Note: entry written on July 2 uploaded July 6

So, it has been a while since I last updated. I had wanted to make one last journal entry before departing from Atlanta, but alas, that was unfortunately not the case.

Anyways, I’m currently in Istanbul! When figuring out the plane ticket situation, I figured out that it would actually be cheaper to fly a few days earlier and chill in Istanbul…not to mention more interesting. In order to secure the cheapest flight, I booked a ticket with a number of connections making my route before returning to Atlanta as follows: Atlanta to Philadelphia to Paris to Istanbul with Delta / Air France (code share) and Istanbul to Dushanbe with Turkish Airlines.

I will actually be heading to the airport in a few hours to catch a flight to Dushanbe, followed by a helicopter ride to Khorog in a few days. I’ve been in Istanbul for 3 days now, though only 1 has been a full day.

The arrival on the first day was pretty eventful in itself. I departed Atlanta on Sunday at 3pm (Atlanta), and arrived in Istanbul on Monday evening (on account of time zone changes). All of my flights were either delayed or arrived to the destination city late. I learned a couple of things from this experience: a) apparently, Philly flights rarely depart on time as they tend to spend a significant amount of time waiting in line on the runway and b) security check-in at Paris’s CDG airport SUCKS. A bunch of us had flown from Philly to Paris and would have missed our flights had one particularly irate Turk not given a CDG employee a piece of his mind. Even then, by the time I arrived to the gate (after literally running to the gate on account of still having to spend 45 minutes in the security check-in’s business/elite line), I was informed that I would not be able to board, even though someone who had been immediately in front of me in line had literally just passed flight check-in and was maybe 10 steps in front of me. After a few exasperated choice words and a 5 second phone call by an Air France employee presumably to the plane’s hull, I was boarding the plane well on my way to Istanbul. Or so I thought until take-off was delayed about 45 minutes.

Of course, no frustrating travel experience would be complete without lost baggage. As much as this sucked, though, what was even worse was that my Canadian travel buddy and fellow FOCUS intern’s (Safiyya’s) plane was being rerouted to the other Istanbul airport on the Asian side of Istanbul. I learned soon after that, while circling the skies waiting for a runway to open up, the plane was running out of fuel and therefore had gone to the other airport to refuel before heading back to Ataturk airport. I can’t imagine how annoying that must have been for her.

Anyways, after converting money, reporting my missing bags (which apparently have just made it to Istanbul from Paris, btw), and securing transportation to my hotel (which was also late), I was successfully able to check into my hotel. The hotel surpassed my expectations, hands down. Not by any means in its size, mind you, but more so in the hospitality of the staff and the location of the hotel relative the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia in the Sultanahmet Square. So, if you’re ever in Istanbul, definitely stay at Erguvan Hotel.

After resting up for a few hours (I can’t ever seem to sleep on a plane; when trying to sleep on a flight, my head bobs more than a Desi acknowledging a comment), Safiyya and I joined up and visited a restaurant called Doy Doy. Sitting there on Doy Doy’s terrace eating an adana kebob with a beautiful view of the majestic Blue Mosque as the Azaan serenely beckons its listeners to prayer has definitely been a highlight of the trip thus far, made all that much better by the great conversation and amazing meal.