- Friday 13th April 2012
Day three saw us continent hopping, we went from Europe to Asia for a day trip. Looking back now, i can say, This was the most enjoyable day of the trip. It started with a journey to the local zoo.
Faruk Yalcin Zoo formerly known as Bayramoglu Bird Paradise & Botanic Garden (after the death of the founder, the zoo was renamed in his memory) is located in Gebze, a far eastern suburb on the Asian side of Istanbul. Even though being quite a distance from Istanbul's main touristy areas, getting to the zoo is still fairly straightforward.
From the European side (Karakoy), a ferry will take you to Haydarpaşa. After disembarking from the ferry, make your way to the Haydarpaşa railway station—ideally located on the pier, right behind the disembarkation point. Take the Suburban rail line all the way to the penultimate stop, Osmangazi. A short taxi ride from here will take you to the zoo gates.
When we arrived, there was a long line of coaches unloading passengers, mostly kids. If this were an amusement park, I’d have been worried but since this was a zoo, it couldn’t be that bad…could it?
Once inside, my dilemma was: Do I look at the animals that I paid to see, or do I look at the more entertaining small creatures—the ones we all so proudly call children—running around causing havoc? Some of the morenaughty overexcited kids seemed more suited to being kept—permanently—in cages with the animals than being set free to roam the streets of Istanbul. Somehow I doubt their parents would agree with me, though.
I wasn’t expecting much from this zoo, but it pleasantly surprised me. The zoo is built into the terrain. With the entrance on high ground, you have to head downhill to get to the far end of the zoo. The zoo has some nicely themed areas, picnic spots, plenty of trees and other greenery. The children’s play area as at the back, and consists of playground equipment and mechanical rides. The mechanical rides aren’t included in the entrance price, and they all require an additional charge. The unique Butterfly coaster—the only one in the world that sports a roof—is very popular here.
When we arrived, there was a long line of coaches unloading passengers, mostly kids. If this were an amusement park, I’d have been worried but since this was a zoo, it couldn’t be that bad…could it?
Once inside, my dilemma was: Do I look at the animals that I paid to see, or do I look at the more entertaining small creatures—the ones we all so proudly call children—running around causing havoc? Some of the more
I wasn’t expecting much from this zoo, but it pleasantly surprised me. The zoo is built into the terrain. With the entrance on high ground, you have to head downhill to get to the far end of the zoo. The zoo has some nicely themed areas, picnic spots, plenty of trees and other greenery. The children’s play area as at the back, and consists of playground equipment and mechanical rides. The mechanical rides aren’t included in the entrance price, and they all require an additional charge. The unique Butterfly coaster—the only one in the world that sports a roof—is very popular here.
Zoo name on top of the zoo entrance.
Zoo map.
A model dinosaur at the entrance plaza.
Nice flowers
Otter enclosure.
Clever Mr Fox
Spotted a painting with different kind of marine life creatures on one of the walls.
Having a nap.
Bear
Bear enclosure.
Random sign.
Who can name this bird?
Sleeping wolf
Dodgems are one of the mechanical rides in the children's play area.
First look at the Butterfly coaster.
First Butterfly coaster with a roof.
Popular ride.
Children skating.
Zoo giftshop and restaurant.
Covered area used by familes to have lunch.
Children's playground.
Another dinosaur model.
Pengiuns
Elephants
Been to a few zoos in my lifetime but never seen one soo busy before.
Kids looking at the giant tortoise.
Crocadiles
Flamingoes
Black panther snoozing.
Monkeys
Tiger
Nicely themed bridge crossing.
Giraffe with ostrich.
Zebra
Water fountain in the zoo.
Another sign at the entrance
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