tales of the east... (belated)

so last month we took our mid-semester field excursion to.... not syria (georgetown political bs!)... but southeastern turkey. which was equally (i'm sure) interesting, exciting, beautiful, and a long ride. we drove far east to mardin first, then back-tracked to urfa, gaziantep, antakya, and mersin.
antakya was my fave, despite being horribly ripped off by a syrian cab driver who drove me around the city at an ungodly hour, searching for a pharmacy and some decongestants - including backwards up a[n entire] one-way street. (he must have learned to drive with my dad.) i was pretty proud to find the right drugs in the end, though. sans english.

some photo highlights:

this is us crossing the euphrates. hello, mesopotamia.

fields and fields and fields in the çukorova plains.

self-shot in mardin, upon waking at the hotel. sabahat, leslie, me - so ready to tour the city.

our hotel, an old stone mansion (characteristic mardin stone-cut architecture), and the citadel in the background above.

the dome of an old madrassa (religious school) and beautiful weather.