IAD and IST

Posted on by cassmob

My 2025 A to Z theme is Airports, Airstrips, Aircraft, and Airlines I’ve known and flown with. I’ll be using IATA codes where they’re available. My inner travel agent emerges at this point as I’m the FTO (family travel organiser) and now, the online travel agent.

It may not be apparent so far, but I’ve mostly been adding airports in the chronological order in which I/we have visited them.

IAD      Washington Dulles Airport, Washington DC, USA

On our 1992 “grand tour” we were keen to visit Washington DC for various reasons.

My husband reminded me of an event at the airport. On the bus from the plane to the terminal, there were various serving military including one Air Force pilot with a F18 fighter jet manual. Having been fans of the Top Gun movie, this was something of an attention getter. <smile>

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was a highlight for us, though also very sad and sobering, especially the memorabilia left by friends and family. Unfortunately, the Vietnam Women’s Memorial wasn’t dedicated until 1993, a year later. I’d like to have seen that. Of course, we also visited the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, other popular sights including the Capitol at a distance.

Our other top favourite was the Air and Space Museum, which fits with this theme…we both love planes of all sorts.

Spirit of St Louis
Chuck Yeager’s X1 plane, Glamorous Glennis.
A DC3 and Boeing 247D

IST       Istanbul Airport, Istanbul, Türkiye

Istanbul is one of my top favourite cities – possibly #1. We absolutely loved visiting there in 2014. We actually sailed into Istanbul on an Oceania cruise – the only cruise we’ve done together. If you ever get a chance to arrive in Istanbul by sea, I’d highly recommend it. Istanbul straddles two continents: Europe and Asia, bridged by the Bosphorus Strait. It’s a fascinating blend of cultures and religions which have waxed and waned over the years. I do find the Islamic influences fascinating and as it was Ramadan when we were visiting we saw large family groups breaking their fasts in a picnic-like style in the park near our hotel. We did a food tour which was wonderful and we were introduced to so many interesting places. Definitely a to-do activity.

We departed Istanbul, en route for home in Darwin, but again took no photos as it was night-time. Instead, I’ll share some photos of Istanbul to give you a sense of the city.  You may also be interested in this blog post I wrote for the 2021 A to Z Challenge.

Family groups gather in the park in front of the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque.
These were actually tints to add to paint.
My husband checking out the food treats.
Delicious delicatessan on the Asian side.

I wonder if you’ve flown into, or departed from, either of these airports? If so, what did you most enjoy about the cities? What would be the favourite city you’ve visited?

11 thoughts on “IAD and IST”

  2. The colours of the tints to add to paint are marvellous. I would love to visit Istanbul.

    We flew into and out of Dulles Airport in 1989. We were flying from Boston to Los Angeles and did not know where we touched down – was it Dallas with a funny accent? Felt very ignorant – there was nothing about the airport that suggested Washington – not sure we even got out of the plane. I must have flown into the airport as a child but it was not memorable – mostly a good thing in airports I think.

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  3. We haven’t been to Washington but nearly had to go because of a near disaster. We were in Boston sitting in the tiny courtyard of our B&B with a glass of wine when John checked for his passport and found it was missing. Panic! We retraced our steps that day but many of the shops we had visited were closed. We decided we would have to fly to Washington and pick up a temporary passport, necessitating the cancelling of the rest of our holiday to Cape Cod. Next morning we tried the coffee shop we had been to the day before without much hope and unbelievably the passport was sitting on a shelf waiting for us. We couldn’t thank the owners enough. So we didn’t get to Washington.

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    1. Whew! You have to love honest proprietors! I’m pleased you got to Cape Cod, not Washington…did you enjoy the holiday? We’ve never been there. I’d love to hear about it.

      Losing your passport while overseas is a drama and a half. Peter had his stolen on a tram in Amsterdam on a Friday night (incl travellers cheques). Luckily I had mine plus separate travellers cheques so getting the passport reissued on Monday was not so much hassle. (Since then we always carry certified copies of certificates). Getting all our visas replaced was a massive drama.

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  4. I have actually flown into and out of that airport several times when visiting my sister who attended Howard University in the mid 1960s. I remember nothing about the airport.

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    1. Airports seem to induce minor anaesthesia so I’m not surprised you don’t remember details. I guess we’re focused on why we’re at a place, like seeing your sister, rather than the logistics…unless there’s a glitch.

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