Travel to Kyrgyzstan

We started our journey on February 20 flying from Salt Lake to Paris(2 hr layover) then on to Turkey. Bill had to check his carry on(all the clothes to wear in Turkey and medications) with Air France going to Turkey because they said it was to big. We landed in Turkey on February 21 with 4 other volunteers 3 serving in Turkey and one in Kazakhstan. As we arrived at the luggage carousel we got all the bags except my carryon they had checked. Went to lost and found and after 45 min they told me it would be here the next day on the 6pm flight and that they would call when it arrived. They never called so Bill called them several times with no results. Then they said that the 6pm flight was cancelled that day and said it would be on the next day flight(Feb 23) at 6pm. We were flying out that next day at 950pm to go to Kyrgyzstan. The President ordered a van to take us to the airport after it arrived it had mechanical problems so we had to order another one. The airport is about 45 min away with no traffic. 2 hrs later we arrived at the airport and they said they had our bag but we had to go to Air France to pick up. After 25 min and some run around we finally received Bill's bag. Robin checked our luggage in and per Turkish Airlines we were over weight. $126.00 later we were able to go to passport control but of course we had a problem there as well. As we waited in line for 15 min. Robin was flagged to report to the Chief Inspector upon arrival so she had to go over there and they asked her to show her entry airline ticket to Turkey but she only had Bill's because hers was used for his lost luggage. Problem! Air France kept her copy when he retrieved it. So after showing them Bill's ticket they let her go on but she needed to wait in line again. Upon entering the airplane Bill thought that we were in row 9 D & E so he put his coat on the seat and loaded his luggage but we were in 19 D & E so he removed the baggage and proceeded to row 19 but Bill forgot his coat on the seat. He went to retrieve it but the guys that were in the seat said they put it up behind their luggage so Bill decided to get it when he got off. You guessed it! He forgot to get it. The driver ask if Bill had a coat then he realized he had forgotten to get it off the plane so the driver and Sister Carter went up to lost and found and retrieved my coat. Problems solved for the day NOT!!! We proceeded to go to the car and the driver could not unlock the car, so for 10 min. in the freezing cold we waited until he was able to get it opened and we were finally on our way to Bishkek. We simply have the best apartment in the area. Wood and tile floors, 2 bedrooms, lock security gate into complex with security guards at the entrance. We are in the area kind of ritzy area where many Expats live. The Carter's let us sleep for a couple of hours and at noon we met them for a walk through the City. We had lunch at this quaint little restaurant that only had round tables for 2 but had a counter with 4 chairs. We had cheese steak sandwich's with a Sprite. We then went to several shopping areas 2 hours on the town and Robin had already found what she wanted. We bought 5 nativity yurts and a table runner (large scarf). She was looking for a curling iron but here they were $50 so she passed for now hoping to find one somewhere else cheaper. Cost for goods is pretty close to U. S. except for somethings like electronic goodies(shavers, hair dryers, curling irons) The food seems reasonably priced in restaurants but a lot of store bought things are  pretty close to U.S.
We are going to start our picture blog with the arrival in Turkey and go from there. Ta