Port town on Sea of Marmara Population: 133,100
Old name: Pylae/Pylai, Yalakabad, Yalıova
Of the two ferry ports on the south side of the Sea of Marmara that are readily accessible from İstanbul, the market-gardening town of Yalova is a much more inviting place than Bandırma, besides which the crossing is much quicker.
For most people Yalova is just somewhere to transit en route to somewhere else, if only to the thermal baths at nearby Termal. However, recent efforts to tidy up and prettify the town mean that you might want to linger for an hour or so to explore, especially to visit the Yürüyen Köskü (the Walking Pavilion).
Around town
Out east on the waterfront near the Adalet Sarayı (Palace of Justice) stands the Yürüyen Köşkü, a two-storey wooden house painted in brown and white that stands beside a magnificent plane tree. The house had been built at Atatürk’s behest but when the tree started to impinge on the view he had it slowly moved along the coast instead of taking an axe to the tree; pictures hanging on the railings show the process. You can visit the house although there’s not much to see inside. It’s probably better to amble along the pier in front and look back at the view, then pop into the adjacent waterside cafe for a drink and a leaf through the books in the small adjoining Atatürk library.
Within walking distance of the ferry terminal are two small museums: Yalova Kent Müzesi, the city history museum, and the İbrahim Muteferrika Müzesi, named after the man who established the first printing house in Turkey in 1727 and went on to print Turkey’s first book, a Turkish-Arabic dictionary, in 1729. It’s predominantly a museum about paper in the town where Hungarian-born Muteferrika (1674-1747) founded a paper factory to supply his printworks. (There’s a bust of him in the Sahaflar Çarşısı in İstanbul.)
The large covered market immediately across the road from the otogar is good for filling in the time before a ferry departure. Alternatively you spy on the new Setur Marina beside the bus terminal from one of the hillside tea gardens.
Note that many İstanbullus talk about going to Yalova when what they really mean is going to Termal.
Transport info
High-speed İDO car ferries carry passengers to Yalova from Yenikapı in İstanbul. Tickets can be booked on line via www.ido.com.tr.
The otogar right beside the ferry terminal offers frequent dolmuşes to Termal and along the coast to Karamürsel, transiting Topçular where ferries cross to Eskihisar in the eastern outskirts of İstanbul.
If you want to get to Mudanya to the south-west of Yalova you may need to transit Gemlik, changing buses in the main bus terminal.
Day trip destinations
