Bye-bye Kurdistan

Leaving Sulaymaniyah for Istanbul

Shah organised a driver to take me to the airport between 0030 and 0100.  He turned up fine, to my relief, and I was dropped off at the airport at 0100, which was 2h30 prior to my 0330 flight.  There as an initial security screening  in a container-like shed at the perimeter of the airport grounds.  Once done, passengers sit in a bus to await being taken to the terminal building where there was another security screening.

I had used points/mileage for this flight in Business Class as it was a very good deal. That got me in the priority queue and I had my boarding pass in seconds.  For access to the CIP lounge, I had to wait five minutes for the lounge attendant to get me.  He took my passport and boarding pass and led me outside the terminal to the end of the building.

A small entrance with a dedicated final security screening led into a small lounge with some snacks and drinks.  There was a dedicated immigration checkpoint; we were able to pre-process so that we could walk straight out later.

People were getting antsy that boarding hadn’t started for us when it was showing on the TV monitors.  It became clear later as we walked straight out to dedicated minibus which took us to the aircraft towards the end of the boarding process.

Business Class was rather empty with only 4 out of 20 passengers.  Breakfast was served on board.  I didn’t feel like the scrambled eggs that was presented to me and the alternative of a borek on the menu seemed much better.  I asked for it and was given an economy class burek, which I was very happy with.

On the 2h30 flight, I had a little under an hour of full recline in the comfortable seat before we had to prepare for landing.  I was surprised with the seating as on a previous occasion, shorthaul Business Class seats were simply economy seats with the centre seat blocked off.  On this aircraft, the built-in entertainment system was archaic, so a Samsung tablet was offered in addition.

Having left about 10 mins late, we arrived in Istanbul around 0625.  We were parked at possibly the furthest gate.  Despite the long walk, I was out within 20 minutes as there were no queues for immigration.

Five minutes later, I was on the bus heading to the city.  Again, the ride only took 50 minutes.

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Exploring to kill time

I left my bag at the Glamour Hotel and went out for a wander a little after 0800.  The receptionist indicated that I should be able to have a room around 1100.

The Yeni Camii (New Mosque) is one that I’ve often walked past but never entered.  So, today I wanted to change that.  Unfortunately like so many sights in Istanbul, the interior was covered in scaffolding.  It’s just like Europe except the EU isn’t paying for it.

Just behind it was the Egyptian Bazaar.  I took a quick walk through before meandering uphill to the Suleymaniye Mosque.  I love this place because of the view it gives of the Golden Horn.  Taking my time there, a slow wander back down and a snack of burek, my 3h went quickly.

One thing I’ve realised this morning is that even if I go to sights that I have visited before, there’s always new discoveries.  Today I discovered the tombs at Suleymaniye Mosque.  While not all of them were open, the adjoining cemetery was picturesque also.  Istanbul seems to be a place for endless discovery.

I was pleased to get my room around 1100.  I had an hour’s nap in the afternoon and a late lunch which served as an early dinner.  Most of the day was spent indoors as I feel like I had done enough for the day.