Istanbul - Sofia

Istanbul's Otogar (cerntal bus termina)


The beginning of this trip is in Istanbul, or in the bus from Istanbul to Sofia, 8 hours ride.
Otogar is the central bus terminal of Istanbul, it is very big and one can take a bus to everywhere in Europ and Asia. You can take a bus from Berlin to Bagdad going through Istanbul.


The western suburbs of Instanbul



Most of the ride on the Turkish side was very smooth and fast on a very good 3 lane highway, and I slept through it...
The suburbs of Istanbul can be euro-style or asia-style at the same time, very high contrast between east and west in Turky and it is visable everywhere.


Edirne is the city near the border in Turkey, about 30km to the east. The lines of Semi-trucks waiting to cross the border to Bulgaria and to the rest of Europ is 6km long and it looks like the truckers spend more time waiting on this border than driving the truck. Local vendors come on their bicycle loaded with sandwiches and sweets for sale to the bored drivers who get out and warm by a little fire on the side of the road.



Crossing the border to Bulgaria seems like a sceane from Emir Kustoritza's film. On the Turkish side things are smooth and fast and then the bus stops at the duty free terminal and the passengers have ten minutes to go and buy fery cheap cigarretes and alcohol.


Entering Bulgaria is a bit differnt than leaving Turkey, the bus goes from one booth to another and the driver take some little gifts and the passports and papers, the last stop is the Bulgarian customs, "Haide" the driver shouts and all the passengers take their stuff and get off the bus and stand by the sides as the customs officer is checking the bus, a very "hafif" (light in Turkish) check, he got his little gift before...
"Haide" again and we get back on the bus, heading to Sofia. The road on the Bulgarian side does not mach the EU standarts for what a high way should be like, and shortly after the border there is a massive construction work of the last section of the A-1 highway that will connect Sofia and Istanbul, but as for today only half of this road is usable and the rest is a very bad narrow road but that does'nt change the way the bus driver is passing slow cars like it was a German aoutostrada.


In Bulgaria the landscape is more flat and wet, alot of bodies of water and wet fields with naked trees between them, the city Haskovo is a central place and gives services to the farmers in the area, it has the feel of an eastern town. It is gray and neglected and cold, it fits well with the sound of the words "cold war" and "communism".






That's it for the bus ride from Istanbul to Sofia.

For more photographs from Bulgaria: www.ouriatadmor.com/newprojects/bulgaria/index.html

-O