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.

Looking off into the mountains from Antakya

An antique Zenith watch for sale at the market in Istanbul

Hassan, a local resident

Ruins of a castle in Kozan

Kirk with the windfarm in the background

Hiking the ridge above St. Peters in Antakya

Local kids in Vaikifle

Looking out to the horizon from the mountains in Vaikifle

Sketching and sailing up the Euphrates river

Steph looking at photos with a local kid in Harran

The archway and observation tower in Harran

Candle lanterns at the market in Istanbul

Steph in the doorway of the Armenian Church

Dinner boat on the Bosphorus

Inside the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Sundown in Yesemek, Turkey

Riding the dolmush through Belen, Tureky

The ruins of St. Simeon

Looking out onto the Euphrates.

Driving at night back to Antakya

Roof of the Aya Sophia

Me, Steph and Kirk about to split up in Istanbul

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

Grasses at sunset in Samandagi

Broken Turkish Pottery

Our sketchy hotel in Sanliurfa

Street food in Istanbul

Olive vendors on the corner in Gaziantep

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

Turkish Delight

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

Sunset in Samandagi

Fishermen in Istanbul

Steph and the Euphrates river

Kirk negotiation for homegrown tobacco in Sanliurfa

Evening in Sanliurfa

Taxsim Square, Istanbul

Our dusk tour of the Hittite rock garden in Yesemek

Getting Sahlep in Antakya

The cave restaurant in Sanliurfa

The Hittite rock musieum in Yesemek

Green spices at the market in Antakya

Driving through the mountains near the Med

Buying clementines in Antakya

Doerta cooking up a delicious German dinner.

Ataturk in Adana

Medusa Head in the Cistern

Dried Eggplant shells in Antakya

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

Goats in Harran

Having tea on the banks of the Euphrates with locals

A backhoe coming down Kirk’s street in Istanbul

Steph and I riding a motorcycle with a sidecar in Sanliurfa

Arriving in Sanliurfa

The inside of the church in the cave

Arriving to rain in Antakya

Catholic church courtyard in Antakya

Fruitstand in Istanbul

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

Small town on the side of the Euphrates. Their mosque was flooded when the damn was build.

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

More dolmush rides

Getting a concensus on directions

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

Me driving through flood waters in Samandag

Beehive houses in Harran

Local schoolkids clamoring to say hello to us in Kilis

Small produce market near Kirk’s house in Istanbul

Looking into the cut from the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Early morning walk to go to the Istanbul airport.

Sunday night dinner at Kirk’s House

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

Talking to the hotel staff in Adana

Dilapidated houses in Adana

Steph standing on the beach

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.