So I made it to Tajikistan on August 4th, a bit later than expected. Delta's aging fleet meant I had to reschedule flights and ended up with half-day layovers in Paris and Istanbul. In Paris, I followed advice from a seatmate and took a train to the town center, along the River Seine. Here the city is a mixture of narrow corridors filled with street vendors and huge concrete museums and government offices. Had a good meal (lamb kebob and couscous) and then walked a bit, but the meal/hot sun/lack of sleep caught up with me. Ended up in the inner courtyard of the Louvre and, rather than going inside to view art, I found a shady concrete corner and took a much-needed nap before returning to the airport. There, I sorted through the usual travel issues (are my bags following me; no visa for Turkey, and sweaty clothes) before boarding for the next stage.
Arrived in Istanbul at 3:30 am local time and took 90 minutes to gather bags, clear customs, and check-in for the next flight. But Turkish Airlines wouldn't take my two heavy, checked-through bags until 4 in the afternoon. Didn't want to sit next my bags for 17 hours and didn't have cell service, so I used an airport travel agency to arrange a hotel and ride to downtown Istanbul. Arrived at 6, showered, and immediately slept for 3 hours. Hotel breakfast was olives, yogurt, cheese, melon and Turkish coffee - just what I needed. From there I took a short walk to the Grand Bazaar and spent the next three hours wandering its covered alleys. A loud, crowded, colorful market with hundreds of small vendors, the Bazaar made me feel like I was finally beyond the USA. I actually wasn't too interested in shopping - most everything was clothing, especially women's/chlidren's clothes - but the energy was captivating. Headed back to Le Petit hotel to take another shower before check-out time, then sat all afternoon in the hotel lounge to stay cool and catch up on emails. It's ironic that I was told to "bring your winter gear and just minimal summer clothes" but Paris, Istanbul, and Dushanbe are all over 90°. With air conditioning in short supply, I've already used up my lightweight shirts. Got a down parka, though.
Made it through Istanbul traffic and airport loading, customs, and passport control in about 2 hours. Sweltering airport full of 10,000 people that smells like a locker room. So interesting to see a mixture of people from eastern Europe, middle East, and north Africa. Lots of families, lots of Muslims in traditional clothing. And another irony...unlike everywhere else in the airport, the boarding gate for Tajikistan is dominated by westerners, at least half over 50. WTF? Mostly these are folks going on treks, with a smattering of government and NGO advisors. After another 4 hour overnight flight we landed in Dushanbe at 4 AM. A couple hours to clear customs and find the Embassy driver, a drive through deserted (and freshly washed, just like Oman) streets, then a drop-off at the Taj Palace hotel. Slept a few hours, ate breakfast (barely remember what except there was no coffee. Just Nescafe. Yuk), and slept even longer. Now I'll take a long walk at dusk to see what's up in Dushanbe.