Tuesday, January 22, 2013

History and Spice, and Everything Nice- the Pictures

 
A Lion from the main gate at Ushtar, and the ancient Hammurabi Code! :)

History and Spice, and Everything Nice

1/20/13
When we began this trip to Turkey, most of us were a little confused as to why we would be coming back to a city we'd already been, then staying for two days. Now it seems obvious. Istanbul is the perfect place to wrap up a visit to Turkey.
 
While yesterday we visited the Topkapi Palace and saw all the riches of the recent Ottoman empire, today we visited the Archeological Museum and saw all the richness of Turkey's history. 
 
At first we explored Ancient Messopotamia. The walls were covered with Lions and Dragons from the gates of the ancient city of Ushtar. We also saw the first written love poem, and the Hammurabi Code written out in cuniform. After that, we explored rooms upon rooms full of Greek and Roman artifacts, including several exibits just for tomb stones and sarcophagi with detailed carvings of the lives of those buried beneath them. 
 
Much of the museum held artifacts from cities we'd already explored previously, such as Troy. It felt much like a wrapping up of the entire trip.
 
Lunch today was at a Baklava shop. The main course was a noodle and meat concoction- baklava without sugar. However, it was desert that we loved the most. For those who don't know, baklava is a flaky pastry usually soaked in honey with something else in it. We had both pistachio and chocolate baklava, as well as some Turkish ice cream, a lemonade that tasted like melted sorbet, and a warm drink made of milk and cinnamon. It was the ultimate Turkish sweet experience!

After lunch, we took a trip up the Bosporus River. During the time of the Constantinople, a heavy chain was placed across the river to protect the city from attack. Now however, the river is free for traffic, and what a lovely trip it was. We saw the other side of St. Sophia and the Topkapi Palace, as well as the military training school, and a ship that was once owned by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The sea breeze was refreshing, and the ride was a nice break from the walking earlier. Not to mention, the view was beautiful.
Ben got to drive the boat for a few minutes, which was probably the best part of his day, and made us all smile as well.
 
After the boat ride, it was on to the Spice market. Much smaller then the Grand Bazzar, it was only a couple streets, and was clearly where many Turkish locals did their shopping for food such as fish, spices, and candies. It was fun to again haggle for prices and talk with the friendly shop keepers, all while getting bargains on suveniers.
 
Lastly we walked through the newer part of the city and caught a tram back to the hotel. When the day was done, we were deffinately done with being around people, but it was an enjoyable experience none the less. The music was so different, and we laughed at shop names as we walked by. Other then that, the newer part of the city seemed more European then anything else, full of high fashion and toy shops.
 
Our last day in Turkey was something to remember, full of Turkish people and culture, in comparison to all the ancient history we'd explored earlier in the trip, or even earlier in the day. It was alot to take in, but certainly, a wonderful last day. 

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Return to Istanbul

      We started out today by flying from Kayseri back to Istanbul, where we began our trip. We went to visit the Blue Mosque, which is across from the Haggia Sophia. Though this was a different experience from the Sophia because it is actually a functioning mosque, not a museum. The girls had to put hoods or scarves over their heads and everyone had to take off the shoes before entering the holy place. Inside the mosque it was beautiful, with different blue-colored tiles and patterns adorning the walls. There were still some men praying on the main floor, and some women in the back.
       Next we went to the Topkapi Palace, the home of the sultans. There we saw all the treasures of the palace and some of the sultan's clothes. There were so many things that were covered in diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other precious stones. There were cups, bowls, flasks, bow case and quiver, swords, daggers, thrones, and other decorations. Every single one was covered in gems and looked very expensive. We were in awe of how much these sultans owned and wondered how much of this stuff one person actually needed. Especially the prized piece, the sultan's dagger, with three large emeralds (the sign of the sultan) on the hilt. It was very elaborate. The sultan's clothes were all in one room, and those were also elaborate, with colors and patterns. The sultan lived very large back in the day with everything he had!
      The last thing we did for the day was visit the Grand Bazaar. It covers about 65 streets, but we only went to a few. There were many sections with all different items from souvenirs to jewelry, clothes, and books. It was fun to experience the culture of the bazaar, and a few of us had fun bargaining with the merchants about the prices of items. And thankfully we didn't get lost there, we made it out with little problem!

Traveling the Tunnels of Turkey

Today dawned bright over the Goreme Open-Air Museum, a large cliffside in which hundreds of rooms were carved. This area is famous for its many carved churches. Most smaller than about 10 square feet, these churches are named after an object in the paintings in each room. We visited the Apple Church, called so either because of a fresco of Jesus holding a bowl of apples or because of a supposed orchard that once grew right outside the entrance. We also saw the Snake Church, a rather large room with frescos of St. George killing a dragon. One of the most interesting churches was filled with "comic strips" across the ceiling depicting the entire story of Jesus.

From the museum we drove to an area with many interestingly-shaped rock fixtures. These fixtures were carved like the houses, although perhaps a bit less grandly. The most interesting part about these rooms was the rocks themselves. These fixtures are called Fairy Chimneys by the locals and are large and pointed with a flat top. The rock on the bottom is a soft rock that deteriorates faster than the rock on top of it, leaving the structure looking like it has a hat.

