In January, after traveling through Turkey in December with Kirk Henderson and Stephanie Safdi, I went to spend a few days in Israel. I didn’t shoot much video, but here’s one good one, from the roof of the Austrian Hospice, in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City.
Austrian Hospice Rooftop from Jeffrey D on Vimeo.
In December 2008, Kirk Henderson, Stephanie Safdi and I traveled through Turkey together. I brought along my excellent Canon G10 digital camera on the trip, and aside from taking about 1000 still photos, I also took about 30 minute of video from Turkey. I’ve edited down the video to a 12 minute reel, highlighting some of the more interesting clips. Enjoy!
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.
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View all posts from Turkey and Israel
One of the (many) objectives of my recent trek through Turkey and Israel was to experiment with blogging from the field. I didn’t a laptop with me, but I did take my iPhone, which is actually quite powerful. My plan was to use both my iPhone, as well as a normal cell phone to keep this blog updated from the field. Originally I was planning on only using the iPhone, but when I got to Turkey and tried my shiny new TurkCell SIM card in the iPhone, I confirmed what I feared – although the iPhone is a fantastic quad-band world GSM phone, it’s locked to AT&T, and therefore can’t be used on any other GSM network – frustrating. To stay in cell communication in places where there wasn’t wifi for the iPhone (most places), I picked up a cheap, second hand, tri-band GSM Nokia phone – with a 1.2 MP camera.
I set up my blog to accept automatic posts from a number of mobile-enabled applications. First, in order to post photos from either my iPhone or Nokia from the field, I set up Flickr with my blog, using the WordPress XMLRPC. This way, I can simply email photos (doable from most modern cell phones) to a special secret Flickr email address, and when Flickr receives the photo, it automatically interfaces with my blog and creates a new blog post with the photo. Great way of getting photos up with very little interaction.
In order to post my daily journal updates, I used a combination of the WordPress application for iPhone and WordPress’ email posting feature.
The WordPress application for iPhone is fairly simple – it interfaces with the XMLRPC of my blog, and allows me to type out a post on my iPhone, and post directly to my blog. Posting this way was the most straightforward, and allowed me to work on the post all at once, or slowly update it throughout the day. Since I could pocket my phone, it was easy to take around and keep notes on.
I was also able to email posts directly to my blog. WordPress has a feature that allows it to check a (secret) email box, and post whatever messages it finds in the email box to the blog as individual entries. This method was only used for backup, but was good when using older computers in cafes, which loaded WordPress slowly, or, in a pinch, posting text posts from the Nokia.
I also set up Twitter to work with SMS, and then got a Twitter plugin for my blog, that would have allowed me to SMS updates to my blog, in places where i didn’t even have access to email. However, I never ended up using this method – I would rather submit longer daily posts, rather than short posts throughout the day. For inter-day posting, I think photos do a better job. However, being able to post via Twitter could still have its uses – an example being in 2008 when student James Karl Buck used Twitter to alert his friends that we has being hauled off to Egyptian Jail.
Finally, there was the old fashioned WordPress interface. Since WordPress is a web application, I was able to load up the full interface, which I’m using on my own computer now to write this post, on most computers at friends houses and at internet cafe. It was great to be able to have the same interface, and have all my work in front of me, from most computers with internet connections. Big vote for the great accessibility of web applications. (On a side note, it’s interesting to hear that Apple is putting iWork online as web applications, much like Google Docs.)
I’ve tagged all of the posts I made during my trip with the “Turkey-Israel-Travel-08-09” Tag. So, to get a complete overview of all of the posts I made from the field, simply click the tag, and you’ll be able to see them all.
The next and final post for the trip is going to be my photos and videos post. I’m currently in the process of merging GPS data with each image file (geocoding), as well as editing, sorting, and rating the photos with Apple’s Aperture. I took about 1500 photos, and about 45 minutes of video, and I hope to narrow it down to about 100 photos and 5 mnutes of video to put online.
