Several of us left the hotel at 5:30 AM for the airport, which was surprisingly quiet. My flight would take me back to Istanbul, then onward to Vancouver, Canada. Because I was flying business class I had access to the magnificent Turkish Airlines lounge at the airport which offered shower facilities and wonderful food and drink. It was a great place to spend the 4+ hours I had to kill between my flights.

The flights were on time and I had a leisurely drive back to the USA and Burlington, WA where I met Yvonne who had driven up with our son Steve, to attend the National Ultimate FrisbeeTournament which happened to be scheduled that weekend in, of all places, Burlington, WA.  Why the interest? Our granddaughter, Zoe, who just completed her Junior year at Cornell (Ithaca, NY), is on the Cornell women’s club ultimate team that qualified for the national tournament. Unfortunately the ladies did not fair well in the tournament (their senior members could not attend the tournament because of graduation) but we did get to see her play and visit with her.

Epilogue:

-This trip is not for the casual traveler. We spent a lot of time moving from place to place and days were often long. Having said that it is an impressive area of the world to visit!

-The trip exceeded my expectations. The food and accommodations were way better than I had expected. The tour leader and local guides were outstanding. I learned a lot about the people, their culture, the land and its history.

– I was overwhelmed by the history in this part of the world and their efforts to document it in their museums.

-MIR Corporation did a marvelous job. I would certainly travel with them again if the opportunity arises.

– I am certainly glad I made the effort to visit the “Five Stans”, and added them to my “Countries Visited” list which now stands at 110! Hopefully I can add a few more to the list before…..Onward!