Sit on the Right side of the plane for the best views on flights from Istanbul to Cape Town. Right side wins both the departure over Istanbul's waterways and the arrival with Table Mountain. During the long overwater cruise over East Africa, the right side also faces west toward the Nile Valley and East African Rift lakes, though these are only intermittently visible through cloud cover at cruising altitude.

During takeoff from Ataturk (IST), sit on the Right side for the best views. IST typically departs on runway 06 heading northeast, then turns south over the city. The right side gives you the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus strait, and the historic peninsula of Istanbul including the Old City. Left side gets the suburban sprawl of European Istanbul. Notable sights include: Bosphorus Strait, Sea of Marmara, Istanbul Old City peninsula (Sultanahmet/Hagia Sophia district), Prince's Islands.

When landing at Cape Town International (CPT), sit on the Right side for the best views. Cape Town International typically lands on runway 01 or 19. On the common runway 19 approach heading south, the right side faces west toward Table Mountain, the Cape Peninsula, and the Atlantic Ocean. Table Mountain's flat-topped silhouette is unmistakable from 20+ miles out and dominates the view on descent. Notable sights include: Table Mountain, Cape Peninsula, False Bay, Atlantic Ocean coastline.

The flight from Ataturk (IST) to Cape Town International (CPT) takes Approximately 10 to 11 hours.

The route tracks south over the Eastern Mediterranean, then crosses Egypt near the Nile Delta, continues over Sudan and the Nile Valley, crosses Ethiopia and the East African Rift system with lakes Turkana and Victoria visible on clear days to the right, then over Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Botswana before descending into Cape Town. The Sahara and Sahel transitions are visible as color changes in terrain from tan to brown to green. The Zambezi River and its floodplains may be visible in good conditions.