Day
1 – Thursday, August 25, 2011 – Tel Aviv to Istanbul
The
six of us left Israel on Thursday afternoon, just a few hours after Jeremy,
Daniel, and Abram finished their final class of the summer semester. We got
into a sheirut (shared cab) right
outside our house, then headed off to Ussishkin (street in Jerusalem) to pick
up the Goodsteins and the Reisephs (note: Reiseph = Reiser + Joseph, as I have
affectionately titled the Daniel + Leah pair). We arrived at the airport with
plenty of time, and after a pre-flight snack – McDonalds because Jeremy really
wanted to try the Israeli salad there (and he was very pleasantly surprised!) –
boarded our Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.
The
airplane was surprisingly lovely and new. The plane’s first flight was in April
of this year and entered into Turkish’s service in late May, meaning it had
only been flown regularly for about 3 months. I’d say that’s the newest plane
we’ve ever flown. The interior and seats were, of course, immaculate. Not just
because they were new, but Turkish Airlines really takes the Turkish ideals of
hospitality to the skies. The seats were all leather and very comfortable. We
sat down to a wonderfully large touchscreen with a wealth of programming that
could be accessed as soon as we sat down.
Options included a ton of movies, TV shows, documentaries, music, and
the “flight show,” or flight path on a moving map. Throughout the flight, we
watched some episodes of our favorite shows including The Big Bang Theory, How I
Met Your Mother and Modern Family.
The personal service was great including a pretty good meal served with real
flatware and a fresh roll. Oh, and they had scotch. Jeremy indulged. After
dinner service we were offered tea, which was, of course, delicious. Our
arrival was slightly delayed because of traffic, which forced us into a holding
pattern in the air and then a long inbound taxi. Yet, all in all, it was a
wonderful 2 and a half hour flight experience.
We
arrived in Istanbul, got our visas, and went through passport control. It turns
out that you need a $20 tourist visa if you're on an American passport, but you
don't need a visa at all if you travel on an Israeli passport. So while I
normally travel outside of Israel on my American passport, I decided to save
$20 and enter Turkey on my Israeli passport. Once outside the airport we easily
found the light-rail train, and navigated our way through one change of lines
to the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul. On our walk from the light rail to the
Istanbul Hostel we walked through a huge art festival for Ramadan, which took
us on a path right between the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofia. When we reached the
hostel and checked in, the six of us headed up to the rooftop bar, where we
could hear the sounds of the festival while overlooking the city, the river,
and a lit-up Aya Sofia. While we were getting ready for bed, Jeremy cut his
thumb open. Lesson learned: pack your razor in its own pocket so you don’t
reach your hand into the big pocket and cut your thumb open. You’ll appreciate
that when it’s late.
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