When is Çanakkale not Çanakkale?

When it's the bus station of that name!

I took a ferry across the Sea of Marmara this afternoon from Istanbul to the port of Bandırma to connect with a bus to Çanakkale, my final destination of the day.

The ferry lived up to its advertisement: modern and fast (two hours). And relatively cheap at 60 lira (€20) for a trip that would have taken many hours by bus at around the same price.

On arrival there was no indication to the bus station, though I could see lots of buses parked. I finally found an office and a helpful man who spoke English. I had to take a municipal bus to the bus station where I would get the required connection. I got there in about 15 minutes.

The bus to Çanakkale cost 25 lira (€8) and would take just under three hours.

When they say "to Çanakkale" they really mean to a bus station in the middle of nowhere, a 30-lira taxi ride from the town. Compare that to the price of the three-hour bus journey.

I think they must have borrowed the Ryanair naming method. ("Paris-Beauvais" airport is 90 kilometres from Paris.)

I quickly got over the annoyance when I saw my hotel. I booked it at the last minute for €40 per night (a "genius" rate on booking.com) based solely on on the review ratings .  It really is a four-star joint!

I'm sitting having a beer in the rooftop bar, watching the boats come and go in the harbour below.