I rarely fly, but these days when I do it seems like I’m always at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport waiting for a connecting flight. The wait seems like forever.

As with most airports, there’s not much to do at Ataturk except shop, and even that gets pretty boring. There’s only so much Turkish Delight a person can eat, and I don’t like it anyway. And other than that there’s not much about the shopping experience here I would consider unique.

I suppose if I was flying business class I could access the executive lounge, which is much more comfortable I am sure than battling for a hard plastic chair in the departure area. I have never flown anything except economy though. I can find better things to do with my money than pay those exorbitant prices; I’ll put up with being treated like a sardine if it saves some money.

It shouldn’t be this way. There must be something better to do with my time than sit in this airport for eight hours before they call the next flight.

Turns out there is, just not for me.

Turkish Airlines has 20 (!) free tours of Istanbul available for passengers in transit. I presume the idea is that a quick sample of what the city has to offer (the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and more) will bring you back with Istanbul as your destination rather than a connecting point.

I think that’s a great idea. I wouldn’t even mind paying the cost of a Turkish visa (because Canadians can’t enter the country without one) given that such cost would be offset by the free admission to the attractions and the included meal. But there is one insurmountable problem that I haven’t managed to figure out in my trips here.

The tours leave the airport at 9 am and noon and last six hours. Our flight from Canada arrives at 4 p.m. We leave at midnight for the next place. Coming back we arrive at Ataturk at 6 a.m. and leave at 2 p.m., one hour before the early tour gets back. Missed it again. I have seen Istanbul by night, and the city is a delight. But Turkish Airlines doesn’t offer evening tours to in-transit passengers.

I guess I can understand that. The popular tourist attractions aren’t open, so it would be pretty much just seeing the exterior of the famous sites. It would be fun though.

I wonder if other airlines or other airports offer something similar? I’ve never heard of it elsewhere, but then I haven’t traveled very much. And except at Ataturk I usually don’t have large chunks of time between the flights. But it does have me thinking.

If such a tour were offered in Ottawa I would expect the Parliament Buildings would be a must, but what else do you take people to see when you only have a few hours. A museum (we do have some good ones)? Some of our scenery? A boat cruise on the Rideau Canal (in the summer) or skating on the Canal (in the winter)? I know the must-sees in many of the world’s great cities, but it’s a lot tougher to decide when thinking about my hometown. I live in Ottawa, I’ve never had to read a guidebook.

Eight hours is a long time to wait between flights. Good thing I brought a book.