Istanbul, Turkey Here I Come…
Traveling to Istanbul, Turkey happened on whim; a lark figuratively speaking. It was a Wednesday night, my friend and I were sitting at our usual table inside of the local pizzeria in Clovis, California having beers, a large mushroom and olive pizza when out of the blue the conversation turned to an acquaintance who was traveling to Turkey to undergo a hair transplant procedure. During our back and forth dialogue we simultaneously tried to figure out why this individual was traveling so far away for hair transplants and Turkey was one of those exotic places you hear or think about visiting, but the idea seemed too far-fetched to actually consider traveling there. The conversation meandered to other subjects and by the end of the evening we noticed a common thread emerging; we wanted to travel to Istanbul. I left the restaurant conflicted. I didn’t know how to tell my wife I was going to Turkey in a couple of months with a group of guys who she barely knew.
Three days later I gathered the courage and explained to her my wild ambitions. At first, she didn’t believe me as though I was speaking a different language or had lost my bearing on reality. Slowly I was able to show her I was serious at which point she wanted to know the financial cost. We figured out the roundtrip plane trip from Fresno to Istanbul was about $1,400.00 USD with travel insurance due to the pandemic, seven nights in a decent hotel (Double Tree Hotel Topkapi) was approximately 500 to 600 dollars, and food costs were minimal. With those numbers agreed upon, she was fully on board and supportive! I must say, my wife is pretty awesome.
The following Wednesday, I arrived at the pizzeria and immediately kick started the conversation about traveling to Istanbul. My friend was leery, reserved, and questioning the process. The beauty of the internet is I could show him the price structure on Expedia while simultaneously convincing him our costs were minimal once in country because of the extremely favorable US Dollar to Turkish Lira exchange rate (at the time of travel it was eight Turkish Lira to one US dollar). After two steins of Mind Haze IPA and a large pizza, we made the decision to go to Istanbul.
Within a week, I had scheduled my PCR-COVID test at CVS pharmacy (even though I’m vaccinated), bought my round-trip plane ticket, and began searching for hotels near where our friend was having his hair transplant procedure. I had “zero” prior knowledge about Istanbul which led me to the ludicrous conclusion that the Double Tree Hotel Topkapi, located on the European side of Istanbul, was in some type of bouget district. It took a 14-hour plane trip to teach me Istanbul has the unique distinction of having one part of the country in Europe and the other in Asia. Maybe it goes without saying; I think high school Geography class failed me?! The other aspect of Turkey I learned was it is a go to destination for high level cheap plastic surgery which is why my new friend had booked a trip half way across the world to take care of his receding hair line.
The Friday before my Monday departure, I sat in line at my local CVS pharmacy and completed the mandated COVID test. It was a simple do it yourself process proctored by a nurse or doctor or pharmacy tech who watched me stick the nasal swab in both my nostrils from behind the protective drive-thru glass window. Forty-eight hours later I received an email that I was COVID free and by Tuesday I was standing on the other side of the globe in Istanbul airport tired, excited, nervous, slightly scared, and hoping someone spoke English.
After walking out of the main terminal, we headed through several security checkpoints and had to pay some type of twenty-five-dollar tax before leaving the terminal to retrieve our luggage. I didn’t really understand the process, and I still can’t tell you what the tax was for, but there was no way around it.
Money
- When I traveled to Turkey, the exchange rate for USD to Turkish Lira was extremely favorable and allowed me the freedom to experience Istanbul without many financial constraints. The exchange rate at time of writing was eight Turkish Lira to one USD. One of the perks related to exchanging money at an airport kiosk was upon my return they would exchange my Turkish Lira back to USD at the same rate. I thought this was a good deal and the fees were relatively low.