When I was living in Istanbul, I would fly Turkish Airlines from Toronto to Istanbul (and vice versa) with some regularity. I always enjoyed the flight, what with Turkish Airlines being my favourite airline, but I quickly learned just a little while back that business class on Turkish Airlines is another ballgame altogether.

For those who don’t know my story, I’ll rewind a bit, just to paint a picture.

Bri and I lived in the Osmanbey neighbourhood of Istanbul from 2014-2017, during a time of great transition for the city. There were ups and there were downs, but what remained constant was our never-ending love and appreciation of what we’ve both come to feel is the greatest city on the planet. We were teaching there, and were both incredibly fortunate to gain sincere insight and understanding into the culture, and to be welcomed with open arms. For a while there, it didn’t just feel like a home away from home - it felt like home.

In 2017, we moved back to Toronto. Bri went back into teaching, and I chased this whole blogging thing full-time, and it’s all worked out great. At first, I think I was a little lost, but as time passed, I regained my love for Toronto. The truth is, my family is in Toronto, and I’ve got so many close friends here, so it was only a matter of time before I got back into the groove.

I love Toronto. I’m proud to be from here (exemplified by my ebook on Toronto), and adore living here, but when Bri and I got the chance to team up with Turkish Airlines to head back to Istanbul, we leapt at the chance to go back.

The sights, sounds, and smells of Istanbul - well, they never leave you. They wait in your heart to be revived, and I think some part of you always knows that.

As you can imagine, our Turkish Airlines Toronto to Istanbul flight was a gleeful occasion for us both, especially as we were finally going to get the chance to fly business class on Turkish Airlines.

What I want to do today is talk about our Turkish Airlines Business Class experience, and especially our flight on the way there, which was in a way this beautiful bridge of reintroduction for us back to Turkey. The hospitality we experienced on the flight reacquainted us with what we cherished so deeply about our second home, so that when we landed, we were already in the mindset and headspace we needed to be to make the most of our journey.

It also didn’t hurt that our chairs reclined into little beds, so we were quite well rested, but I’ll get to all that later.

What is Business Class on Turkish Airlines All About?