By Max

Istanbul skyline

The busy streets of Istanbul

Once we got used to maneuvering around and through all of the people, we began to notice that everywhere you look, you see the spires of mosques.  Not just your average everyday neighborhood mosque, but beautiful grand mosques that sprinkle the city in every direction (an estimated 3,500 in Istanbul alone!).  Some of the most famous and magnificent mosques in the world are here including the Sultan Ahmed Mosque also known as the Blue Mosque.

 

The Blue Mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque

The Aya Sofya

For the more than 14 million people that reside in Istanbul, there seems to be as many restaurants, cafes, coffee and tea shops, food carts, and sweets stores!  Imagine New York City or San Francisco and then add even more eating establishments per square mile.  If you love fresh grilled vegetables, chicken and lamb wraps (doners), coffee, baklava, and jelly candy with powdered sugar on top (turkish delight) Istanbul is the place for you!

Our favorite doner sandwich seller

Turkish delight and baklava

Here is the continuing story of our travels with the Scott-Rifer family and our journey along the Lycian Way:

Day 2 – Hanging Out in Kabak

A welcome sight after a long hike

After a spectacular but slightly rigorous hike from Faralaya to Kabak we took a day to take it easy at the Olive Garden Pension.   The Olive Garden sits upon a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.  A great day for catching up on school work, swimming and relaxing.

The view from the Olive Garden

Beth and Elizabeth relaxing

What a setting for catching up on school work

Day 3 – Kabak to Alinca

Ready for a great day of hiking

Well rested from our day in Kabak we set out for Alinca, a town with many more goats, cows, and chickens than people.  This hike took us from the coastline, to mountainous pine forests, and then thankfully some flat mountain top meadows.  A couple of highlights of the day included staying at the home of the mayor of Alinca and being high enough in the mountains that Romi could touch the clouds.

Leo and Caleb planning their next snack break

What is Noah thinking?

Griffin is relieved to arrive in Alinca

Day 4 – Alinca to Gey

This proved to be our most challenging hike with steep and narrow trails alongside ominous cliffs.  Loose stone paths made for uncertain footing and lots of slipping.  Thankfully, Leo, Caleb, and Romi led the way oblivious to the fact they were even hiking as they played a four hour long storytelling game.  We arrived in a slightly larger town and immediately raided a small grocery store, binging on chips, cookies, and gozleme (a Turkish crepe filled with cheese, greens, and spices.), before heading on to to our stay at the home of a local family.

Great fun meeting a Turkish hiking club

You have to be careful on every step

Leading the way

Instead of a lemonade stand these kids sell honey on the side of the trail

Baby goats on the trail

Day 5 – Gey to Gavuragili

Feeling ready for 18K

After being awoken by roosters and and a call to prayer that even had the local dogs howling for mercy, we set out on our longest hike –  an 18 km walk that took us from high in the mountains through terraced farm lands and goat trails, and then eventually back to the Mediterranean.  At the end of the trail we took a van to our lodging in Patara.  There we rested our sore feet, backs, and shoulders and feasted on lentil soup, chicken casserole, and sweetened stewed pumpkins.

Can’t a dad get some respect?

The last leg of the journey

Another glorious view

In the final stretch

Celebrating in Patara

Well, even though we have not been blogging, we did make it safely to Turkey and have been having a great time as we traveled through Istanbul, Izmir, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Dalyan and now the Lycian Way.  The highlight of all of this is that we have connected with our friends the Scott-Rifers (Beth, Elizabeth, Griffin, and Leo).  Together we published a post on our first day on the Lycian Way.  You can find it at – Lycian Way Day 1

By Caleb

When we were in Tel Aviv we went to a number of beaches up and down the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The beaches in Tel Aviv have very fine sand, are sunny, and the waves are calm. Almost every day we either drove or walked to a new beach.

At the beaches we hade two favorite activities: beach paddle ball (called Matkot in Israel) and playing in the waves. Matkot is like tennis except the paddles are wooden, the balls are rubber, and you are on the same team not against each other. Because the water is so cold this time of year we would see who could go out the farthest into the water without stopping. We also like to try and ride the waves even though there aren’t many waves.

Even this time of year, many off the beaches are packed and there are restaurants for tourists up off the beach. My dad compared the beaches in Tel Aviv to the Jersey Shore beaches by how packed they are. Once you go into the water the crowds clear up because most off the people are only there to tan, eat, and play beach ball.

The beaches of Tel Aviv have definitely been one of my favorite parts of this trip so far. Here are some pictures.

Sunset at a beach near our apartment in Tel Aviv

Getting ready to play beach paddle ball

Me and my dad playing beach paddle ball at Herzlyia Beach

A packed beach in Tel Aviv

By Sue

When we first scheduled our time in Jerusalem, we were completely clueless to the fact that our stay coincided with Holy Week and the first night of Passover. To our great fortune, there were many opportunities throughout our stay to witness how Jerusalem holds such enormous religious significance for Muslims, Jews, and Christians. None was more poignant than our experience on Good Friday/the first night of Passover.

Our first activity for the day was to walk the Via Dolorosa, the route that Jesus took between his condemnation by Pilate and his crucifixion and burial. We had originally planned to get an early start, but as is often the case, we were out the door much later. To access the starting point of the Via Dolorosa, it is easiest to enter the Old City from one of the gates into the Muslim Quarter. As it happened, our tardiness afforded us the opportunity to be swept along with crowds of worshippers making their way to Friday prayers at the Temple Mount. For nearly 15 minutes we walked quietly alongside the faithful making their weekly trek through the alleys of the Old City to the third holiest Islamic site in the world.

Walking through the alleys of the Muslim Quarter

View of Temple Mount in the background

Eventually we made our way to the start of the Via Dolorosa. For many Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, the most important and meaningful thing they do while in the city is to walk the Via Dolorosa. The route begins near the Lions’ Gate in the Muslim Quarter and ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter. It covers 500 meters and incorporates the 14 Stations of the Cross. This being Good Friday, there were many large and small groups making the walk with us. Some were chanting and praying, many were singing. The final five stations are located within in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and it is here that you find the holiest of Christian sites – Jesus’ tomb inside the Edicule on the main floor of the church.   It was truly extraordinary to follow the 14 Stations on the actual day that Christians commemorate Jesus’ journey along the same route.

Station II – Where Jesus receives the cross

Pilgrims make their way into Station III as worshipers return home from Friday prayers

Station IX- Where Jesus falls for the third time

Station XIV – Tomb of Jesus

Finally, we returned to our apartment around 6pm giving us about an hour to get ready and head out the door again to participate in a Passover Seder at a nearby Jewish Community Center. Knowing we did not have the capacity to prepare a Seder meal in our apartment, we searched on-line earlier in the week for other opportunities. As it happened, the only community Seder we could find on-line also happened to be at the JCC in the German Colony – a 10 minute walk from our apartment.

Not knowing what to expect, we headed out the door greeted by a huge full moon rising in the sky. We arrived at the center and headed upstairs to a room that was set for at least 100 people. To our delight, the Seder was attended by community members as well as out of town visitors and travellers like ourselves. The Haggadah was in Hebrew as was the Seder (with occasional breaks for English translation), but we thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the amazing food which just seemed to keep on coming! As we stumbled out of the community center around midnight and made our way back to our apartment, we couldn’t help, but feel so much gratitude for this day that had offered such an incredible window into the religious and cultural life of this amazing city.

At the Seder