Istanbul

Everyone I know who is flying to India, Bangaladesh, or Nepal this month is flying out of Chicago on Turkish Airlines, which has been offering excellent prices for those willing to get themselves to Chicago.  We drove.

Monday morning saw us filling the Prius with all five frame packs (one for our porter) and four "airplane" bags into the Prius - it all fit! We left at 8 am for a 9 pm flight, leaving time for a visit with Meg's brother when we dropped off the dog and dinner with other family. It as a nice day, but next time I will figure out how to fly.

Turkish Airlines treated us very well on our 11 hour flight from Chicago to Istanbul. Scrunched seats were offset with two hot meals with trendy foods, free wine and rainbow mood lighting. Each passenger got a pillow and blanket for the trip, plus a travel pouch with slippers, socks, earplugs, eye ask, toothpaste, toothbrush - all to keep. The seat back entertainment was packed with options, and included USB port, Ethernet jack (huh?), and AC power jack. Who knew any airline still did all that? 

The Istanbul airport has expanded since we were here last, and it was a zoo. We decided to escape for our 9 hour layover, but the first challenge was to find the Exit. It was tucked in a corner, labeled Transit Desk. We made our escape down 5 or 6 flights of stairs onto the metro. Even though it had gotten dark, the city was magical. Minarets (the spires from mosques), old walls and ancient stonework peek through new buildings and plenty of lights. The call to prayers, broadcast on loud speakers at each mosque, started just after we reached the old city and the Blue Mosque. Everyone was speaking Turkish, though they made a prodigious effort to speak English with us. Familiar sights met our eyes at every turn from our trip here 9 years ago.

We ducked into a small cafe to warm up with Turkish tea and wifi. Adam had been working on his final paper for his writing class (the political situation in Nepal) for weeks. We gave it one last read and he sent it to his professor. Whew! As that last responsibility of our "regular" lives fell away, we relaxed into the present - Istanbul!

A long walk down to the spice market and the docks, then back to the airport for our next flight.