International travel during Omicron has been full of unforeseeable events: After our Saudi Arabia visa fell through, we changed our plan to instead visit two other Middle Eastern countries: Oman and Bahrain. All our flights, rental car, and accommodations were all set ready to go. Then the morning when we were scheduled to depart the US, my PCR test result came back positive, which was not expected since I had been working from home and travel had been kept to a minimal. Because of the test result I scrambled to cancel everything last minute and began my quarantine at home.
After experiencing only mild symptoms and completing my quarantine, we resumed travel and arrived in Istanbul and Cappadocia safe and sound. Although we came to Turkey during its coldest month of the year, avoiding the Christmas and New Year crowds appeared to be a smart choice and we were able to truly enjoy snowy Turkey during its low season.