Purple is the traditional headscarf color in this heavily arab-influenced region of Turkey, which is close to the Syrian border. Sartorialist style shot:

Traditional beehive houses made of mud

We visited a cave church in Antioch, believed to have been dug by Apostle Peter so the early Christians in Antioch would have a place to meet.

Here is another portrait of a shop owner in Boğazköy. I posted one of him outside of his shop a few days ago. After I took that one, he wanted me to come in and shoot another:

Ancient homes in Cappadocia, Turkey were traditionally made out of these natural formations, called hoodoos.

Making silk Hand-painted pottery Wine decanters

While driving down the highway on the way back to our hotel in Cappadocia, we saw a beautiful rainbow. The bus stopped so we could shoot a few photos. This was the first full rainbow I’ve seen from end to end. We were in the perfect spot. While we were standing there taking photos, a…

We only stayed one night in Boğazköy, but that little village has been my favorite so far. The group from Hillsdale who came to Turkey last year told tales of climbing a hill with a single tree on top outside of the village early in the morning. We were on a mission to locate the…

We spent some time in Boğazköy, the modern-day village of Hittusas where the ancient Hittite ruins lie. We stayed at this wonderfully cozy hotel. I spent some time wandering through the village, which consists of just one street of shops and some homes scattered around the countryside. I saw many wonderful people. Even though there…

Our fantastic tour guide, Mehmet Yuksel. He is an Istanbul native who loves history and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the places we’ve been so far. We are all having a wonderful time thanks to his guidance and interpreting.

General photo highlights from the first week. I will keep most of the updates brief as I would like to spend as much time as I can exploring. I have many stories, however, that I would love to talk about over coffee. Text on the internet can hardly do them justice. Click on the photos…