Jo and Betsy get acquainted

We landed between thunderstorms at Dulles with 4 hours to spare before our 11:25 PM international flight. At departure gate, we met up with Jo, a safari mate booked on the same flights as us. We all were committing our next 20 hours to Turkish Airlines, an unknown commodity. Turns out we had nothing to fear–we boarded a wide-bodied jet, settled in with the help of friendly flight attendants, went to sleep, and woke up 10 hours later near Istanbul after the smoothest flight ever.

Jumble of jets outside Istanbul terminal

The Istanbul airport is a bustling nexus of East meets West, filled with varied people and languages. There is such a jumble of jets moving in and out that many have to be boarded from the tarmac–there just aren’t enough jetways. Such was the case with our next leg to Dar Es Salaam.

While the flight to Dar wasn’t quite as smooth as the previous leg, the food, staffing, and movie selection were first-rate, and we arrived in Dar at 2:35 AM, breezed through customs, and found hotel transport waiting for us. It was 26 hours since we left Atlanta and, despite my apprehensions, Turkish Airlines made it an efficient and crisis-free trip.