Let's not forget the camel that we rode! We got a bit tricked into buying the ride. As Audrey was encouraged to sit on the animal for "just a picture," he stood up with her on his back and began walking away! It was only after the camel came back to his perch that the leader demanded 20 lira…but nonetheless an amazing experience!

We then continued to a pottery store where we witnessed a master creating a sugar bowl. If that itself wasn't treat enough, we were able to view many completed masterpieces. Some of these dishes and bowls (and whatever else you can imagine that can be made out of clay) were painted with glow-in-the-dark paint! Of course those were crazy expensive but we were able to purchase some handmade less-than-masterpieces. Some of these creative works were created in the Hittite design and all of the pieces were made from red and white clay found in the nearby river. Let's hope that this family business is able to flourish as it continues with its 7th generation of owners.

The last event on our tour for the day was the Underground City. Like the other carvings, this area was created by hand in the 1st century. The difference was that the Underground City was well, underground. We traveled about five floors down, approximately 60 feet under the surface. Some sections of the city went down 16 floors! We could stand straight in most of the rooms but many of the passages were only about 3 or 4 feet tall and rather narrow. There were many branches off of the passages and rooms where we traveled, but they were pitch black and I can only imagine how dangerous they must have been. It still would have been amazing to explore the entire area though! But we would have gotten very lost. To think that Christians carved these mazes and hid there for up to 60 days at a time to avoid persecution!

After dinner, we went for a walk around the town and ended up in a little pastry shop where we tried Turkish coffee, éclair, and baklava. A great end to our day!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Konya to Cappadocia

This morning we went to the Mevlana Museum, home of the Whirling Dervishes. The Mevlavi dervish sect of Islam was founded by Rumi, a poet and mystic. The museum contains Rumi's tomb, the ceremonial hall, the cells of the dervishes, and tons of memorabilia and mementos. Each cell can be entered and contains robes, musical instruments, writings, mannikins, and etc. There are also plaques with more information about the Mevlavi: it's part of Sufi Islam and the whirling dervishes express God's love to the people. When one first enters the monastery, one must endure 1001 days of suffering. After this, they become a novice and go into training. When entering the musuem itself, we had to put plastic bags over our shoes. The museum was in very good condition. One room of the musuem contained copies of the Qur'an--one had been written with a strand of hair and was about as big as a ring box!!
 
After the museum, we entered a felt shop and saw the making of felt from wool. Some of us purchased some felt objects (a tie and scarves) and then we went to Lystra, which, like Colossae, is unexcavated and is just a green mound called a tel. We took some quick pictures and then left.
 
After a lunch stop, the rest of the afternoon was taken up by driving to Cappadocia (with a quick stop along the way). Our hotel, while located in the middle of nowhere, is called the Cave Hotel and is one of the most unique and awesome hotels any of us has ever been in. Our rooms look as if they were carved out of the rocks themselves and one room even has heated floors!
 
After dinner (lentil soup and chicken), our evening concluded with an impromptu snowball fight in the small courtyard outside our rooms. Tomorrow we head to an open-air musuem and an undergound city.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Calcium Pools of Hierapolis


Enjoying the Thermal Mineral Pool at our Hotel


Ruined Theater of Laodikea


Miletus Theater


Greetings from Miletus, Laodikea, Hierapolis, and the Thermal Pool

1/15/12
    Our day started at 6am, and after a breakfast of yogurt and honey (for me!) we boarded Diana and headed for Miletus. The ancient city used to be a peninsula jutting into the bay, but like many other cities in Turkey, the rivers leading into it completely silted the bay, leaving the current site landlocked for miles. On Paul's third journey he passed through Miletus and gave his farewell speech to the Miletians and the Ephesian leaders who he had asked to meet him, likely at the city's 15,000-seater theater.
   After Miletus, we traveled to Laodikea (Laodicea), the city of earthquakes. The town had finally been abandoned around 600 A.D. because of a devastating earthquake, so the foundation ruins rarely came higher than four or five feet (while in other ancient cities we visited, sometimes even second stories were still intact). The streets were lopsided, and at times opened up to reveal large sewer tunnels underneath. Laodikea brought in water through aquaducts from two different sources- the origin of the first source produced hot water, and the second produced frigid water. Yet, by the time both had reached the city the water was tepid. John writes to the Laodikeans about their lack of faith in Revelations 3:16: "Since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!"
    At Hierapolis, we waded through thermal pools of calcium deposits on the steep white hillside; Cleopatra herself had bathed in the pools of Hierapolis a few thousand years ago. From Hierapolis, we drove to our hotel and (over)ate a delicious buffet dinner. After dinner, we explored the thermal pools at our hotel; there were six different pool areas and levels. The outdoor pools had squishy minerals on the bottom that felt like watery playdoh, and the steamy indoor pools were enough to make us pass out. It was sublime, and we all feel ready for out next adventure!

