Recently in TURKEY Category

Foundry Photo Workshop Roundup #2

Jul 13, 2010 | No Comments

Invisible by Ozlem Yasayan I promised this to my students awhile back and it has taken me far too long to post it. I was truly honored to work with such a talented, energetic, and motivated group of students...

Continue reading Foundry Photo Workshop Roundup #2.

Kids take over Grant's camera in Erbil, Iraq

Iraq update... On my way to Istanbul.

Jun 18, 2010 | No Comments

Kids take over Grant's camera while filming a promotional video for The Tiziano Project in Erbil, Iraq. (Photo: Jon Vidar) The first couple weeks in Iraq have gone by swimmingly. It took us a little bit of time for...

Continue reading Iraq update... On my way to Istanbul..

A girl is wrapped in the Kurdish flag in Bismil, Turkey.

Turkey 2008: Kısmet

Jul 20, 2008 | No Comments

First off, I dont remember where I left you in the last update, but from Istanbul, Chris and I took the Eastern path through Turkey - going through Trabzone, Doğubayazıt, and Van. Trabzone was a little lack luster - although for anyone interested in going, I would definitely recommend renting a car a driving the Black Sea Coast - amazing views. Doğubeyazit is know for Mt. Ararat where the mythical Noah's Arc is said to have met it's final resting place. And, having seen it and read some of the evidence for myself (albeit briefly), it does seem somewhat plausible complete with extremely accurate Biblical descriptions correlating to the existing remains...

Continue reading Turkey 2008: Kısmet.

Women pray at the Eyup Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey

Turkey 2008: You will understand Turkey when...

Jul 14, 2008 | 5 Comments

Turkey has been amazing as always. The dig went smooth and the tour group I was doing photography for was awesome. It really opened my eyes to some of the social, political, and religious issues facing Turkey that I had not thought about before.

Continue reading Turkey 2008: You will understand Turkey when....

A little girl enjoys some candy on the street in Diyarbakir, Turkey

Turkey 2007: Grandma Burnt the House Down Again

Jul 4, 2007 | No Comments

So my trench on the site hit the absolute jackpot in archaeology: A burned down, collapsed house with perfectly preserved artifacts. We literally doubled, if not tripled the number of small finds we had for this period from the last six years of excavating just from this collapse!

Continue reading Turkey 2007: Grandma Burnt the House Down Again.

Kids pose for a photo in the street in Bismil, Turkey

Turkey 2007: Burned Houses and Gas Station Weddings

Jun 18, 2007 | No Comments

Well sweet things are finally happening in my trench now that we are pushing the end of the season. I am in the process of excavating a collapsed house that burned down in the Ubaid period (about 6500 years ago). It is incredible, as the fire that destroyed the house left everything almost perfectly preserved. Through the material we have already excavated, we have been able to determine the order of collapse from roof caving in, to walls collapsing. We are just now getting through the collapse layer, so we should be getting some really cools stuff coming out within the next few days.

Continue reading Turkey 2007: Burned Houses and Gas Station Weddings.

Tanks can be seen in the distance heading for the Turkey - Iraq border

Turkey 2007: Iraq Mobilization & Malaria Dreaming

Jun 5, 2007 | 2 Comments

I made it into Turkey alright with only a few minor snags. One being that I didn't know about the new policy at London Heathrow that they only allow one carry-on bag now and British Airways only allows two checked bags... I had 4 bags total, so to solve this problem, I had to make a "quick" stop at a luggage store in LAX and buy a giant duffle bag and repack everything in the airport. It had to have been a pretty amusing site watching as all my stuff was spread out across the floor waiting to be repacked!

Continue reading Turkey 2007: Iraq Mobilization & Malaria Dreaming.

A break from excavating involves jumping out into the dirt dump

Turkey & Rwanda 2007: Summer Plans and New Website

May 21, 2007 | No Comments

Just wanted to let everyone know what I'm up to this summer... The plans have finally solidified... I leave May 31st and it's going to be about 5 weeks in Turkey and 2 weeks in Rwanda!

Continue reading Turkey & Rwanda 2007: Summer Plans and New Website.

A view of the pyramids in Cairo, Egypt

Turkey & N. Africa 2006: The End is Just the Begining

Aug 17, 2006 | No Comments

Above: A view of the pyramids in Cairo, Egypt. My stay in Turkey came to an end a few days ago and I am now in Cairo waiting for a night train to go down to Luxor. I will...

Continue reading Turkey & N. Africa 2006: The End is Just the Begining.

Blood from a sheep sacrifice stains the ground

Turkey 2006: The Village Sacrifice (Graphic)

Jun 24, 2006 | No Comments

So Ethno-archaeology has become a major focus this year since we haven't been in the field. Basically what this is for us, is looking at modern villages and cultures to compare with the ancient sites. The other day was definitely one of the most interesting experiences that I have had while traveling..... A couple of us went to Choletepe - the local village near the excavation - and watched a family sacrifice a sheep for the village. It was an important component to their religious beliefs and had to be done in a very specific way. As I'm sure you can imagine, it wasn't easy to watch (especially at the beginning)... But it was actually a pretty amazing process. From the kill to having tiny chopped pieces ready to be distributed to the village took about 45 minutes.

Continue reading Turkey 2006: The Village Sacrifice (Graphic).
« SOUTH AMERICA | Main Index