Istanbul Kart - Istanbul Transportation Map: A Complete Guide

What is and how it works

Istanbul Transport Card Istanbul Card  is a single rechargeable ticket for public transport in Istanbul in the form of a plastic card. It allows you  to save a lot  on travel. Operates on  the metro,  light rail,  bus,  ferry and funicular. One card can be used by several people. Find out more with the Istanbul Travel Guide. 

Once again , I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the card is valid when traveling on  ferries , which are an integral part of Istanbul's urban transport, linking different parts of the city. For tourists, this is also useful because using a transport card, they can  very cheaply  take a ferry from the Eminenu pier to the Princes Islands .

A transport card to pay for travel in almost all modes of transport in Istanbul.

• Acts like a regular transport card , say, like a Troika card in Moscow. When traveling by  metro ,  light rail ,  ferry ,  funicular  , it must be attached to the reader and go through the turnstile. In city buses, as a rule, there are no turnstiles - you just need to attach the card to the reader and go into the bus. When exiting, you do not need to apply the card to the reader again.
• And yet , as it turned out, a transport card in Istanbul can pay for  visiting city toilets , equipped with turnstiles. For example, a toilet in the passage under  the Galata Bridge  or a toilet in the  Hermigan City Park .

The fare on the map in various transport in Istanbul

• Metro - 4.1 TL
• Light rail - 4.1 TL
• Bus - 4.1 TL
• Ferry to the Princes' Islands - 5.2 TL
• Funicular - 4.1 TL

At the change made within  2 hours ,  the system of discounts operates . The fare is reduced by 20-40% depending on the number of transfers: the first trip is the most expensive (4.1 TL), the second one is cheaper (2.88 TL), etc.

The discount is calculated  both when transferring within one type of transport (for example, from a tram to a tram), and when transferring from one type of transport to another (for example, from a tram to a metro).

Specific example : if you change from the light rail at Besiktas station to the funicular to Taksim station (to get to the Istanbul Arbat,  Istiklal Street ), then the funicular ride will cost less.

Strange but true!  For the same reason, it may very well turn out that when traveling to some point of interest,   you will spend a little less  on travel from there than when traveling there . Surprisingly, but it is. I'll give you an explanation!  You take a bus to get to the  Rumeli Hisar Fortress and pay the full fare (first trip). It will take you a maximum of 1 hour to visit the fortress. Then you get on the bus back and at the same time you pay less (second trip), because you  supposedly made a transfer .

Where to buy and how to top up a transport card

• The Istanbul Card  is the easiest to buy and top up at the terminals  at all  metro stops, light rail, ferries, funicular.
• Be aware that terminals are not common at bus stops. For example, if you are driving from  Eminenu  to  Miniaturk Park , make sure that there are enough funds on the card to travel back.

Buying and replenishing a card using the example of terminals at a metro station at Ataturk Airport

Most likely , you will need to buy a card at  Ataturk Airport  immediately upon arrival in Istanbul, unless, of course, you decide to use  a transfer to get to the hotel .

After passing through passport control,  the first thing we do is follow the signs to the entrance to the Ataturk Havalimani metro station. The entrance to the station is located both inside the airport and on the street, next to the entrance to the airport. At the entrance, in front of the turnstiles near the wall, there are  terminals for the sale and replenishment  of the Istanbul Card transport card.

The terminals are usually crowded  - passengers from your and other flights will figure out how to buy and top up a card. Usually, those standing in line do not rush each other, spying on others as they buy a card.

By the way!  For example, in the main tourist area of ​​Sultanahmet, there are much fewer queues at the terminals - there are practically none.

Buying a card

• Step 1 . Select the language using the buttons on the left. You need to select the flag of your country. Sometimes the flag slips past - then try again.
• Step 2 . The menu will offer  three options : buying a ticket for one trip, buying a card and replenishing the card. Click the button  "Purchase card" .
• Step 3 Next, insert banknotes into the bill acceptor. The Istanbul transport card costs 7 TL. The amount of payment that exceeds the cost of the card will be credited to its account. For example, if you pay for a purchase with a banknote of 10 TL, then 4 TL will be credited to your card account.
• Step 4 The machine will give you a card and print a receipt.

Card replenishment

• Step 1 . Take the card and put it to the right of the screen on the reader. You can not hold the card with your hand, it will not fall, as there is a small shoulder for this. 
• Step 2 . Press the  "Top up the card" button  and insert the money into the bill acceptor. The money will immediately be credited to the card account.

Does it make sense to buy a card

If you visit Istanbul on your own , then definitely there is. Tourists actively use local transport, especially often using the light rail. It is extremely wasteful to buy separate one-time travel tickets. This is about 1.5 times more expensive than using the Istanbul transport card.

Savings example

• Single tickets . You are driving from the airport to Sultanahmet. You will have to go first by metro (6 TL), then by light rail (6 TL). Total: 12 TL.
• By transport card  Istanbul Card. The same route: first by metro (4.1 TL), then by light rail (2.88 TL, including a discount for a transfer). Total: 6.98 TL.
• The savings  will be 5.02 TL per trip.

How to choose the right font in design?

By choosing the wrong font, many "ruin" their projects, because even if the rest is really brilliant - the wrong font can ruin everything. We understand aesthetic text, what fonts are and what else is important in the design of the text part of the design.

This is probably one of the most common problems faced by inexperienced graphic designers.

But first...

