From Departure to Arrival: The First Chapter of My Turkish Adventure

Monday. The day had finally arrived. The day my Erasmus adventure in Istanbul was set to begin. I woke up early after a surprisingly good night’s sleep, packed the last few things into my bag, and ate a quick bite before getting in the car. The drive to the airport normally feels long, but today it felt endless.

Not even a minute into the drive, I checked my phone. A notification from the airline app popped up, and my heart sank. ‘You have been rebooked.’ My direct flight—the one that was supposed to get me to Istanbul in a few short hours—had been changed to a flight with a transfer. My afternoon arrival turned into a late-night one. My simple journey had just become an entire day of travel.

he second airport, however, was a different story. Everything was the opposite of smooth. The layout was confusing, and even after navigating my way to security, I was pulled aside. Both of my hand luggage bags were completely checked, and I spent what felt like an eternity waiting before I finally made it through.

After waiting for two hours, I boarded my first flight. Before I even realised, I already landed again. On this airport everything was the opposite of smoothly. It was difficult to navigate around this airport, but eventually I found my way. At the security both of my hand luggage bags got completely checked, and after waiting for a long time I made it through.

Again, I waited, and I waited. I was sitting at my gate, and suddenly I hear my name being called to the deskAfter months of meticulous planning and countless emails with the university, I was almost denied boarding. The reason? My visa. My visa which I did not have, because I thought I did not need one.

To be clear, I asked the university which I will be studying at, if I not need a visa. My university kept telling me that I don’t need a visa. And in consultation with the university in my home country and extensive research on the internet, we trusted this advice. I showed all the papers that were required (at least the ones that I thought were required), but also this was not enough. So, I had to book a flight home earlier, within the limit of days that I’m allowed to stay without a visa. This is a short-term solution, which I will hopefully fix as soon as I talk with the internation coordinator of my university. Later you will hear more about it, when I will make an extensive post about this.

These are the things that you want to have prepared extremely well, and from my own experience, I can say that it is so difficult to find some certainty beforehand.

After gaining access to the plane just in time, and some hours flying, I finally landed in Istanbul. Here there were fortunately no problems, and I entered the country. Istanbul Airport is the airport that I landed on, which is a massive airport. It is quite far, walking from the gate to the exit of the airport. There I took a yellow taxi to the hotel.

After more than sixteen hours of traveling, I finally arrived. The taxi ride to the hotel was a blur, but the moment I arrived, all the stress from the day melted away. I slept amazingly. The next day, after getting the keys to my apartment, everything went smoothly. My first walk through the city was overwhelming—the streets were crowded, and sounds came from every direction—but it was also incredible. I ate a delicious simit and spent hours walking around, taking it all in. I’m starting to feel settled now, and soon my first day at university will be here. I’m excited and a little nervous. The journey is over, but the adventure has just begun.

Next time: The first days on campus

For now, thank you for reading and hopefully till soon!

Let me know how you will prepare for the journey to Istanbul? Or how did your journey go? And Don’t forget to follow me on social media.

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