Istanbul layover and back home

My flight left at 3:50am from Tbilisi, so I just never went to sleep after our late dinner with David & co since I needed to catch a taxi to go to the airport by 1:15am. By the time my flight left, I was a walking zombie. In order to get back home, I had another long layover in Istanbul (9.5 hours). This time around, I was less nervous because I knew which bus to take into the city (about a 1 hour bus ride) and knew a little bit about the layout of where things were in the city and most importantly, I knew where to catch the bus back to the airport and the schedule of the bus. 

My flight arrived at 5:30am and the bus didn't even start running until 7:00am, so after clearing customs, I chilled in the airport until the bus left. It was really cool to see Istanbul wake up. When I got off the bus, everything was closed, but when I returned to the bus, things were bustling. I was hoping to visit the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, but it was closed until Saturday as was the Grand Bazaar. However, there was lots to see and experience, so I was not disappointed. 

I ended up crossing the "Golden Horn" via the Galata Bridge. The Golden Horn refers to the primary inlet of the Bosphorus and helps define the northern boundary of "Old Istanbul". The top level of the bridge was packed with fishermen using interesting multi-hook lines and the bottom of the bridge had a bunch of restaurants. The views back to Old Istanbul were great, especially with the boats selling "balik ekmegi" (fish in bread) and the Suleymaniye Mosque in the background. So many layers of Istanbul.

I spent some time watching businesses set up their "shops". There was such care put into their displays of spices, Turkish Delight, nuts, fruit, and more. I have thought that there was such beauty in these displays but did not realize how much work was put into setting them up and making them be aesthetically beautiful.

I wanted to buy some goodies to bring back home, so I ended up buying some tea and Turkish Delight. It is overwhelming how many Turkish Delight options their are. Vendors will give you a free sample before you buy it to see if you like it. Needless to say, I sampled my fair share. It is really yummy and there are so many different flavors. After making some purchases, I started to head back towards the bus and to get some actual breakfast (instead of just having Turkish Delight). I got a traditional Turkish breakfast and paid 1 TL to go use the bathroom (most public toilets in both Istanbul and Georgia were "squat toilets"). After breakfast, I headed back to the airport via the bus. The airport was a zoo. Just trying to get inside was a process, so I was glad I gave myself extra time.

Once I went through several different layers of security and eventually got on my plane, I was headed on my last flight home. I was sleep deprived, but still managed to watch 3 movies (which might be a record for me). To my surprise, I managed to catch the earlier Dartmouth Coach - hooray! It was so great to see my welcoming crew at the New London park & ride. When we got home, we chatted a bit, and I curled up in bed with Dan. Ahhhhh, traveling is wonderful, but coming home might just be even better.