Blue Walls & Rif Mountains

Chefchaouen, Morocco

Morocco

Casablanca, Rabat and Fez in Morocco

Casablanca

Casablanca

Casablanca

Exotic gardens in Rabat

Rabat

Bird in Chellah near Rabat

Moroccan doorway

Chellah in Rabat

Fez

Fez

Happy Earth Week!

Pool of Eels

Desert & Ocean of Morocco

Sahara Desert and Oualidia, Morocco

Sand dunes in the Sahara Desert

Camel trek through the Sahara Desert

Camel trekking

Desert ready

Sunrise in the Sahara Desert

Desert spider

Atlantic Ocean from cliffs of Oualida

Tides out in the lagoon in Oualida

Sea Urchins…

Crab in tide pool

Oualida

Oualidia lagoon

Photos from Marrakesh and the High Atlas

Now that we’re home and gainfully unemployed (we do make the most of our spare time!), we are going to try to post photos from earlier in the trip. Here are some from Marrakesh, during April 10-14.

Djemaa al-Fna, the heart of Marrakesh.

Djemma al-Fna, the Art Square, is the home of nightly markets, music and dancing. We were lucky to be there on a Saturday night, the most lively. We saw people devouring boiled sheep heads and snails, watched acrobatic dancers, and Matt tried in vain to comprehend Moroccan dialect (Darija) storytellers. We also saw snake “charmers” who sewed the mouths of cobras shut to get tourist money, leaving the snakes to slowly starve to death. Our hotel, where we slept on mats on the roof, was within earshot of the pulsing Gnawa beats all night.

Matt stepping into a cool room in the Bahia Palace.

We saw tons of architecture in Marrakesh, from medieval Arabic to French colonial. The Bahia Palace draws mostly from classic Moroccan, with zellij tilework, Arabic calligraphy, and green courtyards. We searched for the old Jewish quarter, but with most Jews having fled Marrakesh, the mellah is now mostly markets and artists.

Morning mist in the High Atlas.

Morocco is not as arid as most people might think, as the mist lingering in the mountains shows. And yes, they do have roads in Morocco!

Sheep and a mountain.

An ancient medina.

We are Home!

That’s right, the ash cloud held off long enough for us to fly home to Michigan! We’re back! Neither of us have cell phones at the moment, but don’t worry, we’ll meet up with everyone we can. We will post photos from the last two months as we find time.

But wait, there’s more. In three weeks Lisa, Matt, and Lisa’s family will go to Alaska for over two weeks. The adventure never ends….

Jet Engine over Lake Michigan

Great Lakes, Great Times!

Ireland

We’re currently in Gurteen, Co. Sligo, where Matt’s grandfather is from. We’ve been visiting a lot of family here and it’s been great. Before this, we were in Derry and Belfast, also visiting family. Everyone here has been spectacular and very welcoming. When we do finally post pictures from Ireland, they should be beautiful!

We are in Ireland!

The ash cloud fortunately blew over just in time for us to fly to Dublin. Everything is great here – feels like home. More news later.

Portugal was Perfect, Presently in Paris, but Potential Postponing Poses Problems

Well, our five days in Portugal went by way too fast. That country was really amazing, and we benefited from having three perfect hosts who really took time to show us around their cities. We went to Lisbon, Porto, Braga, and Penada-Geres National Park. Each place was full of great times and great photos, hopefully soon to come.

We are now in Paris, staying with a friend we met in Turkey. The world’s second-most romantic city (Istanbul, Matt claims, is #1) and our hosts are certainly treating us well.

But troubles loom on the ash-darkened horizon. Eyjafjallajökull (the real name!) volcano in Iceland has once again reared its ugly head, spewing yet more volcanic ash over Northern Europe. As of writing, Irish airspace remains closed. We are due to fly to Dublin for the highly-anticipated final two weeks of the trip in 12 hours. Stay tuned….

On Top of a Mountain in Portugal

Seville

We are currently in Seville, enjoying the Feria de Abril. It is a huge city-wide festival with traditional music, flamenco dancing, and . . . bullfighting.

Bullfighting is 100 times more horrible than we thought it would be. Lisa is traumatized. Matt, after killing and plucking chickens in Italy, is now put off meat. Wow. Frankly, we´re surprised it´s still legal. It´s not that we´re squeamish – it´s just cruel.

Anyway, that was a shocking hour of our lives. Granada and Cordoba await us.

Just Arrived in Spain from Morocco

Hola! We hope you enjoyed the photos from Italy, posted by guest blogger Caryn (thank you!). Lisa will upload some photos from her perfect stay on the farm when she can.

We just left Morocco after two amazing weeks there. A ferry took us across the Straits of Gibraltar from the Spanish enclave in Africa, Ceuta, to Algeciras. Next up: monkeys at Gibraltar and bullfights in Seville!

Watch for photos from Morocco when we get the chance.

The Murray Trip in Italy

The following is a photo gallery of pictures from the trip in Italy.

The Colosseum as seen from a hill nearby

Arch of Constantine

Ruins in Pompeii

Villa de Misteri at Pompeii. Very mysterious!

Saint Peter’s Basilica

Saint Peter’s Square, as seen from the dome of the basilica, which we climbed.

