All night, all day, all night -- watching the clouds and maps on an airplane travel day

Somewhere over Europe

Saturday, February 17

Today is a full day of travel - all day on the plane, except a brief visit to Istanbul and the CIP Lounge for Turkish Airlines.

I slept from 12:30 to 5 AM, with the help of podcasts and an eye mask to dampen the sounds and light from the galley.  Breakfast was served at 5:30 AM – mango smoothie, home made muesli, fresh fruit, croissant and eggs.  My favorite was a nice hot cup of tea, served with milk and honey in a pretty china and metal cup.  Michael woke up about an hour later.

Breakfast worth waking up for - followed by eggs 

The clouds over the European continent finally parted somewhere over Romania or Bulgaria (hard to tell by the map).  We flew into Istanbul from the south, so we had a nice view of the Bosporus, but not the old city, as we had when we first flew in 2016.  It’s cloudy and rainy with a temperature of 45 degrees F.  We walked through Ataturk Havalimani (Airport) to get to the Turkish Airlines lounge.  We have a little more than 2 hours here before our next flight departs to Dubai.

Rainy and hazy on the Bosporus today

Buses at Ataturk airport - I wonder if you'll be able to use real jetways when the new airport is complete?

After about a 3 hour layover in Istanbul, we boarded our flight to Dubai.  We’re in the same seats – 3A & 3B.  This plane is also lovely, but a little older model than the transcontinental flight.  The space is almost identical, but the seats are not quite the “pod” like recline as the first plane. For some reason the flight attendants seem nicer – maybe they are less stressed from a 4 hour flight vs. a 9 hour flight with 2 full meals.

Flight to Dubai - where's everyone?

Michael's ready to just get there!

We again were offered the lovely fruit juices as soon as we boarded the plane.  This time I had a mint lemonade which was truly delicious. Our meal was served quickly, in contrast to our previous flight – similar to how the US airlines do the meal service.  Only one chef instead of 2, he came round to say hello and get our dinner drink orders.  Our seafood appetizer, salad and cheese plate were all served on a tray, so less complicated that the previous meal service. This is our 3^rd large airline meal in 12 hours!

My new favorite juice - lemon mint

Nice!

We did have a lovely dessert – a chocolate covered cream puff, which was called a profiterole on the menu.  We topped it off with Turkish coffee, served just like Muammar said it must be:  with a side glass of water and a piece of Turkish delight.

Turkish coffee - deliciously thick

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this flight is watching the flight map.  We’re flying over territory that’s frequently been in the news:  Aleppo, Mosol, Kirkuk.  I notice we have completely avoided flying over Syria, but rather traveled due east to cross over Iraq and then down to the UAE.  The flight path is actually a right angle - due east and then south to the Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea.  Of course, the Turkish - Syrian border has been complicated over the Kurdish situation in recent months. Other areas that we'll visit this trip - such as  Myanmar - have also been in the news recently for complicated reasons.

Flight path from Turkey to UAE - a right angle around tricky airspace

When we arrive, it will be 1 AM in Dubai.  We’ll have to go through customs, pick up our luggage and find our driver to take us to the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel.  I’m hoping to sleep for 4 or 5 hours before we meet our Tours by Locals guide, Ute, who will take us on a private tour of Abu Dhabi tomorrow.  Cant’ wait!