Istanbul, Turkey

We had an 8 hour layover in Turkey. Maranatha Tours was kind
enough to arrange us a day tour of Istanbul, so we wouldn't have to
spend all that time at the airport. The added bonus was that we now
have Turkey in our passports! Awsome!!!-Sarah

Memo: Excellent Body Guard Service

I just wanted everyone to know that Josh is a great body guard! He fit right in with the guards in  Istanbul! If any of you get the opportunity to make this trip, you should hire him. No, wait, if you come, I want to come back too, and I'll need him. Sorry, you'll have to find your own body guard.Lol!!!-Sarah

My new friend from Jerusalem

For the last part of our flight from NYC to Istanbul, Turkey I had the privilege of sitting next to Anat. After we learned each other‘s names, I asked her where she was from. She told me that she lived in Jerusalem! I was a litle surprised since we were flying to Turkey, but overjoyed to meet a native of the land we were to visit later on our trip! We had a lengthy conversation about our families, vocations & faith. I learned that she a Jewish Christian. Upon further conversation, she told me that her grandparents were survivors of the Holocaust! Anat is a very sweet girl! We exchanged email addresses and I look forward to keeping in touch with my new pen-pal from Jerusalem!

Day Four - Touring Petra!

Have you ever had a bad start to a day? lol

Well this morning, Nathan and I, umm...ahem...overslept. lol We woke up at 10:02am local time. We were supposed to be ON the bus at 10:00am. Sigh. lol (To our credit, we had both been up till about 4:30am working on our blogs to keep you folks at home updated...so technically, it was your fault! lol) The entire tour group gave us a hard time about it all day. The reason it was so funny is that he and I are two of the main ones who make sure everybody gets back to the bus, etc... :)
We have a great group of people, and we are all having a blast. The people are friendly, the weather has been absolutely perfect (60 degrees and gorgeous sunshine), and our tour guide is wonderful.
After the whole group (ahem) made it to the bus, we drove to the entrance of Petra.
I will tell you right up front: Petra is amazing. And my words, descriptions, and pictures will never do it justice. You'll just have to come see it. :)
For those who don't know what Petra is, read this real quick:
                                                                                                             
"Petra (Greek "πέτρα", meaning rock) is a historic and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that has rock cut architecture and water conduits system. Established sometime around the 6th century BC, it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourism attraction. It lies on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. Petra was chosen by the BBC as one of "the 40 places you have to see before you die".

This is an amazing city located in within cliffs that look similar to the Grand Canyon. The entrance is a 3/4 mile long stretch with a hundred foot high rock wall on both sides... (Left to right: Sarah, Danae, Randy)

The signature landmark of Petra is a large stone edifice carved into the side of one of the rock walls. It is way over a hundred feet tall, and was not constructed but carved; it is all solid rock; all carved into the mountain by hand almost two thousand years ago.

There are tons of tombs, monuments, houses, caves, niches, and even a theater carved into the mountains...

Sarah and I; standing on the ancient ruins of one of the major temples in the city of Petra. In the background you can see some of the smaller tombs and caves carved out of the side of the mountain.

One of the highlights of the day... riding a camel! It's extremely tall, and extremely bumpy ride! I always pictured them slowly trudging along in the desert... don't be fooled! These animals can move! lol And when they do...you better be hanging on! (Left to right: Nathan, Sarah, Randy, Gloria, Josh, Danae)

I also raced down a mountain on a horse today at 105 mph ...but that's a story I don't have time for... :)

We have lots of stories and hundreds of pictures...these are a terribly small sample...but we just don't have time to post all of them! Sorry!

Experiencing these foreign lands and people is amazing. Touring the other side of the world like this is so eye-opening. We are enjoying every minute of it! Thanks to all of you who are following the blog; and thanks for all the emails and comments.

I'll leave you with a picture taken this evening from my hotel balcony... the middle-eastern sun setting across the mountains on the rocky outline of Israel's eastern border...

FOOD

Ok, guys, I'm back! Our internet availability has been so limited ( I know Josh posted last night, actually 2 in the morning,) but I was so exhausted after only sleeping about 2-3 hours on our plane ride from NYC to Turkey. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, just explaining. I am having a BLAST!!! Let me share some of our international cuisine with you, now:)

I had my first Greek Gyro (yee-row) at the airport. (Lamb, onions & hot sauce in a flour tortilllia) First time for lamb; very good. First new food test passed successfuly! On a sidenote, Josh had a hot dog and Pringles! No suprise there; he has always been the adventurous one, when it comes to food:)

Here is what we ate for supper on our loong flight from NYC to Turkey-Baked chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, egg plant & cheese.

Hot tea after supper, of course!

In Istanbul we ate at the "Pudding Shop." All of us had lamb in tomato sauce on a bed of bread crumbs with side of yougart!

Here it is...

Dessert got better:)

 

Baclava and caramel egg pudding (their specialty.) Yum! Yum!

One more treat to share with you...

TURKISH DELIGHT!!!

Petra

Hey everyone!
It's 3:16am here in Petra... I'm sitting in the darkened lobby of the Panorama Hotel in the country of Jordan.
Our overnight flight arrived in Istanbul two hours late this morning around 11:30am local time... We were to have an 8 hour layover before our connecting flight to Amman, Jordan. Rather, than sitting in the airport for 8 hours, we got a one day visa and toured the amazing city of Istanbul, Turkey. We got some great pictures. We'll give you a full blog report on it tomorrow...
After a three hour connecting flight to the outskirts of Amman, Jordan, we took a three hour bus ride into the hills of Petra, where we are staying tonight and tomorrow night.
Please forgive me if my thoughts and spelling are somewhat random... It's 7:26pm there at home, but it's the middle of the night here...and jet lag is definately started to set in! Nothing confuses you and wears you out like 17 hours of flying on three different planes, two AirTram rides, a subway ride, four different buses, five hours of driving, and an 8 hour time zone change!!!
But despite all of that, we are absolutley having a blast and enjoying every moment!
We'll be here in Petra for the next two nights. Tomorrow we tour this amazing eighth wonder of the world...and we will add horseback to our list of transportation modes!
Our day begins in less than five hours, so I'm gonna get a shower and a few hours sleep!

Touring this amazing world just renews in my heart the understanding of the awesomeness of our God!
He has been faithful in every aspect of the trip so far...we're having a great time, but missing you all. Keep us in your prayers.
We love and miss you all!

Josh

Flying!

If stiff knees, sore backs, claustrophobic spaces, and eleven hours of continuous sitting are your cup of tea... I would highly recommend you fly from NYC to Istanbul! lol
Actually, the flight wasn't that bad...just very long. We left at 5:30pm eastern standard time, and 11 hours later, arrived in Istanbul, Turkey at around 11am their time.
This plane was MUCH larger and more comfortable than the other flights... and even the food was good! If you do decide to go, I highly recommend the baked chicken. :)

(Above: View from my seat. The screens give you access to all kinds of information...everything from live GPS tracking of your flight, estimated time of arrival, news headlines, etc...)

(Above: The view out the window as we approach Istanbul for landing.)