u/Homebrewsailor

Hello All, I’ll be flying Turkish Airlines from NYC to Johannesburg with a 20 hour layover in Istanbul in August. I am thinking of checking a bag. Will I need to deal with it during the layover or will it simply be waiting to transferred to the final leg of the flight while I’m exploring Istanbul?
I’m hoping to use the free hotel option, but the timing is strange. I arrive at 5:30 am and depart at 1:30 am

Also the same thing in reverse on the return flight except with only a nine hour layover.

Any experienced fliers know the answer?
Thanks