Going to the Funicular in Istanbul
One day in Istanbul that I walked from Taksim Square all the way to the Dolmabahce Palace. Taksim Square is on a hill overlooking the Bosphorus Strait, which meant that I needed to walk down the hill to get to the palace. I didn’t realize how high the hill was until I needed to walk down it. But now that the Dolmabahce Palace is closed for visits, I needed to find a way back to Taksim Square to get back to the hotel. I thought about taking one of the many buses which pass by or maybe even the tram. But I realized that there is a more exciting option – the funicular.
Notice How There are Levels Inside the Car
Funiculars are basically trams which go on an incline. Typically, the cars don’t have their own power and instead they are pulled up the hill from a station on top. There are always two cars running at the same time. These two cars are attached by a cable. As one climbs up, the other goes down. I haven’t rode on too many funiculars before and I think the last one I rode would be the one in Hong Kong going to the Peak. There is a funicular station not too far from the Dolmabahce Palace and I quickly went there. The station is actually underground.
The train itself isn’t very big or long unlike the metro or the trams. Approaching the funicular, it would look like there was something wrong with the train when in fact it is just an illusion. The car itself is built with a permanent incline but the seats are all parallel to the ground so passengers won’t have to need to balance themselves while the car goes up. It would have been nice to see the outside when the car goes up, but it is all tunnel all the way to the top. The train and station all looks very modern and impressive, not to mention the convenience of taking it so you don’t need to climb all the way back up the hill.
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