Let's define:

• What age and gender is your offer addressed to?
• Are the services or products intended for a general or narrow audience?
• Is it a "brand for everyone"?
• Or is the target very precise, like educated women aged 25-35 from big cities?
• What are the values ​​of the company and what does it want to convey to the recipients?
• Is the brand strictly exclusive or maybe childishly cute?

Write down the answers to these questions! They will help you with the final choice of font, which we will detail in this article!

Typography - what is it?

Typography is one of the most important design issues and the challenge of choosing the right font for a project should not be underestimated.

Typography is the medium by which the content of a text is visually shaped.

The choice of this form, which significantly affects the readability of the text and the feeling of the reader, depends on hundreds, if not thousands, of available fonts. Typography can be neutral or evocative, it can reflect artistic, political or philosophical trends, or characterize a person's personality or a company's ideology.

Typography is not a static field, it is constantly evolving. A number of typefaces in use today are based on designs developed in early historical eras.

Roman majuscules and Carolingian minuscules, introduced at the dawn of the printing industry during the reign of Charlemagne as a standard in effect in the 15th century, are still widely used today.

•   Size

Font size historically refers to the size of printed fonts. Font size comfortable for reading from 8 to 14 points. It is important to understand that changing the case of letters in the text introduces a gradation of the importance of a given piece of text. It is the font size that determines what will be read first, and therefore text written in a larger font will be read first.

•   Legibility and legibility

These are important factors to consider when choosing the right font for projects. Each font used should be legible and easy to read. The legibility of the font affects the appearance of the design. Legibility - determines how easy it is to distinguish between different characters in the text.  Determining factors: uppercase, lowercase letters, contrast, etc.

On the other hand,  readability is how easily a reader can locate text on a printed page or screen . Unlike legibility, legibility is about understanding and assimilation of the content of the text. These two factors should be effectively combined. The font should be legible and readable as it will enhance the overall look of the project.

•   alignment

Justified text results in a change in spacing between words. In such a text, with a large number of long words, there are very large free spaces between them. They, in turn, create sequences of white surfaces that visually connect to each other in several consecutive lines of text. This is quite common in automatic text processing.

During alignment, in addition to too large gaps between words, you should also beware of hyphens at the end of a line. If you are in doubt about how to align the text, align the block to the left. In Western culture, we read text from left to right, top to bottom. Therefore, left alignment makes reading more comfortable.

•   Character

As you can see, different fonts evoke different associations. We don't even realize that we automatically assign personality traits to them. There are fonts that are sad or joyful, playful or serious. We can use this to help the reader better interpret the content of the text. On the other hand, if the character of the font is incompatible with the content, the reader is less able to absorb the information.

For example, in the design of a site selling children's things, a children's font is appropriate, for example: Walt Disney Script. This font, used in the project, takes you to the world of fairy tales, dreams, allows you to go back in time and evokes positive emotions. Another font that is suitable for design aimed at children is Comic Sans.

Basic font classification system

How are font families classified? based on their characteristics. There are the following: serif fonts, sans-serif fonts, decorative fonts.

•   Serif font

Serifs make it easier to recognize characters, making it easier to follow text. This makes a block of text in this font much easier to read.

•   Sans serif font

Sans-serif fonts, as you might guess, are devoid of serifs. Therefore, long texts in this font are usually quite difficult to read. Hence, it is most commonly used for headings, subheadings, and other additional text.

•   Decorative fonts

A combined group that includes handwriting-like fonts, Gothic fonts. Chosen "on occasion". So, for example, a handwritten font is used to design invitations, business cards.

Font parameters, i.e. its weight, color and size

•   Thickness

The weight of a font is its thickness. This should be taken into account in the design of each project. It is worth remembering that bold text is always read first, as it attracts attention.

Therefore, it is recommended to use fonts of different weights:

• the boldest font in the main heading
• slightly less thick in subheadings
• plain text already with normal weight

•   Color

Color is also an important point, and affects how the text is read. Part of the text written in a different color from the rest will be more "visible". This is a great opportunity for the designer to draw attention to certain parts of the statement in order to emphasize something important. Black text on a white background is best read , but graphic designers have long begun to deviate from this rule.

You can select shades of text and background that are contrasting and consistent in terms of color differences. You can freely play with the font colors in your design. For dark blue text, the background can be either blue or orange. However, it is important that the colors do not "conflict" with each other. If you lack artistic flair, don't forget to check the color match.

•   Contrast and highlight

Remember you need contrast! Proper use of bold, underline, etc. is very helpful. This makes the text more readable and transparent. The reader often looks for phrases that will interest him when viewing the text, and then reads a piece of text next to them. If you want the design to be perceived as you intended, pay attention to these fragments. Of course, be careful not to overdo it, the whole effect can negatively affect the readability of the text.

Identification of need

Of course, you can use different fonts in your project, but if you are not experienced in this, you should not experiment too much. It is safer to combine no more than two or three fonts. However, it is important that they all complement each other. For example, you cannot combine fonts with serifs and sans-serifs. It is better to combine them with grotesque or handwriting-like ones. One more bold to draw attention, and the other more serious and elegant to give the first aesthetic and balance the whole composition.

Don't use too many fonts in your design! Remember that the smaller the fonts, the more harmony.  Of course, perfect harmony is not always our goal. Sometimes it pays to add some exciting chaos to it. However, be careful with this, so as not to go from a bold composition to a complete failure.