Today was the last day of the trip – and an extremely long one. We woke up around 11, and Steph, Wills and I hung out around the apartment for a while, going through photos, making breakfast, and packing up. After that Steph and I walked through some parks to the Sherut to TelAviv, which do run on Saturdays, since they are driven by Arabs. By the time we got into Tel Aviv, it was already 5, and the sun had set. Steph and I were meeting some friends for dinner out at the port, so we took another Sherut out to the beach, and then enjoyed a long walk up the boardwalk, looking out at the Mediterranean – a peaceful experience, after tension in the rest of the country. We had a quick dinner with Charlotte and her sister, and then I took a cab to the airport, and Steph took the Sherut back to Jerusalem.
My flights home were mostly uneventful, and I got home safely.
That about does it for the narrative portion of the trip – next up I’m going to try to wrap it all up, and provide some thoughts regarding blogging from the field, availability of data connections, and about writing while moving.
Also, during the trip I did blog some photos, but they were all “from the hip” camera phone photos. I took about 1200 real photos with my awesome Canon G10, and I’ll be editing them down this week, and posting the core shots (100 or so) online as soon as possible.
Today was spent mostly walking around Jerusalem and getting to know the city better. Wills, Steph and I woke up mid morning, and Steph ran off to meetings for most of the day.
I packed up my daypack, and set out walking across the city. After visiting a friend at a coffee shop, I went up to the main market in Jerusalem to buy food for our Shabbat dinner – it’s necessary to buy food early, since the market starts closing for Shabbat around 2pm. After that, I spent some more time at Uganda, a cool coffee shop, record store and comic store, and then walked down to the old city.
As i was approaching the Damascus Gate of the old city, I walked through a massive buildup of police and military forces, who were assembling on the dividing line between east and west Jerusalem, and is a major point of contention. I walked through the military zone, and down through the Damascus gate into the Muslim quarter of the old city. Walking though, there was a continued military presence, right up to the doors of the Austrian Hospice, one of my favorite spots in the city.
I hung out on the roof briefly, and then went back down to the street, walked out of the old city, and turned right to walk into East Jerusalem. As I walked farther into East Jerusalem, i noticed more and more arabic, and less and less hebrew. Also, I encountered another contingent of police and military, a little farther east.
By the time I walked out of East Jerusalem, it was almost the start of Shabbat, so I quickly walked back to Steph’s house. Steph, Wills and I made a nice dinner, and then packed it up and took it over to a friends house for a group dinner. We hung out there for a bit, and came home late at night – hanging out with friends for Shabbat was a great experience.
Today Steph and I took a good afternoon walking tour all over Jersusalem. We started by meeting up with some friends over at Uganda, and then went over to our friend’s print making studio. After that, we walked down to the old city, entering at the Jaffa gate, going past the Kotel, and exiting at the Damascus gate.
Today’s post is short and sweet – more to come for tomorrow’s post, and may pictures to explain the whole story.
Quick post for today. We woke up late, and Stephband I had a traditionl Israeli breakfast at a local diner. After that we did a quick lap around the old city, in the Jaffa gate, past my old home the Petra hostel, by the western wall, and finally up through the arab quarter to the warm Austrian Hospice.
The Austrian hospice is an oasis of warmth and relaxation inside the old city. We checked out the spectacular view from the roof, and got some work done at the cafe.
After a walk home and quick dinner, Steph, Wills and I went back out to a local bar, Bass, to listen to the DJs spin “dubstep“, a new sound for me – it was great!
Today was my first full day in Israel for this trip. Steph had meetings to go to for most of the morning, so I walked with her across Jerusalem to drop her off at her office, then went up Jaffa Road to hang out in a coffee shop for a while and catch up.
