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.

The Hittite rock musieum in Yesemek

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

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

Grasses at sunset in Samandagi

Me driving through flood waters in Samandag

Kirk with the windfarm in the background

Hiking the ridge above St. Peters in Antakya

A backhoe coming down Kirk’s street in Istanbul

Steph in the doorway of the Armenian Church

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

Steph standing on the beach

Steph looking at photos with a local kid in Harran

Goats in Harran

Arriving in Sanliurfa

Steph and I riding a motorcycle with a sidecar in Sanliurfa

Looking off into the mountains from Antakya

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

Broken Turkish Pottery

Local schoolkids clamoring to say hello to us in Kilis

Us with our Turkish friends in Yesemek

Fishermen in Istanbul

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

The Cisterns in Istanbul

Getting Sahlep in Antakya

Buying clementines in Antakya

Climbing the ridge above St. Peters

Street feeling in Kilis

Candle lanterns at the market in Istanbul

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

Arriving to rain in Antakya

Evening in Sanliurfa

Turkish Delight

Ataturk in Adana

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

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

Taking the dolmush from Adana to Antakya

Street food in Adana

A chef distributing pestashio on to baklava at Chadas in Gaziantep

Hassan, a local resident

Taxsim Square, Istanbul

Riding the dolmush through Belen, Tureky

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

Dinner boat on the Bosphorus

Our dusk tour of the Hittite rock garden in Yesemek

Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Sketching and sailing up the Euphrates river

Juggling oranges on a street side fruit stand.

Having tea on the banks of the Euphrates with locals

The Mosque in Kilis

Beehive houses in Harran

Looking out to the horizon from the mountains in Vaikifle

The inside of the church in the cave

Getting a concensus on directions

Talking to the hotel staff in Adana

Dried Eggplant shells in Antakya

Our sketchy hotel in Sanliurfa

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

The ruins of St. Simeon

Roof of the Aya Sophia

Finding our hotel room

Catholic church courtyard in Antakya

Medusa Head in the Cistern

Blizzard conditions landing back in Istanbul

Fruitstand in Istanbul

Sundown in Yesemek, Turkey

Early morning walk to go to the Istanbul airport.

Sunset in Samandagi

Kirk and Steph checking the guidebooks in Adana

Sunset in Samandagi

Driving at night back to Antakya

Pegasus Airlines

The archway and observation tower in Harran

The cave restaurant in Sanliurfa

More dolmush rides

Me, Steph and Kirk about to split up in Istanbul

An orange vendor in Harran

Dilapidated houses in Adana

Olive vendors on the corner in Gaziantep

Driving west, then north out of Antakya

Freighter ships on the Bosphorus

Looking into the cut from the Roman Tunnels in Samandagi

Driving through the mountains near the Med

An antique Zenith watch for sale at the market 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.