Türkiye 2/1/2020 - 2/9/2020 |
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Sunday, 2/9/2020 - DepartureWe awoke at 6 a.m. and enjoyed a final breakfast at the extensive buffet. Breakfast has been so wonderful at both hotels...we will miss this. We checked out of the hotel at 8:45 and met up with Toplum in the lobby. We met Mehmet at the car at 9 o'clock, and arrived at the airport by 9:30.When we checked in at the airport, we requested wheelchair service for Craig at our layover airports. When we boarded our plane, they told us to wait until everyone else had deplaned before disembarking with the other passengers with diabilities. Since Craig is capable of climbing stairs, he usually boards and disembarks on his own, and meets a wheelchair on the jetway. Of course we agreed to their procedures. When we arrived in Istanbul, we said our goodbyes and thank you's to Toplum as he deplaned. We had really enjoyed our time together, and he had taught us so much! After the crowds had disembarked, the crew opened the center starboard door of the plane and directed us through. We had no idea what to expect here; we jhad never experienced anything like it. We, along with several other passengers with mobility issues, stepped into the back of a box truck. The ground staff only knew a couple of words of English, but they directed Craig to a wheelchair and me to a regular seat within the truck. The truck made its way to the terminal and then descended to ground level on hydraulics so that the passengers wouldn't need to walk down stairs. An elderly Turkish lady wearing a babushka was seated next to me. We didn't share a common language. Smiling, she put her hand on top of mine, and gently stroked my chin and arm. She gestured to inquire whether I was with Craig. I nodded and her smile got even bigger. The interaction was so sweet and genuine! An attendant pushed Craig's wheelchair into the terminal, and then transferred him to one of the coolest wheelchairs we have ever seen. It was electric, and the attendant stood on the back and steered it with a joystick. I had to hustle to keep up as they transported Craig around the airport. We waited at the gate until it was time to board. At pretty much every other airport we have been to, passengers in wheelchairs are boarded first. We were awaiting the announcement, but were surprised when they started the general boarding announcements by row. I went to inquire at the desk, where I was told that they board wheelchairs last here. Of course my first instinct was to stay with Craig. But they kept calling group after group and an enormous boarding queue was forming. We feared that if I waited to board with Craig, we might not have space for our carry-on luggage. We decided that I should board first. I had to make sure that I left Craig with everything he needed (boarding pass, passport, etc.) and that I had what I needed as well. I normally keep both of our paperwork together; we normally don't split up. I joined the boarding queue. It moved slowly as it snaked through hallways and down staircases. We popped out at an exit door, where we were loaded onto buses in batches. I was carrying both of our bags awkwardly as I jammed into the bus. After they packed as many people as possible onto the bus, we began our journey to the plane. We seemed to drive forever. I was getting further and further away from Craig, and I wondered how long it would take them to get him several miles to where the plane was parked. I boarded the plane and found our seats. I got settled and stowed our bags in the overhead compartment. I kept my eyes peeled, expecting to see Craig boarding soon. The plane filled up, and still no Craig. Thank goodness I had boarded when I did rather than waiting. I asked a flight attendant about the status of wheelchair passengers, and was told that they were on their way. I wasn't too concerned, until they announced that boarding had completed. The seat next to me was still empty. I could just picture myself stuck on a transatlantic flight while Craig is left behind in the Istanbul airport with no luggage, money, or phone. I hurried to find a flight attendant, saying that boarding couldn't be complete because my disabled husband still wasn't on board. They told me that they were trying to open the mid-plane door to let them in from another box truck, but a guy was blocking door with luggage. I could see the ground crew knocking on the window, trying to gain access to the plane. It was a comedy of errors. Craig meanwhile having a grand old time with his fellow wheelchair passengers. He had a nice conversation with a lady from Baghdad. They finally got the passenger out of the way and were able to open the door. I greeted Craig as he entered and led him to our seats. By now there was no additional luggage stowage, so once again I was grateful that I had boarded earlier. The seats were really tight; the rows were way to close to one another. Once someone leaned back you had zero room. It was an uncomfortable flight, but at least we had both made it onboard! I read The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk, while Craig found himself intrigued by Alita Battle Angel on his neighbor's screen. For dinner, Craig had Turkish meatballs with an Efes beer and I had rigatoni with mushroom sauce with a Turkish cabernet. We had fig chocolate pudding for dessert. Everything was delicious. The flight we had originally booked was direct to Boston, but that flight had been canceled and we had been rerouted through D.C. It was frustrating to fly right over Boston en route! We suspected that maybe the flight patterns had changed due to Coronavirus. We landed at Dulles at 7 p.m. The Global Entry machine wouldn't read my fingerprints properly, so we had to see a human. Luckily there was no line. The agent asked if we had been to China in the past two weeks (zeitgeist COVID-19, which at that time was largely confined to China). For some reason my ticket didn't have "TSA Pre-Check" printed on it like it should have, so we had to go through a normal security line. Luckily security was not busy at all. Our gate was next to Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, the extremely friendly manager gave us samples of their pretzel pieces. They were delicious, and we ended up buying an order with salt and butter, and one with cinnamon and sugar. They were delicious! Our flight took off at 10:15 p.m. We had bulkhead seats, so we were very comfortable and I was able to sleep for the duration of the short flight. We landed in Boston at 11:45 p.m. By 12:01 a.m., we had collected our luggage and caught a cab. We were home by 12:30 a.m., and our cats were quite happy to see us! |
 Breakfast  Selfie with Toplum at Izmir Airport  Wheelchair services at Istanbul Airport See all photos from February 9 |
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