Trevi Foutain

The Tower of Pisa and Church in the Field of Dreams

One of the many views on the scenic trails at Cinque Terre

A beautiful trail between two towns at Cinque Terre

Sunset at Cinque Terre

Iznik

Since Matt is about to send his laptop to the USA, courtesy of Mom and Caryn, we needed to post our last photos of Turkey. Coming soon: Caryn as guest blogger, covering the Murray trip in Italy!

Iznik, better known in the West as Nicaea (as in Nicaean Creed) and the home of Iznik tiles, was our last mini-trip in Turkey before resuming the adventure in earnest. We went with our friends Bayram and Nuray about two weeks ago. Enjoy.

This ancient church-turned mosque-turned museum is probably not exactly where the Council of Nicaea took place, but it was in the area.

The nest of a migrating African stork on the dome of a 800 year old Selcuk mosque. Note the Persian-influenced zigzag pattern of the minaret and early example of fine Iznik tilework.

Us in the ruined amphitheatre.

Sunset over Iznik Lake.

Matt ponders the bygone Byzantine Empire...

.... while Lisa jumps around.

Gallipoli and Troy

We are hopelessly behind on photos. Here are some from the autumn when we went to Gallipoli and Troy – the scenes of fierce fighting in World War I and the Greco-Trojan War, respectively.

At the Key of the Sea

Anzac Cove, where the Australians and New Zealanders faced an uphill struggle.

The Trojan Horse in Canakkale.

Shhh, there's no one in here!

A real Spartan ready for battle.

The entrance to Troy

Little remains of once-great Troy...

Our City

As we prepare to leave Turkey, here are some photos from around our apartment.

The daily walk to work

Spotted on the walk to work.

We did love living in sight of mountains.

Some neat-looking apartment buildings.

This image really captures where we live - mountains, gulf, city, and ever-present haze.

But we do love those mountains.

Yea, cows and other large domesticated animals sometimes wander around.

Stray dogs are adorable.

Pictures Problem

Well, there’s obviously a problem with the photos. If you click them, you can see the whole photo without a caption. We’ll try to fix this on Monday.

UPDATE: We couldn’t fix the problem with the photos, so we just rewrote the captions under each photo. Click the photo to see the whole thing.

Catching Up on Some Photos

We’re leaving Turkey in 10 days and thought we should post some more photos from our life here. These are from hikes in the mountains. In the next few days we’ll post some city photos.

A village, with our city on the other side of the gulf.

A village, with our city on the other side of the gulf.

The obligatory cliff picture, just to worry Mom.

The obligatory cliff picture, just to worry Mom.

A flower blooming in January - the Mediterranean climate has some advantages.

A flower blooming in January – the Mediterranean climate has some advantages.

We live on the other side of the gulf.

We live on the other side of the gulf.

Climbin'

Climbin’

Strollin' in the Black Sea.

Strollin’ in the Black Sea.

An island in the Black Sea. This photo is dedicated to Ruth K - the geology of this whole area was fascinating.

An island in the Black Sea. This photo is dedicated to Ruth K – the geology of this whole area was fascinating.

Black Sea coast.

Black Sea coast.

These adorable tortoises are EVERYWHERE out here.

These adorable tortoises are EVERYWHERE out here.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

This St. Patrick’s Day is dedicated to Ireland, where we will be in less than two months!

Winter in Turkey

It looks like spring here, but all reports indicate winter is still going strong in Michigan. So, we decided to post some of our pictures from the (very brief) winter we had here in Turkey.

Santa, hungover, on a motorcycle, in Sultanahmet, on New Year's Day morning. There is a lot wrong with the picture.

Our Christmas tree, homemade menorah, a Santa Claus donated by our Ukrainian friend, and some of the gifts and cards from each other and our friends and family.

The view from our apartment in January.

Walking to Kartepe.

Powder Day in Turkey

When four days of nearly uninterrupted snow fell on our city, we knew it was time to hit the slopes. Towering over 5,500 feet above Izmit, Kartepe (Snow Peak in Turkish) was calling our names. We hitchhiked to the summit and spent a fantastic day skiing. The powder was about 18 inches thick in places, and given the recent arrival of skiing as a hobby in Turkey, we found most of the best runs empty. Beautiful.

Dinner in Doha

Vacation around the Persian Gulf in the UAE, Oman, & Qatar.

Dubai Marina. Dubai, UAE

Burj Khalifa - World's tallest building. Dubai, UAE

Burj Al Arab - World's most luxurious hotel. Dubai, UAE

Baby camel and it's mother. Al Ain, UAE

Desert road. Al Ain, UAE

Jesse and Matt trekking through the desert. Al Ain, UAE

Desert! Al Ain, UAE.

Oops. Stuck in the sand dunes.

Herding camels out of the nature reserve - by jeep.

Wild gerbil! Al Ain, UAE

Oasis in Al Ain, UAE

Gecko in the Oasis

Fossilized shark tooth! Oman.

Small Mouse-Tailed Bat. Oman.

Caving in Oman!

Boats in front of the Islamic Art Museum. Doha, Qatar.

Islamic Art Museum. Doha, Qatar.

Cityscape of Doha, Qatar.

Inland Sea on the Qatar side across from Saudi Arabia.

Matt's strange airplane pal.