Turkey

Despite the recent TSA issues, we left Friday night without any delay and the airport wasn’t too crazy. The Delta One exclusive security restarted on Thursday, albeit manned by ICE and the family enjoyed their first experience in the lounge.

We arrived in Amsterdam for a longer than expected transfer as the flight out of NY schedule changed after I had booked months ago. However, we were able to relax in our respective lounges during the layover. Justin had to go to a different one with his credit card as I was only allowed one free guest in the KLM lounge with my Delta status.

Our flight to Istanbul was just three hours and the car pickup got us to our hotel in about an hour. Apparently, no greeting signs are permitted inside the airport, so you meet the company outside in front of their sign and we were ushered to the parking garage.

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and straddles Europe and Asia over the Bosporus Strait which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. It’s not the capital as Ankara is and was once called Constantinople. It did however serve as a capital of the Roman / Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Its strategic position on the Silk Road, connected Europe with Western Asia and is considered an alpha global city.

Our hotel is the Orient Occident Hotel Istanbul, Autograph Collection and we’re staying for four nights near the historic center. Upon check-in, we were served complimentary Turkish tea and delights pictured below:



After resting, showering, and getting settled, we walked over to Bitlisi and shared a mixed meat pide - a type of stuffed bread, chicken shish, and eggplant and meat dish with some complimentary dips:



I’m looking forward to soaking in this vacation, considering I was up to 2 am for several nights. Our Greek cruise planned for our second week was cancelled as they were unable to reposition their ships that are registered / docked in Doha and Dubai and couldn’t get out of the Strait of Hormuz. So I had to revisit, research, and booked hotels, ferry, flights, and rental car as we will hunker down on a few islands that were just going to be stops on the efficient cruise itinerary that I had eyed for years.

When I relayed the cancellation news and expressed concern, my mom said if we could handle the craziness of going to Budapest with epic delays on our December trip, we could endure anything. Justin just responded with “I’m flexible”.

I also realized Turkey is my 50th country based upon a country counter we used at work to tally and compare. It would be a few more if you didn’t count the United Kingdom as one, but I’m excited to explore for the next few days!