After that and a quick falafel, I walked back down to the wall of the old city of Jerusalem, and east along the wall in to Palestinian controlled East Jerusalem to the Damascus Gate of the old city. While in Turkey, we read in the car an article in National Geographic about the sale of illegal and stolen antiquities in the arab quarter of the old city, and I wanted to see if for myself. I winded my way down through the arab quarter, and asked a bunch of shop owners where these dealers were. After a bit of searching, I fount one shop that had artifacts from 100 bc, all the way through the roman period. Pottery, bronze age tools and weapons, and coins were all there – it was quite amazing to see such relics for sale in the open. The guy I talked to in the shop said that they did have a license, and every piece had an individual catalog number, but I’m still not sure whether not that was the truth.
After the antiques dealer, I met up with Steph, and we went back up to Ben Yehuda street to do some shopping. We also stopped in a great comic book store/record store/coffee shop called Uganda to see some friends and get some hummus, pita and Nana tea. Also, remarkably, the record shop was playing the latest Matmos album, a welcome change from the usual coffee shop listening.
After returning home and showering and changing, we left to go over to a friend’s house, and then out to party for new years, Israel style. We took the Sherut bus to Tel Aviv and walked in an anti war march that was organized by one of Steph’s friends. I generally walked outside and ahead of the marching group, and managed to take a few good pictures of the situation. The whole time we were flanked by a large group of police, and when we finally ended in a plaza, a few police in riot gear showed up. Luckily nothing too dramatic happened.
After that interesting experience in Tel Aviv, we got back on the sherut and went back to Jerusalem to meet up with a friend who was DJing at a local bar.
What a crazy new years eve!
Arab minibusses in Palestinian controlled East Jerusalem loading up to
travel to the West Bank.
Anti-War Protesters In Tel Aviv
Originally uploaded by jamfan2
Protesters in Tel Aviv, Israel
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Originally uploaded by jamfan2
Protesters with signs at Ben Yehuda street in Jerusalem, Israel.
Holding signs asking to stop the war and free Gaza.
Originally uploaded by jamfan2
Arabic graffiti near the Damascus gate in the old city of Jerusalem,
Israel. Israeli IDF soldier passing by.
Today was another big air travel day. We woke up early at Kirk’s house, and met up with friend Wills for a quick breakfast at home. Our one last stop before departure was the large Istanbul Bazaar, where we bought some interesting little trinkets – my only souvenir purchases of the trip!
One more last foam cup of Sahlep with cinnamon from a street cart, and we were back to Kirk’s house. We all got tasty, white castle-like Wetburgers in Taxim, and then Steph and I said goodbye to Kirk, and got the Havash to the airport, to fly to Israel.
Once in Tel Aviv, Steph and I got the bus back home to Her apartment in Jerusalem, where her roommate fed us a good home cooked meal. Finally for the day, we went out to a local bar to meet up with some friends and listen to our friend DJ.
Today was our much needed rest and travel day. We slept late in our posh hotel room in Gaziantep, and then spent the better part of the morning in the topfloor breakfast salon, enjoy
ing the view of a powerful blizzard hitting the town. We were amazed to see sych a blizzard in southern Turkey, just a few kilometers away frim Syria, but from our warm hotel salon, it was a beautiful sight.
After our extended breakfast session, we went downstairs to Gu
luoglu to grab some “mass consumption” Baklava, and the met up with a couple friends who live in tow
n for another huge lunch. We also got a chance to stop by a Kadiefe bakery where they taught us how to make the stringy dough. Lunch was great as usual, and afterwards Kirk went off to return the car while Steph and I had tea.
Before going off to the airport, we made one more Baklava tasting stop at Cagdas, where we made extensive literary comparisons between Guluoglu Baklava and Cagdas Baklava. Cagdas def won.
Then we were off to the airport to catch our flight back to Istanbul, our home base and where Kirk lives. When we landed in Istanbul, they too were having a giant blizzard – we were amazed the plane was actually able to land in such whiteout conditions. But the snow was great, and reminded me of Colorado.
This morning we woke up in the sketchiest hotel yet, Otel Dogu, in Sanliurfa. We got out of there quickly, had a quick breakfast, and hit the road towards Harran.
