Turkish Delight

6/14
We just landed in Istanbul for an hour layover before heading off to Dar es Salaam. That may have been the best 9 hour flight I have ever been on. Turkish Airlines, "rated #1 in Europe", had a fantastic fleet of planes. Even in economy class we had TVs on the fronts of every seat. Each touchscreen TV gave you free games, TV, movies, and even WiFi. 9 hours flew by so fast; I was able to watch two movies and take a long 6 hour nap.

Aneesh and Kevin obviously did not get enough nap time in on the plane.

And to make the flight even better, we were served dinner and breakfast! For dinner, a cooked salmon meal with some sort of cheesy rice along with a salad, bread, and even apple strudel for dessert. For breakfast, I woke up to a tomato omelet with a fruit cup, roll, and assorted cheeses. One thing I noticed with the meals was that every part of the meal had some fresh-tomato component (Dad, you would have loved it). In addition being impressed with the healthful diet of the Turkish people, I was also very overwhelmed by the flight attendants, all of whom were gorgeous Turkish women who could easily become models.

After we arrived at the airport, I was determined to take advantage of being in Turkey, somewhere I probably will not come back to for a long time (thanks Mom and Dad for introducing me to Midnight Express). I found a food court and chose a restaurant (of many) that served baklava. Since I didn't know the TL to $ conversion rate, I grabbed a plate and hoped it wouldn't break the budget. I do not think the cashier understood the conversion rate either, because a plate of three baklava pieces ended up costing $10! It was definitely worth the cost, though- the Turkish people make a fine baklava. But I guess that's expected.