Traveling in style

The busses in Turkey have stewardesses that constantly pass out water,
coffee, and snacks. They even show movies on longer rides, such as
Rambo 4.

Prisoner

Sitting behind us on the bus was a prisoner being escorted by 3 armed
military police. He was handcuffed to one of them.

Air bed

At night they climb up the ladder and go to bed. Nothing like
sleeping out under the stars.

Sanliurfa

Abraham was supposedly born somewhere near here.

Screwy hotel numbers

You're in room 403. Go up the elevator to the 6th floor.

Got soap?

According to a framed newspaper article in the store, Prince Charles
gets his soap here in Mardin.

Got spice?

Move up

In Turkey most people live in apartments/condos. Its considered a
step up if you move from a single family home to a big apartment
building. Homes are typically associated with the (poor) village.

Satellite dishes

If you have TV, which most people do, you have your own dish mounted
somewhere on the building.

Goat on Bus

If there is a goat (with horns!) running loose on the mini bus, try
not to panic. If it pees on the floor just ignore it.

Friendly Neighborhood Bull

If you see a bull wandering around your apartment complex, think
nothing of it.

Holy Shoe Shine

When you go to Mosque, you have to take your shoes off. These guys
will polish them for you for a small fee while you're inside praying.

Bitlis: town of Men

For every 100 men we saw hanging out on the street we saw one woman.
No exaggeration!

$40,000 for a house in Ahlat

In a newer section of town than this, with a big yard. I'm
tempted...such a peaceful village.

Seljuk tombstones

These are 6-8 feet tall. The taller they are the more important they
were.

Ahlat

Aduljevas

Got off the mini-bus in Aduljevas and saw this on our way to the hotel.

Tatvan Market

99 miles to Iraq, Syria, and Iran

We passed through various checkpoints on our way around the lake.
Behind the green sandbags was a big machine gun mounted.

Scenery around lake Van

Boat ride to an island church

How people get around

Few people in Turkey have their own cars. Mostly they ride the mini-
bus from town to town.

Special delivery

This kid was really working this thing going uphill and in traffic
with other cars.

Missing a shoe?

If you look carefully you can see a single shoe on the luggage
conveyor belt at the Airport in Van, which is clear across the country
from Istanbul.

Istanbul

The city is huge and spread out, kind of like LA. Population 12
million. Just here overnight but we'll be back later in the trip.

On the way to Istanbul

Beats the .5 gram bag of pretzels you would get on a 2 hour American
flight.

Great Meal in Bethlehem

Had a genuine Palestinian meal at a genuine Palestinian home in
Bethlehem. Mmmmmmm.

The wall in Bethlehem

The wall is 8 meters high. It reminds me of the Berlin wall, which
was 4 meters high. Security to get through was tight, and high tech,
complete with palm scanner.

Jericho Lunch

They give you pita, hummus, and a bunch of other stuff to throw on.
You play it by ear, trying different combinations of items, which all
seem to be good.

Grazing near Jericho

There was a twelve year old Bedouin boy tending these camels.

Joy Ride

In America this kid might be riding his bike down the street.

St. George's Monastery

After hours of hiking in Wadi Kelt in the middle of nowhere, we came
accross this monastery, knocked on the massive front door, and the guy
showed us around, gave us water and tamarine(?) juice, and we left
refreshed.

Bedouin Hut

They're still at it after thousands if years.

Capernaum Shore

Probably hasn't changed much since Jesus' day.

Ampatheater at Beit She'an

Thai Jesus

At the Annunciation Church in Nazareth they have many mosaics
contributed from many countries.

Beit She'an B&B

He came to pick is up at the hostel which was full. Gave us several
organic tomatoes and an onion. In the morning he drove us to the big
aechealogical site. Seemed to enjoy checking us in and chatting.

Ein Gedi

Kind of like paradise.

Diplomatic Dinner

Had dinner with several consulate and embassy workers, all about my
age. Included in the group were several communications specialists on
Condi Rice's advance team, who were here to prep for her visit.

Sea of Galilee

Jesus was quite familiar with this sight.

Near the Mt. Of Beatitudes

Synagogue in Capernaum

Jesus taught right here at the synagogue in Capernaum. Capernaum was
Jesus' home town once he started his ministry.

View from Masada

Masada hostel

The accomodations were cheap, modern, clean, and uncrowded.
Completely changed my idea of youth hostels.

Masada

Got up at 4am and hiked Masada. Even at that early hour there was
someone in the ticket booth ready to collect my money.

Makhane Yehuda

It is almost impossible to walk inside the Jewish market because its
so crowded.

Shrine of the Book

Inside the white dome you can see real sections of the Dead Sea
Scrolls. The rare Isaiah scroll was on display when I visited. It's
the only scroll they found complete, in its entirety.

There are all sorts of symbols involved in the architecture. The
white dome is shaped like the lid of the jars that the scrolls were
found in. The dome is constantly being bathed in water, symbolizing
purity, and the rebirth of the Israeli people. The white dome and the
opposing black monolith together represent good and evil.

Sculpture at Israel Museum sculpture garden

Kippa

For less than $2 you can get your own Kippa. Some even come with the
logos of prominent basketball teams on them. A travel guide I read
said that if you see someone wearing a sports-team-logo kippa, they
are sure to be from the United States.

Dominus Flevit gate at dusk