My preliminary on-line analysis into shopping for tickets for the Dogu (Jap) Categorical rail Journey to Kars didn't augur effectively.
As | Googled ‘Ankara to Kars prepare tickets’, | was met by blogs and web sites
forewarning me that tickets for sleeper compartments on the Dogu Categorical have been
“as scarce as hen's enamel”, and suggested reserving an organised tour.
Pre-arranged, guided excursions could go well with some however are usually anathema to me. The
dearth of sleepers got here as a shock to me as | have usually discovered that Turks
chortle off railway journeys as a idiot's method of getting from A to B; particularly, when
buses and flights are so environment friendly and low cost in Turkey.
Nonetheless, the prepare insurgent in me had had a beautiful expertise on a earlier
journey. 4 years in the past, | travelled by sleeper prepare from Ankara to Cappadocia, 0 Ehspres Easterm Ene
by way of Ankara and Kayser simply previous to the route being upgraded to the brand new quick
electrified line. As | deliberate the journey, Turkish eyebrows had collectively raised when | disclosed my plans. My mates had defined patiently to this evidently, barely nutty foreigner that | would get there a lot faster if | have been to fly, or take a bus, or presumably await the road to be electrified.
Turkish trains are mentioned to take twice as lengthy to get wherever as they snake and wind their method throughout the countryside. Apparently, the Germans have been largely accountable for the preliminary constructing of the Turkish rail community and the Turks are satisfied they have been charged by the kilometre.
Nonetheless, unbeknown to me, the Turkish have been beginning to embark on their very own love affair with their aged and uncared for rail community. There's nothing higher to reignite emotions for an outdated flame than realising the outdated flame may not be round for for much longer. Massive. components of the Turkish rail system are upgrading to a extra environment friendly however inevitably boring excessive velocity community (YHT or Yuksek Hizli Tren).
The Ankara Kars Dogu Categorical, with its epic 25 hour journey, was additionally given a lift by a bunch of younger Turkish passengers who. not too long ago posted a viral video of their journey on social media. Previous to this, folks have been largely unaware of the gorgeous, remoted panorama the Jap Categorical passes by way of, following, in components, the movement of the western Euphrates river.
Ankara to Kars Trains
Ankara Kars Dogu Categorical; the unique sluggish prepare to Kars, is subsidised by the Turkish Rall Community (TCDD). Tickets can be found on the TCDD web site, however tough to pay money for, as sleepers and couchettes are snapped up in bulk by journey brokers instantly they grow to be obtainable and resold as bundle excursions at a lot greater prices.
To deal with the demand, TCDD in Might 2019 added an additional (vacationer) prepare consisting of sleeper compartments solely. The tickets are dearer making them much less engaging to tour operators and subsequently simpler to guide on-line independently.
Shopping for Ankara to Kars prepare tickets
Like an intrepid explorer refusing to be denied the climb of a treacherous mountain, the problem in
securing sleeper tickets made me extra decided than ever. Paul Forrester's Amber Journey company in
Kas, who promise little however typically over-deliver, got here up trumps, securing seats for a small price to transform
to sleepers on the final minute.
It appears that evidently tour operators have been block reserving the sleepers, then releasing them nearer the
time of journey in the event that they remained unsold. Nonetheless, from Might 2019, a second prepare has began to run from
Ankara to Kars with the Turkish rail community (TCDD) now getting a slice of the motion themselves to
alleviate stress on the subsidised prepare service.
Nonetheless, this new (yeni) Dogu Categorical comes with a caveat: the tickets are rather more costly.
Nonetheless, it would alleviate stress on what Is in any case meant to be a prepare service, quite than a vacationer
tour, to move folks from A to B with some 53 stops alongside the way in which, most of which appear to be| in the midst of nowhere.
The New (Yeni) Ankara Kars Vacationer Dogu Categorical
‘On twenty ninth Might 2019, the primary Yeni (New) Turistik Dogu Ekspresi, consisting of sleeping automobiles solely, pulled out of Ankara Gar two hours behind the unique prepare - hopefully the primary prepare won't ever be 4 hours late as ours was on leaving Erzurum or there could possibly be an Fascinating coming collectively additional down the road.
With prepare tickets exhibiting on the TCDD Turkish Railway on-line web site reserving service, itis already trying far simpler to guide
sleepers. Though the tickets are dearer for overseas vacationers, this can nonetheless show to be an inexpensive and worthwhile journey with costs decrease than normal prepare ticket costs throughout Europe, and the prepare will make simply two stops with longer intervals to permit for excursions.
The journey begins
‘As we congregated on the Ankara Gar platform with the opposite passengers it was arduous to disregard the anticipation and pleasure, as if we have been going off on some intrepid expedition into the unknown.
My companion and | deposited our circumstances and booty of meals and wine into our air-conditioned, trendy, sleeping compartments. We introduced wine as alcohol is not served on Turkish trains.
Every sleeper was furnished with a wash basin, two fold-up bunk beds, a slide out desk and a fridge with complimentary goodies corresponding to orange juice, water, chocolate and biscuits. Slippers have been additionally supplied to welcome us into our cell Turkish house and an avuncular prepare guard popped his head spherical all our compartments to ensure all was so as. He solid a wry smile in my course, whereas placing his finger to his lips, having noticed the bottles of wine cooling within the wash hand basin.
