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.

Doerta cooking up a delicious German dinner.

Our sketchy hotel in Sanliurfa

Sketching and sailing up the Euphrates river

Local kids in Vaikifle

Olive vendors on the corner in Gaziantep

Grasses at sunset in Samandagi

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

Looking out onto the Euphrates.

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

The Cisterns in Istanbul

Talking to the hotel staff in Adana

Fishermen in Istanbul

Me, Steph and Kirk about to split up in Istanbul

Driving through the mountains near the Med

Candle lanterns at the market in Istanbul

Sunset in Samandagi

Kirk and Steph checking the guidebooks in Adana

Street feeling in Kilis

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

Roof of the Aya Sophia

Arriving to rain in Antakya

Dinner boat on the Bosphorus

Having tea on the banks of the Euphrates with locals

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.

The inside of the church in the cave

Fruitstand in Istanbul

Street food in Istanbul

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

More dolmush rides

Small produce market near Kirk’s house in Istanbul

Taking the dolmush from Adana to Antakya

The Hittite rock musieum in Yesemek

Getting Sahlep in Antakya

Ruins of a castle in Kozan

Beehive houses in Harran

Kirk negotiation for homegrown tobacco in Sanliurfa

Climbing the ridge above St. Peters

Medusa Head in the Cistern

Blizzard conditions landing back in Istanbul

The archway and observation tower in Harran

An antique Zenith watch for sale at the market in Istanbul

Turkish Delight

Pegasus Airlines

Kirk with the windfarm in the background

The cave restaurant in Sanliurfa

Street food in Adana

Taxsim Square, Istanbul

Steph standing on the beach

Dried Eggplant shells in Antakya

Looking out to the horizon from the mountains in Vaikifle

An orange vendor in Harran

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

Broken Turkish Pottery

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

Looking off into the mountains from Antakya

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

Sunday night dinner at Kirk’s House

Arriving in Sanliurfa

Buying clementines in Antakya

Juggling oranges on a street side fruit stand.

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

A chef distributing pestashio on to baklava at Chadas in Gaziantep

Steph in the doorway of the Armenian Church

Dilapidated houses in Adana

Ataturk in Adana

Green spices at the market in Antakya

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

The ruins of St. Simeon

Us with our Turkish friends in Yesemek

Local schoolkids clamoring to say hello to us in Kilis

Driving at night back to Antakya

Steph and the Euphrates river

Steph looking at photos with a local kid in Harran

Looking into the cut from the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Sunset in Samandagi

Sundown in Yesemek, Turkey

The Mosque in Kilis

Driving west, then north out of Antakya

Finding our hotel room

Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Goats in Harran

Getting a concensus on directions

Hassan, a local resident

Stephanie and I inside the cave in Antakya

Freighter ships on the Bosphorus

Hiking the ridge above St. Peters in Antakya

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

Steph and I riding a motorcycle with a sidecar in Sanliurfa

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

Evening in Sanliurfa

Inside the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

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

Our dusk tour of the Hittite rock garden in Yesemek

A backhoe coming down Kirk’s street in Istanbul

Me driving through flood waters in Samandag

Early morning walk to go to the Istanbul airport.

Riding the dolmush through Belen, Tureky

Catholic church courtyard in Antakya

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Israel Photos Slide Show on Flickr