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.