Mission Istanbul: Park Lunasan

Monday 16th April 2012

Park Lunasan was a very late addition to the trip. It was not included in the initial trip plan.

Malcolm's Google Earth project file indicated that there was a small park in Büyükçekmece that i had in my initial itinerary. A day or so before the trip i again went through all the parks on Google Earth. The small park in Büyükçekmece had disappeared from the latest imagery. Going back to Malcolm’s Google Earth file, I looked for alternative parks to replace the small one in Buyukcekmece. (For those who plan coaster trips, Malcolm’s Google Earth project is brilliant and makes planning a trip ever so easy. If you haven’t tried it, do so. Trust me—you will never use another tool to plan your trips again.) I searched for the next park nearest my destination. It was in Izmit, Istanbul’s neighbouring city. So Park Lunasan was added as a possibility—if I had spare time, I’d check it out. It being a late addition, I didn’t have time to do any research on it.

Getting to the park: A car ferry from Eminönü will take you to Harem on the Asian side. Harem Otogar is just outside the ferry terminal. Board a coach for Izmit from Harem Otogar. In just over an hour you'll arrive in Izmit. If you tell the conductor that you want to go to Izmit Fuari lunapark he’ll have the coach stop at the nearest bus stop to the park.
You'll see the Ferris wheel from the motorway. Even if you pass your stop, you can either walk back or just take a taxi back to the park.

The car ferry that took me to the Asian side.

On our way to Harem, where i need to catch the coach for Izmit.

Arriving in Asia.

There are so many things wrong with this coach ticket.

Finally made it to Park Lunasan.

I assume the first times are for Monday to Thursday. It was just noon, so what should I do—go back to Istanbul or hang around for five hours?

It took me slightly less then two hours to get there, so to avoid coming back again i decided to wait for the park to open.

To kill some time, a long lunch seemed like a good idea. The local Carrefour just across the road from the park had a Burger King, so I decided to get something to eat from there--mainly to benefit from their free WiFi. I updated my Facebook status with the situation i was in. George Greenway, a friend, replied that he had been in the same situation a while back and had waited outside the park for many hours before finding out the park wouldn't open at all that day. After reading George's reply, I thought i'd wander back to the park and make sure they'd open at five. I got back to the park and spoke to a guy at the entrance, who replied in Turkish, which i couldn't understand. He then showed me a calendar with a date two weeks away. Then it hit me. The park is in it's off season and would reopen in two weeks time. That wasn't the news i wanted to hear but s**t happens and things don't always work the way one wants. The next question i put to him was if could wander around to take photos, as the park was still unknown to the coaster community. He took me to the park owner's office. I identified myself to the friendly owner who was sympathetic towards me but couldn't operate the rides as the maintenance wasn't up to date. He was more then happy for me to wander around and take photos.