Traveling Through Turkey and Israel – Photos

Traveling through Turkey and Israel in December 2008, I managed to take roughly 1500 photos with my brand new Canon G10. The new camera was great, and the wide angle 28mm lens, ND filter, and full manual control were great to have in the field. I started the trip with 8gb and 2gb memory cards, and, shooting on JPEG fine, managed to start filling up the 8gb card way too early in the trip. Although I hate to do it, I actually did edit photos while I was traveling. In the end, I ended up with about 1200 photos. Out of those, I’ve edited them down to the top 100 or so. These photos I feel best represent the trip, and should give a good feel of the varying environments and sites of both Turkey and Israel.

I also took about 45 minutes of video, which I’m in the process of editing down to a presentable reel.

Sketching and sailing up the Euphrates river

Steph in the doorway of the Armenian Church

Hiking the ridge above St. Peters in Antakya

Steph and Kirk with our dinner the first night in Istanbul.

Researching for our next day’s adventures in our hotel room in Antakya

Dinner boat on the Bosphorus

Sunday night dinner at Kirk’s House

Broken Turkish Pottery

Grasses at sunset in Samandagi

Steph and the Euphrates river

Freighter ships on the Bosphorus

Buying clementines in Antakya

The ruins of St. Simeon

An antique Zenith watch for sale at the market in Istanbul

Faces carved into the rock above St. Peters church in Antakya

A chef distributing pestashio on to baklava at Chadas in Gaziantep

Goats in Harran

Looking off into Syria, on the border between Turkey and Syria

The inside of the church in the cave

The cave restaurant in Sanliurfa

The Cisterns in Istanbul

Inside the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Climbing the ridge above St. Peters

Early morning walk to go to the Istanbul airport.

Pegasus Airlines

Steph standing on the beach

Steph looking at photos with a local kid in Harran

Dried Eggplant shells in Antakya

Talking to the hotel staff in Adana

Driving west, then north out of Antakya

An orange vendor in Harran

Surveying the dramatic scenery as we drive to Bierecheck, in the canyons carved by the Euphrates

Me, Steph and Kirk about to split up in Istanbul

Catholic church courtyard in Antakya

Fruitstand in Istanbul

Taxsim Square, Istanbul

Local schoolkids clamoring to say hello to us in Kilis

Ruins of a castle in Kozan

Looking out to the horizon from the mountains in Vaikifle

Local kids in Vaikifle

Hassan, a local resident

Beehive houses in Harran

Driving at night back to Antakya

Juggling oranges on a street side fruit stand.

Me, Steph and Kirk standing on ruined pilars at St. Simeon

Taking the dolmush from Adana to Antakya

Getting Sahlep in Antakya

Kirk looking at the surviving arched cieling of the castle ruins at Kasaba

Having tea on the banks of the Euphrates with locals

Street feeling in Kilis

Green spices at the market in Antakya

Arriving to rain in Antakya

Our dusk tour of the Hittite rock garden in Yesemek

Sunset in Samandagi

Doerta cooking up a delicious German dinner.

Walking at night in Antakya. THe street had a movie set like feeling from the yellow, flat streetlights.

The Mosque in Kilis

Candle lanterns at the market in Istanbul

Kirk and Steph checking the guidebooks in Adana

Looking off into the mountains from Antakya

Getting a concensus on directions

Driving through the mountains near the Med

Our sketchy hotel in Sanliurfa

Blizzard conditions landing back in Istanbul

Medusa Head in the Cistern

Turkish Delight

The Hittite rock musieum in Yesemek

Olive vendors on the corner in Gaziantep

The archway and observation tower in Harran

St. Peters hidden Catholic church in Antakya – built into a natural cave

Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Us with our Turkish friends in Yesemek

Sundown in Yesemek, Turkey

Roof of the Aya Sophia

Stephanie and I inside the cave in Antakya

Looking out onto the Euphrates.

Steph and I riding a motorcycle with a sidecar in Sanliurfa

Fishermen in Istanbul

Sitting on the ledge watching the sun set on the Euphrates in Kasaba.

Looking into the cut from the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Street food in Adana

Riding the dolmush through Belen, Tureky

Local kid holding a lamb in Antakya. On this mountainside we met a shepard tending to hish flock. This kid hiked with us for a bit up onto the side of the mountain.