Monday, 15 October
Mom and I are back in İzmir. Time to wrap up the final leg of our trip.
Our journey from Eskişehir back to İzmir started last night when we boarded the TCDD (State Railway) operated Mavi Tren (Blue Train) shortly before midnight. We should have boarded around 11:00p, but as usual, it was late arriving from Ankara, the departure point for this sleeper train. I rode this train many times when I was a university student traveling from Ankara to İzmir for holidays and semester breaks, so the delay came as no surprise.
Before I get to the story of this train trip, indulge me with a short blast from the past.
It was 1995, if my recollection serves me right. Mui and I were on our annual trek to Turkey, timed this time to coincide with the wedding of his niece. The festivities over, it was time for us to return to İzmir to wrap up our trip.
Tickets in hand, we went to the train station to hop on the Mavi Tren. Back then, the train arrived from Ankara after midnight. As usual, the train was late. When it finally showed up around 1:00a, we gathered our bags and hurried to board the sleeper car. Not so fast, said the car attendant. Turns out that we had neglected to consider the train’s post midnight arrival in Eskişehir — our tickets were dated for the previous day, which coincided with the departure from Ankara not Eskişehir.
We begged. We pleaded. The car attendant called the conductor. Neither was budging — we needed to get new tickets if we wanted to be onboard when the train pulled out. And we had to do it in the next five minutes. I stayed with the bags, and Mui ran back into the station to get tickets from the only window that was open. Luckily, there was no one else in line and he made it back with just seconds to spare before the all aboard was called.
Lesson learned — we haven’t made the same mistake since. And you can bet I was extra careful buying the tickets for this train trip ;-)
The blue train from Eskİşehİr to İzmİr is scheduled as a 10-hour ride;
it took us 12½ hours to make the trip.
[map courtesy of the TCDD website; annotated to show the route we took]
Mui and Işıl dropped us off at the Eskişehir train station around 10:30p. They wanted to keep us company until our departure, but with the delay already posted on the board, it didn’t make sense for all four of us to go sleepless. Promising that we would call should a problem arise, we insisted they leave us to our own devices.
By the time the train pulled into the station, it was 45 minutes past the scheduled 11:00p departure. Knowing that the engineer would be trying to make up the delay with a shorter stop in-station, we were already in position where the sleeper car was expected to stop once it arrived at the platform. With the car attendant handling our bags, within minutes we were aboard and settled into our compartment.
I was hoping for one of the newer sleeper cars, but we were out of luck. Though the
furnishings were obviously worn, the bed linens were starched and snow-white clean.
Tired after a long day, I didn’t do a good job of taking photos, so let me try to describe our compartment in words. As seen in the top right of the collage, we had two seats with arm rests when the sleeping bunks were folded against the wall. Across from the seats was a bar fridge with two bottles of water and a couple of snacks — all complimentary. Next to the fridge was a small storage cabinet for our personal belongings. In the corner next to the sliding door to the compartment was a fold-up wash basin and a mirror — both clean, but showing evidence of having been well-used. The bed linens were starched and ironed, and snow-white clean. Facilities were located at either end of the sleeper car, including a separate shower room. (The fare was 73 TL [~ $40] for me; and 67.50 TL [~ $37] for mom with a senior discount.)
Can’t say that we had a totally restful night. Between the clackety-clack-clack of the train speeding down the rails and the swaying of the car, we were more than a little alert throughout the night. Still, catnapping in a swaying bed on a train beats a sleepless night sitting upright on a bus seat, so no real complaints.
The rural landscape passing by our window this morning was filled with
olive groves, wheat fields and vineyards.
Mom and I were both awake before sunrise. Reading in bed for a while, we waited until 7:00a to go to the dining car for breakfast. The tea was lukewarm and left a lot to be desired, but the breakfast plate and the omelet we ordered to split was plentiful and satisfying. And the service was quick and courteous.
A satisfying meal for two that included a traditional breakfast plate and
an omelet — with rolls, and tea or coffee included — for 12.50 TL (~ $7.00).
We returned to our compartment to find that the car attendant had removed the bed linens and tucked away the beds. Flagging him down, we asked the burning question: what time were we due in at the Basmane terminal. Turns out that far from making up the 45-minute delay we had started out with, we were now delayed by three hours. The news didn’t come as a surprise, so we made ourselves comfortable reading and watching the scenery go by.
The scenery whizzes by as we clackety-clack our way west.
The stop in Menemen signals that we have an hour left before we arrive in İzmİr
The highrises of İzmİr’s urban sprawl are familiar sights …
… as is the naval shipyard of Alaybey on the outskirts of the city.
Finally, at 11:30a, having made up half-hour of the three-hour delay, we pulled into Basmane Garı (train terminal).
Welcome back to İzmİr.
Our Mavİ tren is the one on the left.
One last look to bid the Mavİ tren farewell.
We flagged down a cab outside the terminal for the 5-minute ride home. Having already alerted Aylin to our arrival, she had a pot of fresh tea brewing when we walked into the apartment.
Though this little side trip that mom and I took is over, there’s still a week left before Mui and I head back to the US. The days ahead promise to be just as busy as the days past.
When we planned our Europe trip, we anticipated using the extensive train network that crisscrosses the Netherlands to explore the country. Wasn’t meant to be.
