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While most people would find it more comfortable to take a bus to the outskirts and then start hitchiking from there hitchhiker [[Theo]] has, after hitchhiking out of Istanbul 10ish times, found that it is actually faster to just find a good piece of highway somewhere close to where you stay, get ON the highway and put your thumb up. You are unlikely to wait more than 3-5 minute before a car stops and the police is very unlikely to give you any trouble (they picked [[Theo]] up twice and gave him tea).
From Taksim: Walk down Cumhüriyet Caddesi (big avenue, hard to not find) for about 40-50 minutes. It's a big avenue without any real possibility which is easy to get lost but if find. After 40-50 minutes you do manage to get lost you can ask for 'll see Cevahir shopping center which is on your right side and that's about 100 200 meters from where you'll start hitching. If you manage to get lost (hard as it's a big avenue without any real tricky intersection or anything) you should just ask your way to Cevahir shopping center.
After the 40-50 minute walk (about the time when you pass Cevahir shopping center on your right side) you'll see the highway. This is th spot where the Mercidiköy viaduct bridge starts and about 70-80 % of the traffic is bound for the Asian side. When you get to the highway (which is actually about 10 meters over you as it is on a viaductyou are under the bridge) you'll see the Mercidiköy bustation to your left. Turn left,walk 20 meters until you see a small footpath leading up to the highway, climb up, thumb up, and smile at your audience (often about 50-60 people) who are waiting for the Metrobus to come. They might even give you an applause if you just put up a show.
Important: BE PATIENT AND DONT JUST ACCEPT ANY RIDE. Wait for someone who's going atleast past the main intersection in Atesehir (say that you want to go direction Gebze/Izmit on the autoyol). Even though almost no traffic is going far from here it is important that your first ride is gonna take you to the O4 highway after the two highways mergesand that may mean declining 1,2 or 4 rides. From there you'll be able Ask to find a new rideget dropped of at the highway and not at some onramp or something even more silly.
Ask to get dropped of at the highway and wait for your next ride. You may have to repeat it one or two more times but as the waiting times are so ridicilously short it's still faster than spending 2 hours on the Gebze train :).
