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One more semester is finished! I'm feeling really good about myself and good about my presence at Mars Hill Graduate School in a way that only difficult experiences can bring a person to. One more year to go.
Summer just started. Here is a list of the things that I am looking forward to:
1. Taking the three classes that I am signed up for.
2. Spending time in Boston and the Czech Republic with Anne and seeing our friend Kris.
3. Taking pictures of the Czech Republic.
4. Spending lots of time at the ocean and in the mountains with my camera.
5. Drinking beer outdoors with friends.
6. Seeing Radiohead in Concert with my brothers.
7. Shooting more weddings than I did last year.
8. All the small things of summer like chaco tans on feet and waking up to sunshine.
07 May 2008
Mars Hill Graduate School
18 April 2008
Back to Istanbul
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My time in Turkey always starts and ends in Istanbul. Probably my favorite city in the world, although I can't forget about Rome. In the beginning I always enter Istanbul with uncontainable excitement. In the end, I always leave with sadness.
Now, I always have to tell myself that I will be back.
The truth is that I don't think that anything could keep me away from this wonderful city for very long.
I met these guys at a little fruit market. They asked me if I was a Christian and then they showed me inside of their Greek Orthodox church. Here in Istanbul, where many of the buildings have anonymous high walls around them, I never would have entered, if not for their kindness and openness to a stranger.
This is the front of the Greek Orthodox church. The wall of icons here are a window into the theology of the people who worship here. It has taken me some time, but now I can pretty much read each part of the entire wall.
I wish that I had grown up here.
Hands down, my favorite building in Istanbul. I hope that in my lifetime it never changes.
17 April 2008
Cappadocia, Turkey
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It was nice to get to Cappadocia. I've been here a few times before and I feel like I know my way around. Dad and I went hiking the day we got there and got lost almost first thing! It was getting dark and we ended up traversing a few fields and valleys in order to get back to where we were supposed to be. Oh well, got one good photo out of it.
The next morning I wandered around Avanos. The original builders and inhabitants were Armenian. I always feel a mixture of joy and sadness when I walk these streets in the morning. Such a pretty place, but everyone that once lived here met an unfortunate death.
Cappadocia is known for its old churches carved right into the rocks. This is one of them.
Van, Turkey
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These Tricycle vehicles ruled the streets in some parts of Van.
This is one of the drivers.
These kids were out selling razors. Turkey is so much fun when everyone on the street wants to meet you and have their picture taken.
This guy wanted his picture taken with his truck.
From Van, we had to take an overnight bus ride to Kayseri. In eastern Turkey there are regular checkpoints where soldiers search all vehicles for drugs and PKK terrorists. Right now the situation is pretty calm, but it could flare up at any time.
Eastern Turkey has some pretty high mountains. I'm going to make my next trip there in the Fall, so that places like this are more accessible. There are some villages that are snowed in and inaccessible for over 8 months a year! They say that for 4 months they belong to the world and that for 8 months per year they belong to God.
16 April 2008
Akdamar Island
Akdamar Island was a special place that we visited.
The outside of the church was covered all types of little carvings
This was a painting on the inside of the church.
The inside of the Church
29 March 2008
Van, Turkey
I've been dreaming of going to Van for a long time. It was almost 3 or 4 years ago that I first heard about it. It is located so far south in Eastern Turkey, that we saw some road signs that said turn left to go to Iran.
We met this guy inside of a little restaurant. I think that he was carrying a small tattred piece of paper in his wallet that had some phrases written on it in English. It was nice to know that someone had been saving those words just for us, and when he found us he was able to share them with us.
This boy was one of my favorite people that I met on the trip. He was working for his father in a little shop that made the tea kettles that you can see him holding. He was so friendly, he showed us what each machine and tool in the shop did, and showed us how he made his tea kettles. If I ever went back to Van, I would definitely try to find him.
This guy saw us interacting with some other people and started following us for a long time. He walked with us for a few blocks, and I started to grow suspicious that he was going to try to ask us for money. But he just kept following us quietly, watching what we were doing. Finally, I asked him if he wanted his picture taken, and he said yes.
This guy owns a vegetable market. We hung out with him for a while and he gave us all the free fruit that we could eat.
This kid kind of seemed like a practical joker, but I liked him anyway.
We ended up having tea with some guys who owned a glass shop. After we had drank our tea, I did a portrait of them.
This guy owns a duner shop. Duners are the same an Greek gyros.
