May 4, 2022– Flight to Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan

From Turkey, we were up early to get everything packed and were on our way to the airport about 9:30.  Belal was driving for us again today.

The Istanbul airport is pretty gigantic.  Did a lot of walking to get from one place to another.  The tour company included a guide to help us through the checking process…so it was a painless process.  After getting through security, we hung out at the Business Class lounge.  We had a snack at the lounge as we had opted not to eat breakfast.

We had a decent view of some of the waterways around Istanbul as we took off. 

And we were given a very nice meal.  We are flying on Uzbekistan Air and business class food was very good.  The photos are of just the appetizers and dessert.  

The seats didn’t recline all the way but Mary managed a nap anyway.

We were picked up at the airport by our guide and driver and were at the hotel before very late. 

After checking in we walked over to the nearby restaurant where Tara and the other two travelers, Pei Jing and Donna, were having dinner.  We just had a soda.  We were still full from our lunch on the flight.

We were both pretty tired and were in bed at a reasonable hour.