Istanbul, January 28, 2022---One Needs A sense of Humor To Travel These days.

 Hello All;  Today, a few lines of recent events in my travel here. At Ottawa, when I first checked in my  Boarding Pass had me at the back of the plane; (I never pay for an assigned seat...usually 25 dollars per flight.) Later at the boarding gate, I was issued a new Boarding Pass, very near the front. The lady ahead of me was very large, but the Agent stated to me, "we are moving you to the front of the aircraft as we need more weight up front. In fact, I was moved to Business Class, and she did not want others to know. At Montreal, five minutes before the first Boarding call, they announced that everyone needed to fill out two forms, one to be handed to a flight attendant as we neared Paris, the other to French Customs officers. One was in French on both sides, the one for France was English, declaring you had no virus, and had not been near anyone with the virus. Air Canada collected the forms as they had said, but the French Customs did not know what we were talking about and would not take the forms.....I still have mine.

Here in Istanbul, I found out that there at least two large Lost and Found Companies at the airport...no wonder it took several days for them to find my luggage that they took.                  

When I went back to the airport the morning after my arrival, the taxi drove at about 40 all the way....45 minutes, and on his cell phone all the way talking to different people. On my way back to the hotel, in the sloppy and at times icy conditions, the driver stood at 137 KPM....even police cars passed us, and when I asked what the rules were, this driver told me that only people with no license drive under 100.

Some Turkish words for the traveler;  Bay=men, Bayan-women...for washrooms/kahve...coffee/Taksi is taxi/ Polis...police....thats all for this , and maybe the last of my Turkish lessons.

Tomorrow, we will go looking at several condos for my friends sister from London. After our last work, she came here and did all the paper work, and made the down payment...then was advised that the place she had bought was so tied up in legal matters with the previous owner that it would be a long time before the matter was settled. The Real Estate company returned all funds to her.

That's it for today. 

  

 the speed is posted at 90.  

Hello From A White Istanbul, January 27, 2022

I arrived here just before midnight on the 26, after a rather unusual journey. I departed my home in Ottawa at 11;00 on Tuesday morning, taking a bus, train, and another bus to the airport. Two years ago, this one bus route was the nom. Now, with high technology, and modern thinking, and to save the environment,(as some would say)three vehicles are required....for the same trip. At the screening point for bag checks, etc, I was asked to open my only bag, my carry-on....something was different. In there was a Paw Patrol Fire engine about 23 inches long, on it's side. The Agent looked in, then stated, "I did not know they made Paw Patrol toys for seniors".  To this I replied, "it is for my son, over in Paris who will be three years old on Sunday". He had no further comment and I was on my way to the departure lounge. Everything went very well in Montreal, and continued until we arrived in Paris at the Charles De Gaulle airport. It was supposed to be a three hour wait until my next flight to here in Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. The departure gate, (A-43), was rather quiet, and the Board stated that TK 1822, my flight, was delayed. Upon further checking, we were told that Istanbul airport was closed due to a heavy snow storm. Nine hours later, we were on our way, about seven hours late. Upon arrival, three hours and a bit later, we parked at a corner of the airport about two miles from the Terminal, and the Captain told us that due to the severe storm, there were no gates available and we would be some time in getting to one. We waited an hour before moving verrrrry slow to the Terminal. Passport control took most another hour, then I went to Lost and Found, where I retrieved one of my lost bags. The other two were in a different room, some distance away, and the staff had gone home. I got to my hotel at 01;00 A.M. I went back this morning and retrieved the two Items and all were in excellent condition and everything was accounted for. My trip was well worth while.

Ottawa, January 23, 2022 Decisions Have Beed Made

Hello All;  I will be returning to Istanbul, with a departure from here on Tuesday, January 25, and returning February 4. After consulting with Courier companies, and looking at my options, I decided to go back, stay nine days and bring my luggage home. By doing this, I save over one thousand U.S. Dollars, and get a trip in also. My round trip airfare is under 1200 dollars Canadian.

I will be travelling light, although I do have a gift for my little friend, Hussian. He wanted a Marshall Fire truck with all the gadgets,(from the kids cartoons and the movie called Paw-Patrol.) But we could not find it in Istanbul before Christmas, so got him clothes instead...It's nice to be considered a kid's hero, even if it's right up there with a cartoon dog!!.

Today in Istanbul they had snow and one degree, so there will be no trips to the beach.

My trip will be about 16 hours from the time I depart here until I get to Istanbul . My route is Ottawa- Montreal with Air Canada, and after about three hours, on to Paris, (Charles De Gaulle airport), another three hours in Paris, then a three hour flight with Turkish Airlines to Istanbul. For those who do not get to travel much, airlines have a system called "Code Share". That is where an airline, in this case Air Canada, buy seats on Turkish Airlines, all part of the 30 plus carriers of Star Alliance. My ticket indicates AC-6690 which is on Turkish flight TK-1822. I will return on February 4th same route in reverse. 

In closing, I should note that it took one Courier company three days to express my new Credit Card to me from Toronto. This was one of the companies I contacted to price the return of my luggage from Istanbul. At that same speed, my luggage would have got here in about three years; Stay Safe.

