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.

Arriving to rain in Antakya

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

Olive vendors on the corner in Gaziantep

Arriving in Sanliurfa

Doerta cooking up a delicious German dinner.

Green spices at the market in Antakya

Small produce market near Kirk’s house in Istanbul

Candle lanterns at the market in Istanbul

Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Hiking the ridge above St. Peters in Antakya

Me, Steph and Kirk about to split up in Istanbul

Kirk with the windfarm in the background

Steph in the doorway of the Armenian Church

An antique Zenith watch for sale at the market in Istanbul

Steph and I riding a motorcycle with a sidecar in Sanliurfa

Driving west, then north out of Antakya

Street food in Adana

Beehive houses in Harran

The ruins of St. Simeon

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

A backhoe coming down Kirk’s street in Istanbul

Buying clementines in Antakya

Sunset in Samandagi

Looking out to the horizon from the mountains in Vaikifle

Kirk and Steph checking the guidebooks in Adana

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

Inside the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Early morning walk to go to the Istanbul airport.

Goats in Harran

Broken Turkish Pottery

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

Catholic church courtyard in Antakya

Steph standing on the beach

Us with our Turkish friends in Yesemek

Sketching and sailing up the Euphrates river

Street feeling in Kilis

Local kids in Vaikifle

Looking into the cut from the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Dilapidated houses in Adana

Local schoolkids clamoring to say hello to us in Kilis

Evening in Sanliurfa

Blizzard conditions landing back in Istanbul

Grasses at sunset in Samandagi

More dolmush rides

The cave restaurant in Sanliurfa

Freighter ships on the Bosphorus

Fishermen in Istanbul

Looking off into the mountains from Antakya

Driving through the mountains near the Med

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

Steph looking at photos with a local kid in Harran

Getting a concensus on directions

Dinner boat on the Bosphorus

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

Sunset in Samandagi

Taxsim Square, Istanbul

The archway and observation tower in Harran

The inside of the church in the cave

Medusa Head in the Cistern

Getting Sahlep in Antakya

The Cisterns in Istanbul

Me driving through flood waters in Samandag

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

Stephanie and I inside the cave in Antakya

Taking the dolmush from Adana to Antakya

Kirk negotiation for homegrown tobacco in Sanliurfa

The Mosque in Kilis

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

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

Having tea on the banks of the Euphrates with locals

Driving at night back to Antakya

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

Fruitstand in Istanbul

Turkish Delight

The Hittite rock musieum in Yesemek

Talking to the hotel staff in Adana

Hassan, a local resident

Sundown in Yesemek, Turkey

Sunday night dinner at Kirk’s House

Our sketchy hotel in Sanliurfa

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.