Well it's a little after midnight and my day ended with what I sort of thought would happen. All the flights to Tbilisi are cancelled and I'm stuck for the short term here in Istanbul. Turkish Airlines hooked me up with a hotel right across the street from the Blue Mosque. So I can't really complain since I have such a nice view in such an ancient and historic city. I shot this from my balcony.




For awhile I was batting around the idea of catching a plane to northern Turkey and then getting on a bus with a few Georgians I met here at the airport. They are stranded and desperate to get home and think the bus route is the quickest way home. It entails a 18 to 24 hour bus ride along the Black Sea and into the mountains and that is only if the border is open and safe to cross. They could end up waiting on the border a couple days. The hard part of my decision making here in Turkey is that my mobile phone can neither make or receive calls so I can't plan anything with the producer in Tbilisi. The Turkish government has blocked any phone that is not registered with the government in order to prevent terrorists from using them as detonators. So i've been using my Blackberry messenger to text a producer in Washington who in turn texts the producer in Tbilisi. After a few hours, it was decided that I should stay where I am since the odds of air travel being restored soon are pretty good. There's a flight tomorrow at 1330 and another at 2330. I hope the earlier one goes and I can get on it. Although the Istanbul airport is really well outfitted with shops and restaurants, I'm not sure a full day there will keep me sane.

        

 

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