Pictured: Standing in front of the Temple of Garni, located about 45 minutes outside of Yerevan 

Armenia has an impressive history of preserving their history, language, and culture all while being surrounded by “giant empires” throughout history. The city of Yerevan had many different areas to explore, and the local authentic food quite possibly could have been our favorite part. 

Pictured: Cappadocia hot air balloon ride

Turkey was so great to us! We spent 5 days exploring between Cappadocia and Istanbul, and the days flew by. We quickly learned about the history of Istanbul and it’s contribution to the rest of the world. We found that there are so many other incredible places to visit when in turkey and we look forward to being able to go back and explore them.

Pictured: Garden of Gethsemane

We spent almost a week in Isreal, spending time in both the big city of Tel Aviv and also in the historic part of Jerusalem. We absolutely loved getting to know both sides of the young country. Jerusalem is a must visit place for anyone curious about the history of mankind and the evolution of the early world. Tel Aviv reminded us of parts of California and 2 days was not enough to see all we needed to see there. There was a certain calmness to Isreal that we hadn’t felt other places.

Pictured: Hike to The Monastery in Petra

Our time in Jordan was short, but long enough to see the highlights of Amman and Petra. Amman seemed like the most westernized country we could have imagined in Asia, which made it extremely easy to navigate. The Jordanian people were so kind to us and Petra was every bit of a dream that you can imagine. We were in the country during Ramadan, which helped us learn more about their month(s) long holiday. The highlight from the trip was the ~40 minute hike to top of the The Monastery in Petra.

Pictured: A stroll through the markets in Asakusa near Kaminarimon Gate

Of all the countries we’ve visited, we’ve only said there are 2 we would see ourselves living in. Japan is one of those countries. We are so blessed to have spent 2 weeks in Japan, immersing ourselves in the more conservative and traditional Kyoto, and also the modern and creative Tokyo. We have many more trips back to Japan in our future! 

Pictured: Kwangjang Market in northeastern Seoul

South Korea was great to us! We spent 5 days exploring the city of Seoul, all the neighborhoods, all the bars, the different cultural pockets, and even made it up to the DMZ. The JSA was closed, otherwise we would have gone there too. We wish we had more time in South Korea, but look forward to when we can go back and explore more.