Originally Posted by
x1achilles
I did this a few months ago with an ongoing flight to ATH. They direct you to a transit lounge and you never go through passport control, avoiding the visa. If you have a few hours, its worth it to leave the airport and go see the Agia Sofia or Grand Bazaar. Americans only have to pay €20 unless they've raised the fee recently. And its granted on the spot.
^^^
This is true - I like to fly Turkish because the IST lounge is so awesome. It's easy and as mentioned, even if you needed a visa, it's simple. Unfortunately, I have yet to leave the airport, but maybe some day my layover will be long enough.