April 13th, 2006 | The lowdown by Allison Miller

Transportation in Istanbul.

There are seemingly a million and one ways to get around Istanbul, depending on where you want to go and how much Turkish you know. Taxis (taksi) are the easiest way to get around, if you can say your destination's name in Turkish or have it written down. The vast majority of the time you won't get ripped off, but I can't make any promises.

If you want the cheapest form of transportation, you can buy an akbil (about 6 Turkish lira) and hop on a bus. An akbil is a small piece of plastic which fits to your thumb and has a round metal piece on the end. You stick the round metal piece into a machine when you get on a bus, and it deducts from your current total. You can add more money to them in little booths that can be found pretty much anyplace you would use an akbil. Plus, they make excellent souvenirs.

An akbil is by far the most convenient way to pay for transportation. Turks don't use them just on buses. You can hop on the subway (if you can find one - there are only a few stops in the whole city), the tram, or a boat with an akbil.

Ah yes, the boats. There are 2 types of boat in Istanbul: the fast-boat and the vapur. The fast-boat requires actual change, but for the vapur you can just use your trusty akbil. They have an utterly useless website that supposedly has the boat schedule (in English) on it (www.ido.com.tr), but it?s far easier just to find a Turk who speaks English and ask them when the next boat to your destination leaves.

In fact, that's probably the best course of action in any case. Turks are extremely friendly and helpful, many speak very good English, and the vast majority of them are willing to help foreigners find their way around. Don't be surprised if you end up drinking tea for a few hours with someone you just met or are escorted around the city for the afternoon, just because you asked how to get to your hotel.