The Marmara Region - Turkey with Your Family: From Bustling Bazaars to Historic Sites - page 88

Getting Around
The road infrastructure of the
Marmara region is particularly
well developed, and driving from
the westernmost city of Edirne
to Istanbul and onwards to
Iznik, for example, is a journey
of a couple of hours or so via the
E80 highway. Off the highway
are main roads to all of the other
main towns and cities; for
instance, the E87 runs down
along the Gallipoli peninsula
and the E84 alongside the Sea of
Marmara to Tekirda g . On the
southern side of the Sea of
Marmara the E90 hugs the
'coast' to Bursa and beyond to
Bilecik. Highways and link roads
are generally of a high standard,
whereas minor roads and 'scenic'
routes are, by their nature,
rougher and have few amenities,
so be sure to take drinks and
snacks for your children.
All of the main towns and
cities have bus routes linking
them, and a comprehensive
timetable with times and routes
is available from the tourist
information offices (see p. 85).
Bus stops are clearly marked
with the number of the bus and
its destination. You could also
try hailing a dolmu@ (shared
taxi) for a local journey, if only
for the experience, though this
may be tricky if you have young
children and bags. These dolmu@
tend to be minibuses that run
along routes clearly marked with
a blue dolmu @ sign. Although
inexpensive, they do not gener-
ally run to a set timetable. A
train service , albeit intermittent,

links some of the towns and
cities too; again a good route
map and timetables are available
from the tourist information
offices dotted throughout the
region.

PLANNING YOUR
OUTINGS

The Marmara region is, in many
ways, one of the easiest parts of
Turkey to travel around and
explore with a family because its
towns are not so spread out,
making refresh stops much eas-
ier. Its towns and cities are well
developed too, with public toi-
lets usually clearly marked and
restaurants and cafés that wel-
come children. Nonetheless,
between the towns and cities are
large open areas. Some are areas
of outstanding landscapes with
parkland and picnic spots,
which, although well worth
visiting, do not necessarily afford
many amenities. It is essential
therefore to take along plenty of
drinks and light finger-food
snacks for young children, as
well as books and games to keep
them happy during the journey
from one tourist attraction or
town to another. Older children
and teenagers will probably pre-
fer mp3 players with their
favourite music installed.
It is also a good idea to take
along a change of clothing,
together with light jumpers for
covering up, swimwear in case
you find a nice spot to have a
swim and hats to protect from

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