In Harran, we were struck by how many civilizations had lived there, and how many layers of building were waiting to be uncovered. We also explored traditional rock, brick and adobe beehive houses, and a ten sided citadel.
From Harran, we drove back to Sanliurfa, and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the bazaar and 12th century Urfa Castle. We had dinner in a restaurant in a huge cave, then walked back to the car for the drive to Gaziantep.
In ‘Antep, we decided to splurge a little and got a nice hotel room with a shower for 90YTL.
Originally uploaded by jamfan2
Beehive houses in Harranhttps://www.jeffreydonenfeld.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=555&action=edit#
Thus morning we woke up early in Biercheck, and made the beautiful drive through the canyonlands on our way to Halfeti.
During the drive, we passed through fields full of dormant olive trees, and made a couple of stops to take in the surroundings. Much like the American southwest, there were huge canyons, with lakes and rivers at the bottom. Spectacular cliffs, and rich, dark soil. There were no clouds in the sky, and the sense of open space was refreshing.
We arrived in Halfeti around noon. The small town sits on a hillside, on the banks of the Euphrates River. From Halfeti, we hired a boat to take us down the Euphrates a bit, to a small town on the banks, which had the minaret of its mosque submerged underwater. When the Euphrates was dammed, many towns and buildings that were close ti the water were submerged – including this town’s mosque.
After tea there, we headed across the river and explored the ruins of an ancient castle. The castle was in ruins, but we could still find arches and entire rooms that were intact. Our friend with the boat showed us a spot at the very top of the hill to watch the sun set on the Euphrates.
After Halfeti, we had a good fish dinner in Bierchek, and drove to Sanlirufa to spend the night.
Waking up in Kilis this morning, we knew today was going to be a busy one. We started off checking out of the Hotel Paris, throwing our gear in the car, and heading out on a walk around town. Kilis isn’t big, so we covered the town in just an hour or two.
Kirk and I then went to grab a cup of coffee while Steph went to the women’s session at the Hamami. After that we loaded into the car and headed for the Syrian border.
The border was a short 10 minute drive due south. While we didn’t make it into Syria because of visa restrictions, we did talk to some of the border guards in the booth on the edge of the Turkey/Syria buffer zone.
After the Syrian border, we took a back road to the small farming village of Yesemeck. On the way we met a shepard with his flock in the side of the road, who invited us over to his house down the road for tea.
In Yesemeck at sundown, we visited the ancient Hittite rock carving field, and were invited over for dinner and tea by the groundskeeper.
At his house, we were introduced to his whole family – wife, 5 kids, cousin. We had a great traditional meal with the family, then hung out with them for a while.
We got back in the car late, and drove a final few kilometers to Bierceck, where we spent the night.
Today was filled with lots of driving, and lots of rural exploration.
We started off the day in Antakya, where we had an early morning internet cafe session, along with some fresh juice. After that we visited an orthodox church, where they were having Christmas day mass, and then went down the street for Turkish hummus, which was very heavy on the tahina, light on the chickpea.
Also, before checking out and hopping in the car, we did a quick lap through the bazaar for some dried foods, to snack on during the drive.
Our drive to Kilis took us west at first, back towards Samandag, and up into the mountains to Vakifli, the only Armenian settlement in Turkey.
The settlement was beautifully situated in the mountains looking out at the Med. We saw their church, and played with the local elementary school kids.
From Vakifle, we drove back through Atakya, and then north towards Kilis. As we got into the southern Anatolia mountains, the sun set, and we continued on the mountain roads into the night.
In Kilis, we found one of the few hotels in town, hotel Paris. The owner was nice, although the made Stephanie stay in a room separate from me and Kirk.
After checking in, Kirk and I went over to the Hamami (Turkish bath house) for a rub down, and Steph hung out in a cafe- men and women have separate times at the Hamami.
We then all had dinner and called it a night.
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