After being offline for a while and visiting numerous places in Europe, I recently returned online. I'm glad to be back in Nigeria as well, and I wanted to share my experience at the Turkish Airlines Istanbul airport terminal, which is considered the largest terminal building worldwide, under one roof.

This week, I spent one night at the airport before flying to Nigeria because my flight arrived at 11 p.m. and left at 9 a.m. Given that it was my first time using a terminal of that size, I was astonished by the beauty and size of the airport. I wanted to talk about my terminal experience in this post, and I'll talk about my flight with Turkish Airlines in my next post.

Please note that I am only going to talk about my transit experience at the Turkish Airlines airport terminal in Istanbul. I cannot comment on how the arrivals or check-in processes were since I did not pass immigration. I'll focus mainly on the size, appeal, cuisine, and price.

Due to the fact that I had a fine experience by myself, I don't even know what to say about the Turkish Airlines terminal.

Turkish Airlines Istanbul Airport Terminal

The enormous Istanbul airport terminal covers 1.440.000m2 and is regarded as the largest terminal building in the world. The brand-new, state-of-the-art terminal building is split into an Arrival zone and a Departure area.

Taking into account everything I learned, I can say that the Turkish Airlines airport terminal in Istanbul officially opened its doors in October 2018.

One report I found claims that the main airport opening occurred on April 5, 2019. As a result, the largest Istanbul Airport became the new operating base for all major Turkish airlines.

The airport has a single terminal and can accommodate about 100 million passengers annually. It is the largest terminal in the world, measuring roughly 15.5 million square feet.

Another construction project was ongoing while I was at the airport terminal. Despite the fact that the airport's main terminal is currently open

According to the information I've come to know, once the airport is finished, it will be the biggest in the world and be able to accommodate about 200 million passengers annually.

My Experience

I arrived late on Friday night at the Turkish Airlines airport in Istanbul. After stepping off the plane in a lavish and flamboyant fashion like the son of Solomon, I entered the terminal's first elevator and began looking for a place to stay the night so that I could catch my next flight in the morning. Little did I know that I had arrived in a miniature paradise.

First, I noticed a line of people waiting in front of a digital machine to scan their passports. After standing and watching them for a while, I learned that some were purchasing internet data and others were choosing the free hour option.

I discovered that you must enter your passport information into the machine before gaining access to the free WiFi, which is only available for an hour or purchasing internet data.

I had no other option but to join them in line and receive a free hour of WiFi.

I was able to connect to the internet at last, and as soon as I looked up, I noticed a large number of people walking continuously as if they were marching for Obi-datti.

I realized at that point that I would not be sleeping but rather walking around the terminal until the following day.

Nearly every location in the terminal had a charging port.

I walked around the entire terminal for eight hours, observing the faces of various racial groups and discovering new foods, clothes, cosmetics, and other items.

In most of the stores, I patronize, any purchase you make at the terminal must be made in Turkish Lira, US Dollars, or Euros.

Let me share my purchases of food, money exchange, and perfumes:

Food

I first looked for a restaurant where I could charge my phone and eat food that cost 13 euros, like pizza and spaghetti, before exploring the terminal and wandering around it like a lost sheep.

Money Exchange

I've noticed that whenever I want to buy something, people will tell me that the price is higher in euros. For example, when I wanted to buy a small bottle of water, I was told to pay 3 euros, but in lira, they said 25.

So, I go to the location where they exchange currency. My budgeted amount of 30 euros was changed to 250 lira. Maybe they cheated me, but I don't know.

Perfumes

Before I boarded my flight, the security personnel threw all of my cream and body spray into the trash bin. When I arrived in the Turkish Airlines airport terminal, I noticed "duty free" was written in most shops, so I purchased three perfumes from renowned clothing brands, including Versace.

Morning Food

I spent several hours exploring the terminal before getting hungry, so I stumbled upon a kabab restaurant and ordered a plate of food that cost me ten euros.

Note: It was a wonderful experience for me, but I won't be able to write everything because I don't want it to seem like I got paid for it. However, I did record the experience on video, which you can watch below. I also apologize if my writing is not very good.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWEBIq9ViR4&feature=youtu.be

Harkstetunz:
It was just some days ago that I was asking myself why Collins haven't posted in a while. Welcome back

CollinsWeGlobe:
Photos

emmaodet:


Well I don’t know if it is the biggest terminal but I think Dubai airport seems the longest.
It is has long as ikeja to oshodi from my observation where people use taxis/mini car to move from one place to other