January 17, 2022 The Unbelievable Part Two

 Since I carry a duplicate credit card in my luggage, I went to my bank and had the card frozen so that it could not be used. I carry two cards when out of Canada because I have had a card break in an ATM machine. This morning, I spent two hours attempting to get an estimate on the cost to have my luggage brought to Ottawa from Istanbul. I will not name the companies, but, the first one contacted had an Agent in Canada, she would not say where, but she had not heard of Istanbul, and I ended up terminating the discussion. Another company had their Agent in Asia, she knew her job, and gave me a quote based on the estimated size and weight of the three pieces of luggage. I will not be using a courier company to return my luggage. It would cost me between 1600 and two thousand U.S. dollars to do so.

For the cost of a courier, I can fly to Istanbul, claim my luggage, and spend a week or ten days in a hotel, which is what I am considering at this time. I already have my Turkish Visa, good for multiple entries until June 3. I also have my Turkish HES Code, which is equivalent to our QR code here in Ontario. I cannot book a flight or hotel until the mail brings my new Credit Card.

I will do an update when I get my card, and make some serious decisions./Stay safe, and watch out for those over zealous security types with the big egos!.    

Ottawa, January 16, 2022 - The Unbelievable Happened

 We had a quiet time in Istanbul for the last week that I was there. The weather was cooler, and we had some rain. On the morning of my departure, January 12, the temperature was 1 degree. As we had scheduled, a medical crew came to my hotel  the day before and completed the PCR test about 09:45. four hours later, the hotel received the email with the test report which was negative. On Wednesday, January 12, I departed for the airport in a shuttle arranged by the hotel. The quoted price would be 150 Turkish Lira, about 15 Canadian dollars. At the airport, I was charged an extra 100 Lira, which the driver insisted was the new price!. I went into the International Departures doors, and immediately into Primary Screening. I had three pieces of luggage, and put my heavy coat into a tray for the scanning. I reclaimed the luggage, and awaited the tray, but it was caught up in the scanner with another tray. I left my luggage, and stepped back about ten feet to await the coat. When I got the coat and tuned around to go to airline check-in, my luggage was gone. I have not seen it since. I came home with my passport, airline ticket, negative PCR report and my Boarding Pass. For the next two hours, I was taken from Security to the Airport Lost and Found, police, and around the same trip gain, only on this trip it was what appeared to be higher authority. Right at the beginning, I was told that, "it was probably an over zealous Security Agent" that tours on a cart. When I checked in for my flight with Turkish Airlines, the Agent told me that if found, they would put it on the next flight to Montreal and on to Ottawa....the next day. For the next three days, I was busy with emails back and forth to the staff at Istanbul Airport. I was told at the airport that because it was so large, there are several Lock-Up rooms for lost items. Yesterday morning, (January 16), I received an email that my luggage was found in one of the lock-ups. That was a great relief, but, I soon found that the Agent who assured me the luggage would be sent here did not know the rules. Since the airline did not yet have possession of the bags, they could not take the luggage without the passenger. Today, I received an email stating that I would need to either have someone claim the bags for me, or find and ship the luggage with a Courier Company. I would not ask my friend to take possession, as my luggage would still be in Istanbul. (I will continue this saga on a new posting.)   

Istanbul January 4, 2022

 I hope everyone had a safe and Happy New Year. Here in Istanbul, it was very quiet, probably due to the pandemic situation. On January 1, most establishments, with the exception of dining areas were closed until 2;00 P.M. To date, not many rules in place here, but we do our best to distance from others and wear a mask when outside, and in malls, etc. All must show the QR code when entering malls.

On December 29, we took metro trains to the main downtown area to explore the building known as The Grand Mosque. It is also known as Hagia Sophia, which was built as an Orthodox church back in 360 A.D. It is made of stone and cement, but for the first two hundred years, the dome was made of wood. Two fires over that time destroyed the roof, and made it unuseable for years at a time. In the year 537, the first Byzantine Empire leader, Constantine, had the roof replaced and the building was completed to what we see today. It is said that several thousand could be inside at one time. Shoes are removed at the entrance, and the floor is covered in what seems to be a seamless carpet of a pleasing green color. There are no seats. In the stone ceiling are pictures of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. This building just became a mosque a few years ago by an agreement between Muslim and Christian groups. We are told that it, and the nearby "Blue Mosque", (which also was owned by other faiths,) are the only two mosques in the world with pictures inside. 

On December 30, we went to the Isfanbul Mall, (that is the correct spelling) and explored the area. This mall is a series of round buildings interconnected with open walkways, and is located next to what is locally called Disneyland Istanbul. Since it was a rainy day, we went there while Hussian was in school so there would be no pressure to go inside the park. There is a huge Roller Coaster, Zip Line and a Castle similar to the other Disney sites. I was unable to find out if it was a read or imitation look alike. We did explore an upside-down house, which is a structure built like a house with the roof at the bottom. All fixtures in each room are mounted on the ceiling....including the bath fixtures. Quite a novelty.

I will be departing here one week from tomorrow for my return to Canada. On Tuesday, a nurse will come to my hotel and do a PCR test, and I will await in the hotel until I get the results six or eight hours later....the cost is under 20 dollars Canadian!.

We have a quiet week ahead, with my friend expecting family from London. I expect my next update to be from my home in a white, cold Ottawa . This week we have 14 degrees and sun here.