If you have been following my Facebook, Instagram or occasional and very random texts to friends, you might be aware of fact that I recently took a Photo Tour of three of the five “Stans.”  

 Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.   

It was a great trip.  Lots of photo opportunities, interesting architecture, glimpses of Nomadic life and delicious food.   

Getting home was not so great.  I was delayed two hours getting out of Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) on a scheduled 2:30 am flight and then again several times out of Istanbul airport and then an overnight in Chicago….. I got home about 20 hours later than originally scheduled.  

I did the normal things people do—check out Duty Free, read my book, connect with home and a very gracious husband who kept my Chicago to GR flight up to date.  Eventually he had to book me a hotel in Chicago. 

Istanbul Airport

The longest delay was in Istanbul.    After a few hours of what turned out to be a 10 hour delay I decided it might be fun to do a blog post about the airport. I would meander with my cell phone and capture a day in the airport called Crossroads of the World. And yes, I got “steps” towards my 10,000 a day.  

Billed as the “People’s Choice” in 2022, the Istanbul airport is huge and a destination on its on.  Lots of shopping, eating and interesting sights including a museum that I meant to check out.    

Of course, I looked at the stores.  There were some duplicates, but many to browse.  I looked at luggage, books, clothes and the windows of the jewelry stores.  

I found the vehicles to be interesting.  The Security people rode around on an elevated version of a tricycle.  I actually think I could like one for the bike path near the cottage.  But the transportation I really liked were the electric wheelchairs with room on the back for the attendant to ride.  They zipped in and around the people.  

I found a spot to exercise if I wanted to do that.  I checked this bike several times but never saw anyone on it.   

Need to store your carry on luggage?  Don’t these lockers make sense?  If you can’t remember where you stored yours, it will be easy to find in these clear lockers. 

Naturally I enjoyed some people watching.  I noticed different nationalities as exhibited by the attire.  Remember, this airport calls itself “Crossroads of the World.”  

I even found a place to nap a bit like this gentleman. 

There were plenty of places to eat. I was tempted with the Shake Shack.  It’s a favorite of mine.  But after all the meals we had on the trip I resisted.  

The bathroom signs were great.  No mistaking where they were.  How about the red and green at the escalators.  I also got a kick out of the signs for hair implants.  I understand Istanbul is the place to go for this procedure.  

 I also saw this kind technology in a variety of places.  Great idea.   

The floors were shiny so reflections caught my eye.  

If I’d known I’d be there so long, I would have hired a taxi and gone for a tour of Istanbul but …..that will have to be another time.   

The tour company was Fantastic Photo Tours. https://fantasticphototours.com/

 Come back to DesignDestinations.org this summer for more about this trip and blogs about my April adventure in Japan.