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.

Me, Steph and Kirk about to split up in Istanbul

Taxsim Square, Istanbul

Grasses at sunset in Samandagi

The archway and observation tower in Harran

Evening in Sanliurfa

The ruins of St. Simeon

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

Freighter ships on the Bosphorus

Dinner boat on the Bosphorus

Getting a concensus on directions

Arriving to rain in Antakya

Hiking the ridge above St. Peters in Antakya

An orange vendor in Harran

Our dusk tour of the Hittite rock garden in Yesemek

The cave restaurant in Sanliurfa

Steph and I riding a motorcycle with a sidecar in Sanliurfa

Small produce market near Kirk’s house in Istanbul

Driving at night back to Antakya

Pegasus Airlines

An antique Zenith watch for sale at the market in Istanbul

Finding our hotel room

Steph and the Euphrates river

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

Looking off into the mountains from Antakya

Looking out onto the Euphrates.

Steph looking at photos with a local kid in Harran

A local shepard and his flock on the side of the road in Yolbasi

Dilapidated houses in Adana

Driving west, then north out of Antakya

The inside of the church in the cave

Dried Eggplant shells in Antakya

Kirk and Steph checking the guidebooks in Adana

Hassan, a local resident

Roof of the Aya Sophia

Medusa Head in the Cistern

A backhoe coming down Kirk’s street in Istanbul

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.

Broken Turkish Pottery

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

Fishermen in Istanbul

Driving through the mountains near the Med

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

Street food in Istanbul

Having tea on the banks of the Euphrates with locals

Blizzard conditions landing back in Istanbul

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

A chef distributing pestashio on to baklava at Chadas in Gaziantep

Local kids in Vaikifle

More dolmush rides

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

Fruitstand in Istanbul

Taking the dolmush from Adana to Antakya

Looking out to the horizon from the mountains in Vaikifle

Steph in the doorway of the Armenian Church

Me driving through flood waters in Samandag

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

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

Early morning walk to go to the Istanbul airport.

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

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

Sunset in Samandagi

Local schoolkids clamoring to say hello to us in Kilis

Street food in Adana

Riding the dolmush through Belen, Tureky

Ruins of a castle in Kozan

Getting Sahlep in Antakya

Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

The Cisterns in Istanbul

Street feeling in Kilis

Turkish Delight

Sunday night dinner at Kirk’s House

The Mosque in Kilis

Juggling oranges on a street side fruit stand.

Looking into the cut from the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Our sketchy hotel in Sanliurfa

The Hittite rock musieum in Yesemek

Ataturk in Adana

Arriving in Sanliurfa

Talking to the hotel staff in Adana

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

Beehive houses in Harran

Inside the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Climbing the ridge above St. Peters

Green spices at the market in Antakya

Candle lanterns at the market in Istanbul

Kirk negotiation for homegrown tobacco in Sanliurfa

Sunset in Samandagi

Kirk with the windfarm in the background

Olive vendors on the corner in Gaziantep

Doerta cooking up a delicious German dinner.

Us with our Turkish friends in Yesemek

Buying clementines in Antakya

Sketching and sailing up the Euphrates river

Stephanie and I inside the cave in Antakya

Steph standing on the beach

Goats in Harran

Catholic church courtyard in Antakya

Sundown in Yesemek, Turkey

—

Israel Photos Slide Show on Flickr