Alexia Benavides

AMONG THE GODS Alexia and Antonio Benavides walk among the toppled heads of sculptured deities that once adorned the temple-tomb of King Antiochus I of Commagene (69-34 B.C.)

“You only live once,” reads the inscription on a mosaic from the Roman Empire in the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, the world's largest, in the town of Gaziantep, Turkey,

Antonio with Alexia, who like all women must don a scarf to enter a mosque, in this case the sixth-century Hagia Sofia – the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, now converted to a mosque. 

Alexia and Antonio take a break from their shopping in the Grand Bazaar, considered by many to be the world's oldest shopping mall.

Alexia and Antonio pause from their travels in front of a tree covered in the traditional Turkish Nazar Boncuk - popularly known as the “Evil Eye,” though the intention is to ward off bad energy and evil intentions from others.

Alexia, Oya, and Oya’s friend, Yarasel Cruz, stop for a pose at a tourist stop. “Kapadokya” is the Turkish spelling of Cappadocia, and the characteristic cave houses hollowed from the soft volcanic stone can be seen on a hill in the background. The region's original inhabitants hollowed out the formations to construct homes, churches, stables, and even entire underground cities; some are still inhabited, and others have become museums.