Hi,
from reading other people's trip reports, I've got the impression that people have sometimes had quite a hard time finding bus stops/stations for their onward journey. As I want to see as much of the region as possible, I only have about a day and a half in each location.
People on this site have already told me to plan my journeys for the morning, so that's what I'll do. I'm also an early starter so I don't mind starting my journey very early, around 6.30ish onwards.
I've looked at many different guidebooks and none of them appear to have good maps for southeast Turkey. Obviously, I'd rather spend my time getting a feel for the place than hunting for a bus stop, so I'd like to be able to find them as quicky and as time-efficiently as possible. I don't mind getting taxis to the bus stop, although I don't speak Turkish nor Kurdish to tell the driver which stop I want to go to.
These will be my bus journeys:
Urfa-Mardin
Mardin-Midyat (just to visit Gulgoze by taxi)
Midyat-Hasankeyf
Hasankeyf-Van (I've heard there is a direct bus but can't find any other details)
Van-Dogubeyazit
Dogubeyazit-Kars (I know I have to change at Igdir)
So, if anyone can give me any details at all about these journeys (do I need to book tickets in advance? Can I pay on the bus or do I need to get a ticket from the ticket office? Where can I find the bus stop/station? Is it a coach or dolmus?) it would be a real help to me.
Thanks very much.