Our neighbours for the journey exchanged pleasantries and a few even began to embellish their compartment in readiness for a fiftieth on-board party. They too have been anticipating popping just a few corks.
We pulled out on time at 6pm - it was the one time we have been going to be on time for each this and the return journey. Nonetheless, as no person was in a rush to get wherever that was a part of the general appeal.
We quickly gave up on the lengthy queue to the restaurant automotive as all people appeared to have had the identical concept at the beginning of the journey. Nonetheless, our onboard picnic of English cheddar and pork pies have been preferable to the standard choices of toasted sandwiches and kofte, the usual culinary providing of the onboard restaurant and we devoured them down like naughty St Trintan’s schoolgirls.
Because it obtained darkish, and the outskirts of Ankara pale from our view, there was consolation while we sipped our wine within the data we didn't have far to fall into our slim however completely clear and comfy bunk beds. Remaining in them at evening was a problem because the prepare hissed and screeched into innumerable stations with a pointy judder that left me clinging on to the aspect of my mattress. Curious peeks out of the window confirmed we have been in the midst of nowhere. | puzzled why anyone would select to stay in such far-off locations.
Because the solar began to come back up at 6am gently ushering me out of my sleep and bunk mattress, | watched the Anatolian countryside slide previous my compartment window as we handed by way of virtually Devonesque gently rolling hills within the area of Sivas.
Close to, Cetinkaya, we handed a solitary white van ready for us to go at a degree crossing. | smiled on the considered this Turkish White Van Man cursing his dangerous luck at being delayed by the solitary prepare on a single monitor railway and puzzled whether or not he diverse his schedule every single day in a useless try at not being caught out by the Dogu Categorical, solely to be thwarted on every event by its lack of ability to run on schedule.
We quickly began to comply with the speedy movement of the Kizilirmak river; I used to be unsure whether or not the prepare was making an attempt to maintain up with the river or the opposite method spherical - in any case, the river seemed to be profitable the race. Snow peaks began to seem on mountain tops as we approached Kemah, close to Erzincan, this being the top of March simply earlier than the thaw, and the hoar frost glistened and sparkled magically on the grass verge subsequent to the tracks as we crawled alongside generally at solely a snail's tempo. An enterprising soul distributed flyers for pre-ordering Cag Kebab, a horizontal sort doner kebab unique to Erzurum to the place we have been now headed and passengers eagerly positioned their orders for the onward journey to Kars.
My companion and | have been greeted at Erzurum by a show of stalactites hanging decorously from the station roof, forewarning us of the low temperatures that have been about to hit us as we climbed down from the heat of the prepare.
We stayed for 2 nights, visiting two well-known Medrasas, a citadel which was effectively definitely worth the treacherous climb for the views over the town and its well-known ski slopes. We additionally stumbled throughout the ever-present ‘Ataturk stayed right here’ home, the place the well-travelled founding father of the Turkish Republic stayed for some months. This jogged my memory of the way in which Queen Victoria appeared to have ‘slept right here’ in seemingly each stately house within the UK within the century earlier than him.
Erzurum to Kars by Prepare
Our sightseeing finished in Erzurum, we resumed our journey to Kars questioning what on earth can delay a prepare by 4 hours on a single monitor rail ine with nearly one prepare working on it. | requested the guard after we obtained on board whether or not the prepare was typically 4 hours late. “oh no", he replied proudly, “it's usually solely two hours late”.
It didn't matter to us, though we regretted not having sufficient time to discover Kars itself. Hiring a automotive, we visited the ruins of Ani, the uncared for former cultural and industrial centre of the largely forgotten Armenian Empire on the outdated Silk Street. Each church gave the impression to be named the Church of St Gregory; we puzzled whether or not this was as a consequence of a extreme lack of creativeness however as an alternative found that
St Gregory is the patron saint of Armenia. The ruins of Ani, the previous medieval metropolis was also called the town of 1001 church buildings and, located proper on the closed border of Armenia, is an absolute should see.
At Lake Cildir, itis potential to trip a horse and sleigh on the frozen water. Surrounded by snow on the finish of March, we gave the impression to be 1,000,000 miles from most vacationers’ notion of Turkey who're extra aware of sun-drenched bars lining the size and breadth of western fashion seaside resorts corresponding to Bodrum or Marmaris or Antalya.
Prepare from Kars to Ankara
Most sightseers choose to do the prepare journey a method because of the paucity of tickets, since usually, journey brokers solely supply one-way journeys. Nonetheless we have been actually pleased to take pleasure in each methods, this time extra educated and alert as to when and the place we might discover the perfect picture alternatives.
It even appeared that, on this event, the Dogu Categorical would possibly even make it again to Ankara on time. Nonetheless, as evening fell, and the prepare began to grind and screech because it crawled into Sivas Station I noticed some uniformed Jandarma boarding the prepare. With the black pitch of evening, and our wine contraband shortly slammed into a cabinet, we felt as if we have been fugitives in some type of Russian epic film because the camouflage uniformed officers checked IDs of their dour and environment friendly method.
‘An hour later, we pulled out. The Dogu Categorical was destined to reach at its vacation spot late as soon as once more. On a journey like this, no person cares. Nonetheless, | would possibly make an exception and really feel just a little sorry for some Turkish White Van Man cursing his luck as he's delayed for work getting caught at that distant degree crossing in Cetinkaya but once more!
Learn extra:
- The perfect sleeper trains in Europe
