocaeli Province.

Not to be confused with Izmir, spelled as İzmir in Turkish, which is the third largest city in Turkey and located on the shore of Aegean Sea.

Get in

By train

Several daily regional expresses connect İzmit with nearby Istanbul. The average price is about TL 5.50/person. You can also book and buy a seat for long distance trains that leave Istanbul’s Asian station for other (Asian) destinations. The cheapest ticket for such a train is TL 3.75/person, the rate for Doğu Express. The journey takes about 2 hours between Istanbul and İzmit by rail.

By car

Both highways numbered D100 and O-4/E80 (toll-way) which connect Istanbul and Ankara, two biggest cities of Turkey, pass through or by the city. A drive from Istanbul should take no more than one hour, especially on the O-4/E80 which is of a better quality and avoids towns which D100 traverses all the way along.

By coach

The easiest way to arrive to Izmit is probably by coach. Multiple private coach (bus) companies schedule regular journies from Istanbul's two major bus terminals (Harem Otogar on the Asian side, and Esenler Otogar on the European side). Efe Tur and Izmit Tur (the two main coach companies operating in Izmit) run buses daily every 15-20 minutes from both bus terminals starting at 7:00 AM until 10:00 PM. The fair is 10.00 TL from the Harem bus terminal, or 12.00 TL from the Esenler bus terminal.

Efe Tur and Izmit Tur will generally drop off passengers arriving from Istanbul in Izmit's city center, rather than Izmit's main bus terminal.

Izmit's bus terminal is located in the Yahyakaptan neighborhood, which is approx. 2 km away from the city center. There are many mini-buses (dolmus) running from Izmit's main bus terminal to the city center. In addition, the major bus liens (Efe Tur and Izmit Tur) offer free shuttle services to the main neighborhoods around Izmit.

It is also possible to travel to or from any major city in Turkey from Izmit's main bus terminal.

Get around

See

• Clock Tower (Saat Kulesi), (at downtown). An elegant clock tower dating back to 1901. The clock tower now has the added feature of a beautiful waterfall and from the garden by the tower you have a wonderful view of the Gulf of Izmit.

Do

Buy

Eat

Try pismaniye( cotton candy )an authentic and local form of halva, overwhelmingly sweet, made up of sugar, butter and flour. Best examples of kebaps and Southern - Anatolian dining can be found in the restaurant called Masala, in fron of Dolphin shopping center. There you can find numerous types of kebaps, chicken and lahmacun ( a form of pizza ), side dishes are included in the prices of the main dish. You can find kır pidesi or pide, bread with some ingredients ( cheese, potatoes, meat etc. ) as both snack or a meal on any street for low prices. Simit is a very cheap and fast option, a bread covered with sessames. Simit in İzmit can differ in taste and texture from other cities in Turkey.

Drink

Sleep

• Ramada Plaza İzmit, Sehit Ergun Koncü Sk. No:10 Yahya Kaptan Mh., 41050 Izmit, Turkey, ☎ +90 262 310 11 11, [1].

Contact

Telephone code of İzmit is 262 (+90 262 when calling from out of Turkey).

Get out

Yalova and Bursa to the southwest; Central Anatolia to the southeast; Black Sea Region to the northeast.

Routes through Izmit

Edirne ← Istanbul ←

W  E

→ Bolu → Ankara