I met a man in England’s Lake District named Martyn Leaver who rebuilds ancient stone walls. He told me he’s called a Waller, a title given to craftsmen like him who have helped divide land and livestock between neighbors and farmers for centuries and, more recently, UK...

So — purely coincidentally — all the males in our family were dressed up in newspaper costumes on New Year’s Eve. Apparently, four out of six separate groups needed a Wildman to decorate their entry in the annual Antalya Turkey Fashion Show … modeled after the great...

Earlier this week, S was asked about her vocational dreams: What is your passion? (Asked by Uncle J, our host and excellent listener.) It’s fair to say — and this sentence has been pre-approved — that S does not have a clear answer to that question. I’m able to answer...

It’s true: the boys and I had a 2-on-2 Nerf gun battle inside the ruins of the ancient city of Perge … where Saint Paul and Barnabas surely traveled on their first missionary journey. Our first game was delayed indefinitely by a wandering tour group. The second game was won by W...

  BEAUTY has been a wonderfully constant companion on this trip. There was profound beauty in these places in Iceland, for example. Body-calming beauty. Severe beauty. We have just spent the last ten days in Turkey being FED by beauty of an entirely different degree. It began in the...

    Christmas greetings from the ancient city of Perga – a stopover for Paul and Barnabas in 46AD, and for the Wilds in 2012AD. Merry...

Singing SILENT NIGHT on Christmas Eve at the St. Paul Cultural Center in Antalya,...

These dogs were so cute and looked so much like a...

This is a lake inside a...

  Ocean views in...

A few days ago, Ali Turabi Ogkoz introduced himself to us while we strolled along this Aegean beach. That conversation led to an invitation to join him and his wife, Nurcan, for tea … which led to a full, impromptu evening around their table for dinner. We talked of the Kurds, Turkey...

So we wrote yesterday (“Two Havens”) about our recent visits to two villages, one in France and the other in Turkey, that are believed to be havens from what some say will be the end of the world … today. The CBS News crew mentioned in that post was not turned off by my...

A photo taken on the mountains above ancient Ephesus. S and the boys, weary and wet from rain, waited in the car while I sought out what we thought was a cross atop the mountain peak. Turns out, an unthinking text I sent her on the way is worth further reflection: “Going to cross,...

There are some who believe the world will end on December 21, 2012.  That’s tomorrow. It’s based on what appears to be the end of the ancient Mayan calendar. There are many, of course — like us — who don’t give much credence to Mayan prophets and their...

  Hiking yesterday in Dilek National Park,...

I confess. I went to Starbucks yesterday. And it was good. Yesterday morning, I very carefully followed the directions on the bag of Turkish coffee. Cold water, stir once, simmer, fill cup half way, reheat, fill remainder of the mug. It was a silty, smoky, oversweet disaster. The...

I wanted to do something about love. These are my stuffed animals that I love very...

The sand on the nearby Aegean beach has a curious surface tension to it.  The pressure of a footstep is too much for the crust to bear, and as a foot falls, dozens of holes appear surrounding the step.  Action/reaction. Cause and effect.  Holes, some tiny and some large, intended or...

We had a lot of dirty clothes when we came to Turkey. But they are no longer...

Today’s Echo of the Day came early, just a few minutes ago. Here’s what happened: E often asks unexpected questions. Today’s opener (as S and I were still in bed) was about the financial basis of why we decided to come on this journey. We have discussed with the boys that...

We’re super pumped about a new trip map that actually zooms through flight and driving routes. It even lingers at each of our stops on this journey. Click here … or on the TRIP MAP SO FAR link above on the...

Taken on a walk tonight in...

Images from a village on Turkey’s Aegean coast, just after...

E flying his airplane in the restored marketplace stoa of the ancient Athens...