This is a model of the old city in Damascus that I wanted to post. You can view straight street that goes straight through the area, and the green spot is where the Mosque is located. The Citadel is in the upper left hand corner with the covered market place.
Today I arrived in Antakya from Aleppo. The buses leave Aleppo early in the morning, too early for my style of travel. I decided awhile back that I will always try to leave an area around nine or ten in the morning and try to avoid traveling at night. I do prefer to get a breakfast and not be rushed before I travel to a new location. For five dollars more I decided to take a taxi from Aleppo to Antakya. Surprisingly, when departing from Syria into Turkey there is a departure fee of ten dollars, although a painless process leaving the country.
The visa for Turkey is only twenty dollars that is a multiple entry, three month visa. Once I am in Kars, I will decided if I want to visit Georgia and Armenia.
I am staying at a budget hotel for ten Turkish pounds a night, the exchange rate is only 1.17 Turkish to the Dollar. The expense is one of the prime reasons why people travel Turkey fast, most people that I have talked with travel one week in Turkey. I have done remarkably well financially, even after paying for the computer, and resupplying with clothes and other things, I have plenty of money to travel Turkey. Two and a half more months it will be one year from the time I left America, and I should have a small surplus from what I planned.
I will be staying two nights in Antakya and move on to Gaziantep. Antakya is the biblical Antioch where the Apostles Peter and Paul taught, including Barnabas. Antioch was the Romans most vile city. This area was a major base for the first century followers of Jesus. Antakya is not far from the hometown of the Apostle Paul which is Tarsus, I will be stopping and paying my respects to Paul’s hometown after I travel the East and the Interior of Turkey.
The heat of August is powerful, last night I slept out on the roof of the hotel, it felt good. Once I am in the mountains of Eastern Turkey it will be all down hill into winter, not that winter will be easy either. I will be OK in this heat just knowing the sun is heading south. I am dealing with it quite well, the Arabs are amazing dealing with the heat.