Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Istanbul to Houston. Left side wins both ends of the flight. The Istanbul departure offers genuinely spectacular geography — the Marmara, Bosphorus, and city — while the Houston arrival gives you the best angle on the skyline. The long transatlantic cruise over the North Atlantic and eastern US offers limited differentiation between sides at cruising altitude.

During takeoff from Ataturk (IST), sit on the Left side for the best views. Departing IST typically uses runways oriented east-west. A westbound departure climbing out over the Marmara Sea puts the left side facing south toward the Sea of Marmara, the Princes' Islands, and the Istanbul city skyline with the Bosphorus strait. The right side faces north over suburban sprawl with far less visual interest. Notable sights include: Sea of Marmara and Princes' Islands, Bosphorus Strait with its two suspension bridges, Istanbul historic peninsula with visible dense urban fabric, Büyükçekmece lagoon to the west.

When landing at George Bush Intcntl Houston (IAH), sit on the Left side for the best views. IAH runways are oriented roughly north-south. Arriving from the northeast on a southwesterly approach, the left side faces southeast toward downtown Houston's skyline, which becomes clearly visible during the descent through 8,000-10,000 feet. The right side looks northwest over flat suburban sprawl with no distinguishing features. Notable sights include: Downtown Houston skyline visible to the southeast, Buffalo Bayou corridor cutting through the urban grid, Lake Houston reservoir to the east, flat Texas coastal plain patchwork of subdivisions and highway interchanges.

The flight from Ataturk (IST) to George Bush Intcntl Houston (IAH) takes Approximately 13 to 14 hours nonstop.

The route tracks northwest over Bulgaria and Romania, crosses the Black Sea coast, then heads over central Europe toward the North Atlantic. The transatlantic crossing passes south of Greenland and Iceland. Over North America the route descends over the northeastern US, crossing the Appalachian Mountains — visible as a wrinkled dark ridge system — then the flat Mississippi River valley and Gulf coastal plain into Houston.