My first blog and the harrowing flight to Turkey

This is my very first post on my very first blog. I will try hard to be interesting, but I make no promises. There is a call to prayer as I am writing this; it happens throughout the day, and is actually quite beautiful.

As you have probably gathered from the title, I am in Turkey. Why am I in Turkey? Well, I will be spending a couple of months here, with the majority of my time spent at Gordion Excavations, an archaeological site located in Central Anatolia. http://sites.museum.upenn.edu/gordion/

I will be working in the Objects Conservation Lab at Gordion. This is my first experience at a site, as well as my first trip to Turkey, so I am very excited.

The start to my trip was rather hectic. My relatively short layovers (there were three) were spent getting new boarding passes and going through multiple security checks. This, coupled with delays in New York due to bad weather, meant I missed my flight from Istanbul to Ankara. Luckily I was able to hop onto a later flight.

Note to travelers: Many airports in Turkey are not capable of handling customs, which is completed in Istanbul. Therefore, be ready for long lines right when you land, so incorporate enough time in your layover.

A few other people also missed the same flight. Turkish Airlines decided to make things interesting by double booking the seats, which was unnecessary, since the flight was hardly full. I was early to board, so I, along with several other passengers, played musical airplane seats for a solid 30 minutes before a flight attendant finally directed us to new seats.

Although I was able to take a later flight to Ankara, my checked luggage apparently did not join me. Perhaps it was enjoying the stay in Istanbul, had some Turkish coffee, maybe a glass of raki, and just didn't feel like moving on to Ankara. Luckily my bag finally continued on its journey and was delivered to my hotel.

Not the most enjoyable flight, to say the least. The concierge said that lost luggage is delivered to the hotel at least 2-3 times per week. That being said, the actual flights were great! Over 30 movies to choose from, and boy does Turkish Airlines knows how to feed you. I even got a full meal on the 1 hour flight to Ankara.

I will be in Ankara for a couple of days, visiting a couple of museums and getting a residence permit. Then onto Gordion!