I’ve been in a lot of airports, but none as crazy as Dushanbe. Oh, sweet merciful cupcakes!
We arrived in the dark of night (1:30 a.m.), and hundreds of people were gathered outside the airport, blocking the doors as they waited for family members and friends. It was so chaotic that at first, we couldn’t even figure out how to get into the airport.
Once inside, we couldn’t find any check-in desks—just a glass wall and signs in Russian. I kept asking people, “Do you speak English?” in order to figure out where to check in and drop our bags. When I finally found a flight attendant who did speak English, he couldn’t help us. Later, he turned out to be the flight attendant for our section of the plane!
“Oh! You made it!” he said when I saw him again.
“You didn’t help us!” I said.
“I didn’t know myself! That was crazy,” he replied.
Apparently, the process is different every time!
We went through five baggage X-ray screenings and five passport checks. I still don’t understand why so many. But we finally made it to our gate, completely exhausted. 😵💫
Turkish Airlines’ free Touristanbul experience turned our long international layover into a memorable adventure: from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., they picked us up at the airport, treated us to a delicious Turkish breakfast buffet, guided us through several of Istanbul’s highlights, and returned us with plenty of time before our next flight. We were exhausted but delighted, feeling less like passengers and more like honored guests.
The last leg of our journey (from Istanbul to Tirana) felt like heading home to our brothers and sisters at Emanuel Church and a city I know and love. It helped to know that our dear friend Zef was meeting us at the airport.
The Sophia, and the Blue Mosque. Again, everything should be written in bright green. You had inside photos of the Blue, were you able to get inside the Sophia and get pictures? Amazing that the Sophia was built as the Church of a Nation and now it is a Mosque. Lots gets lost when that happens.
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