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.

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.

Having tea on the banks of the Euphrates with locals

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

Steph in the doorway of the Armenian Church

An antique Zenith watch for sale at the market in Istanbul

Fruitstand in Istanbul

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

Me, Steph and Kirk about to split up in Istanbul

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

Beehive houses in Harran

Early morning walk to go to the Istanbul airport.

Stephanie and I inside the cave in Antakya

Inside the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Riding the dolmush through Belen, Tureky

Looking into the cut from the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Sunset in Samandagi

Steph looking at photos with a local kid in Harran

Looking out onto the Euphrates.

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

Taxsim Square, Istanbul

An orange vendor in Harran

Olive vendors on the corner in Gaziantep

The Hittite rock musieum in Yesemek

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

Street food in Adana

Green spices at the market in Antakya

Arriving to rain in Antakya

Broken Turkish Pottery

Roof of the Aya Sophia

Street food in Istanbul

Blizzard conditions landing back in Istanbul

Goats in Harran

Kirk and Steph checking the guidebooks in Adana

Kirk with the windfarm in the background

Steph and the Euphrates river

Juggling oranges on a street side fruit stand.

Looking off into the mountains from Antakya

Grasses at sunset in Samandagi

Our dusk tour of the Hittite rock garden in Yesemek

Arriving in Sanliurfa

A chef distributing pestashio on to baklava at Chadas in Gaziantep

Getting Sahlep in Antakya

Sketching and sailing up the Euphrates river

Buying clementines in Antakya

Local kids in Vaikifle

Dried Eggplant shells in Antakya

Driving west, then north out of Antakya

The Mosque in Kilis

A backhoe coming down Kirk’s street in Istanbul

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

Fishermen in Istanbul

More dolmush rides

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

Climbing the ridge above St. Peters

Turkish Delight

Talking to the hotel staff in Adana

Kirk negotiation for homegrown tobacco in Sanliurfa

The Cisterns in Istanbul

Hassan, a local resident

Pegasus Airlines

Evening in Sanliurfa

Candle lanterns at the market in Istanbul

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

Steph standing on the beach

Ataturk in Adana

Getting a concensus on directions

Small produce market near Kirk’s house in Istanbul

Taking the dolmush from Adana to Antakya

Sunset in Samandagi

Hiking the ridge above St. Peters in Antakya

Local schoolkids clamoring to say hello to us in Kilis

Driving through the mountains near the Med

Catholic church courtyard in Antakya

The inside of the church in the cave

Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Us with our Turkish friends in Yesemek

Dilapidated houses in Adana

Looking out to the horizon from the mountains in Vaikifle

Ruins of a castle in Kozan

Sunday night dinner at Kirk’s House

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

The ruins of St. Simeon

Me driving through flood waters in Samandag

The cave restaurant in Sanliurfa

Finding our hotel room

Our sketchy hotel in Sanliurfa

Freighter ships on the Bosphorus

Dinner boat on the Bosphorus

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

The archway and observation tower in Harran

Medusa Head in the Cistern

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

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

Street feeling in Kilis

Driving at night back to Antakya

Doerta cooking up a delicious German dinner.

Sundown in Yesemek, Turkey

Steph and I riding a motorcycle with a sidecar in Sanliurfa

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Israel Photos Slide Show on Flickr