Embellished Essence

Turkish goods are often embellished with extravagant designs, whether on plates or on rugs. When I saw this scene, I felt that it captured the essence of Turkish markets. 

The Shoe Polisher

The light was exquisite. His glare, assertive. When I asked if I could take his photo, a subtle nod was his reply. His emotions were as cold as the cobblestone beneath his feet.

Turkish Delight

     

The Summer of 2009 changed me forever. My family and I went on a missions trip to Antalya, Turkey with a program called IMPACT. Our purpose was to encourage the Christian Turks who are being persecuted and oppressed by the tyrannical Muslim government. The country is 99.9% Muslim, and 0.01% "Other"; Christians fall into the latter category. Turks are truly hostile to the Christians there; the pastor of the church we visited, called the Antalya Evangelical Church, has had numerous near-death experiences, such as a man walking right in the church with a knife, heading towards the pastors office. 

              
     That month long trip impacted my family and I so much, that we just had to go back. Sure enough, God provided a way and we returned for a month, during the summer of 2010. I cannot put into words the marvelous impact that those two missions trips had on my life. I will never forget them. 

     Here is a link to the flickr page of Melis, a beautiful Christian who was one of the first to befriend us, and is a great photographer :      http://www.flickr.com/photos/46017406@N05/

     Here's a video that gives some context to the situation in Antalya, and talks about the church: http://youtu.be/NibzGSm7hs8

Eager

An eager customer awaits his late-night treat.

I shot this photo on a missions trip to Antalya, Turkey a couple summers ago (The summer of 2010). As I was walking along the luminescent yellow pyramid of corn caught my eye, and I composed this shot in about a second or so. I was pleased with the anticipation portrayed through the customer, and the innocent simplicity of the vendor.