Bus Travel in Turkey

The ANZ Guesthouse in Selçuk offers a range of accomodations from budget to luxury just a short walk away from Ephesus. Recommended by Lonely Planet, Let's Go, Rough Guide, Guide du Routard, and Footprint travel guides.

Buses go most everywhere in Turkey. They arrive at and leave from popular destinations very frequently.

They can travel fairly fast, although be aware that the travel times listed in guide books are sometimes a bit optimistic. Don't overlook the time spent waiting for the bus to leave, and the huge difference in travel time between a true ekspres bus and one that stops several times along the way.

Here is an attempt at a partial map, times between cities in hours:

         Istanbul
               [#]-------------+
               /|               \ 6
             6/ |                \
             /  |8                \        4.5
            /   |           Ankara[#]-----------+
 Canakkale[#]   |                 /|\            \ Kayseri
            \   |       8        / | \   4        [#]-----------[#]Malatya
            5\  |  +------------+  |  +----+     /        5
              \ | /                +        \   /1.5
          Izmir[#]                 3\        [#]Nevşehir/Göreme
               1|    3               \       /
               [#]--------[#]---------[#]---+2.5
           Selçuk   Denizli \    7    / Konya
                             \       /
                           4-5\     /5-6
                               \   /
                                \ /
                                [#] Antalya
                                 |1.5
                                [#] Olimpos

Start by going to the otogar, or bus station. This may be a modern facility almost like an airport, like the otogar in Antalya, at right. Or it may be a simpler facility, like the otogar in Denizli, seen below.
	Sometimes it's an array of shops and bus station offices, as in Göreme, below.
The long-haul buses are very nice rides. The yardımcı, or attendant, will probably serve tea, soft drinks, and cold water, using a tiny "kitchen" in the stairwell. The yardımcı will definitely bring around some lemon cologne like that at left. Buy a bottle for yourself to relive the experience! And you will stop along the way for tea, a snack, and a toilet break, as seen below.
If you are going to a smaller town, or on a shorter trip, you may take a minibus like these in Denizli, at right: Or, for short trips, a dolmuş like these parked in Göreme, below, and seen from inside, at lower right:

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Destinations in Turkey

İstanbul — Haghia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Golden Horn, Bosphorus, Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire	Cappadocia — Rock-carved churches, cave homes, 1000 year old frescos, underground cities, Göreme	Ephesus — Well-preserved Greek city, major city of the Roman Empire, home of early Christianity
Gallipoli — World War I battlefield where the ANZAC forces faced the Turks in 1915	Nemrut Dağı — Mysterious statues on a mountain peak in eastern Turkey	Olimpos — Treehouses, the Chimera or burning mountain, ruins, beaches
Silk Road Hans — Caravanserais in central Turkey from 1000-1500 AD	Hattusha or Hatuşaş — Hittite Empire capital at Boğazkale	Konya — Home of the Sufi mystic poet Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes, distinctive Seljuk architecture
Aphrodisias — Greek religious center in a mountain valley and home of some of the best Greek sculptors	Temple of Artemis — One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, near Ephesus	Halicarnassus — The Tomb of King Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, at Bodrum, Köycegiz Lake, Kaunos, and Dalyan
Mountain Trek — Byzantine monastery ruins from 800-1100 AD in the Beşparmak Mountains, the Royal Road from Constantinople to Babylon	Pamukkale — Travertine formations, ruins at Laodicea and Hierapolis near Denizli	Selçuk — Basilica of Saint John, Isa Bey mosque, weekly market, and the storks
Maryemana — The House of the Virgin Mary on a mountain above Ephesus	The last Ottoman Sultan — Ertuğrul Osman V lived on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan: searching for his home	Turkish Food — Kebabs, simit, spices, coffee, tea pide, cacık, mercimek çorbası, plav, gözleme, and more
Turkish Bus Travel — Finding your way through the otogar or bus station, luxury long-haul buses, short rides on the dolmuş	Turkish Train Travel — Cross Turkey overnight in style in a first-class sleeper compartment	Konya'da dervişleri görüyorum. Konya'da dervişleri görürüm. Konya'da dervişleri göreceğim. Konya'da dervişleri görmüşüm. Konya'da dervişleri gördüm. Konya'da dervişleri görmeliyim. Konya'da dervişleri görsem, ... Konya'da dervişleri göreyim. Ç/ç, Ğ/ğ I/ı, İ/i, Ö/ö, Ü/ü, Ş/ş Turkish Grammar — An introduction and study guide: special characters, vowel harmony, and those complicated Turkish verbs
	All the way back to the introduction	How is the plumbing?

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