Second leg of the travel journey after spending four hours in Marseilles was MRS to SAW in Istanbul. This was my first time flying with Pegasus Airlines, and I’m not a huge fan.
Leaving Marseilles
Hopped on board the Airbus A320 heading to Istanbul. The aircraft was dirty and there was no air circulation resulting in strong and stagnant smells. I was incredibly lucky however. When I checked in, I was allotted an isle seat but notice an unclaimed window after all passengers were aboard. I asked the flight attendant if I could move seats and she said yes, after take off. Hallelujah! I am a window girl.
It was cloudy leaving Marseilles but as we crossed over Bulgaria and headed for Istanbul, the clouds began to clear.
Istanbul harbour was packed with cargo ships, a cool sight. I had never seen a commercial harbour so busy.
The landing was the opposite of butter, as bumpy and hard as a wooden roller coaster ride.
Down safe, that’s all that matters.
SAW Istanbul
There are two airports in Istanbul. IST is the biggie on the European side and SAW is the smaller one on the Asian side. SAW was packed when I landed at 8pm.
Unfortunately, because my tickets were all purchased separately, I had to clear customs and pick up my luggage. My next leg was not until the morning, so I spent the night outside of security at SAW with all of my baggage.
Many hours were spent in a Starbucks because it was located on the second level, and was quiet with comfy seating. This was also the only place in the entire airport I could find to charge my electronics.
At midnight I got the boot as the staff had to clean. I walked the entire terminal from departures to arrivals and back again. I eventually found two chairs where I tried to half lay down and rest for 2 hours. At 4am my hips felt bruised from the hard chairs so I started to walk once again.
Poor doggo, he found himself inside the terminal and was on the loose. He gave security a run for their money though. 😂
I ended back up at Starbucks, charged up again, had a plain Tall, regular brewed coffee that was €5.50 or $8.00 CAD!! Wowzers. The first time I was at this Starbucks the evening before, I also had the same coffee and a ‘bagel’ for $12.50 CAD. Definitely not consistent pricing between locations Starbucks! 😂
Though Security
Finally 6am rolls around and I can go through security. My next flight is not until 9:15am so I have plenty of time to roam. This side offers a beautiful shopping area in the middle, with a food court on the upper level.
The food available on this side of security is excellent. Have a look at these baked goods from one shop. The isles to the gates however are not clean nor entirely pleasant.
Visa
An FYI. I did have to apply for a Turkish Visitors Visa because my tickets were separate and I had to go through customs to collect my luggage. So passport control and customs on the way into Turkey and PC on the way out. The visa converted to $87 CAD and I can come and go from Turkey for the next 6 months.
Well its almost time, I’m on my last leg of the day, SAW to PDV!