Going East

     Today we traveled to Pisidian Antioch, a city rich in history and of particular importance from the standpoint of Christianity. It was here that Paul first preached to the Gentiles (Acts 13:13-52). Along the way, we passed the fourth largest lake in Turkey, Lake Egirdir (also the second largest freshwater lake). We witnessed the beauty of the various fauna and fruit trees: poplars, fig trees, apple trees and orange trees, among many more.
     The city is said traditionally to have been founded by Antiochus I from from the Seleucid Dynasty, one of the dynasties that resulted after the death of Alexander the Great along with four others. It was built from 281-261 B.C.. Emperor Augustus established the first and greatest military colony in Pisidia.The city is still being excavated. Interestingly enough, archaeologists now employ magnetic technology to see what is worth digging. All types of scientists also accompany archaeologists to add to the reservoir  of knowledge of the city: botanists, geologists, biologists, etc. The two most interesting and important sites in Antioch were the Propylon, or the imperial cult statue which also contained the treasury, and the Great Basilica of St. Paul. Paul is said to have preached in the synagogue under the foundations of the Basilica. Both were once massive structures.
     Besides the sites we have visited, we have also greatly the food. We often eat four course meals, the main course having been fish for quite a few days. For those unaccustomed with taking apart a fried fish, it has been a new and enjoyable experience. This is certainly a land abundant in all kinds of food. Ironically enough, the four things I eat/drink the least (salads, tea, bread, yogurt) I eat/drink at almost every meal. Their salads are incredibly varied, a far cry from the ice berg lettuce salads that I dislike. And who knew that yogurt could go well with so many different things? Every meal is accompanied by so many different colors and tastes, making eating a very enjoyable experience. My favorite course is dessert. The Turkish people really know how to eat, and especially how to eat dessert! My favorite so far is called "lokma," deep fried dough soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon.

Well, just writing this post is making me hungry. Stay tuned for more!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Pictures of the Library, Lunch, and Turkish rugs!

First is a picture of the Library at Ephesus in all it's glory!

Then Dr. Gates helps make traditional Turkish food. :)

Rugs, rugs, and more rugs! A pic of a beautiful handmade Turkish rug.

Pictures of the Fortress of Smyrna and Ephesus

Greetings from Ephesus!

Merhaba (hello) and greetings from Ephesus!   We began this morning with a trip up the mountain to visit the Fortress of Smyrna, Ephesus's commercial competitor. The Fortress over looks the modern day city of Izmir, where we spent last night and visited the Agora (ancient shopping center) of Smyrna yesterday. Besides seeing some really great views, we also learned how Roman aquiducts managed to send water whooshing down a mountain, then straight back up the other side of the valley using nothing but gravity and ingenious architecture to provide water to the Fortress and it's 15 thousand inhabitants. Interesting fact: Not only were Roman citizens taxed according to what kind of water pipes they could afford in their house, but the poorer you were, the higher up the hill you lived, simply because it was harder to pump water up hill. While the rich had hot and cold running water, and the really wealthy had their own indoor baths, the poorer citizens took jars to the public fountains for their daily water.  

After the Fortress, it was on to Ephesus!  

"While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus." Acts 19: 1a.  

By the time Paul arrived in Ephesus, it was the true commercial capital of Asia Minor, and it was easy to see why. The main street of the city was still intact- a long walkway made of marble with pillars lining either side. Called the Processional Way, it came down from the Temple of Artemis, the great goddess of the city, down around the hill, through the town, into the Theater and back up to the Temple. The people apparently processed down this street with the statue of Artemis on festival days to display her in the Theater before taking her back to the Temple.

  Along this street are the State and Commercial agoras, the Bolliterium- or theater of the senate, the public bath, several temples, houses, shops, the Library, and the large Theater. Needless to say, Ephesus is HUGE!! The Temple of Artemis was one of the sevenths wonders of the world, and their library was the 3rd largest of the ancient world. 

  The houses currently being excavated are something to see. Seven houses of the rich and fabulously wealthy stacked on top of each other in terraces, all filled with marble walls and beautiful mosaics. These were the sites of the house churches in the ancient world. We picture people all crammed into small one room houses- forget about it! Try inside ballroom sized rooms specially set aside for guests. 

  Then it was down to the marble streets again, past the fountain that used to gush water out onto the hot marble walk ways in the summer time, and to the Library, the commercial agora, and the Theater.

  "A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines for Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen. He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and here how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man made gods are no gods at all..." Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Machedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater." Acts 19: 24-26 & 29.

  And so Paul started a riot and got himself a bad name in Ephesus. Reading this chapter of Acts out loud while standing in the theater in which it took place was awe inspiring. We had walked past the agora where Demetrius had probably worked, had it explained to us that the leaders of town were in the senate up the hill and didn't here the chanting til two hours later, then stood in the theater and heard the speech used by the cleric to calm the people down. "If you have a grievance, take it before the legal court like civilized people... We mustn't upset Rome..." You could almost see it happening. It is something I will never forget.

    After Ephesus, we headed out to lunch. Dr. Gates, along with Ben and Courtney, took their turn at helping the women prepare our meal for the day. Zehra, our guide, called them "Turkish pancakes", but imagine, if you will, rolling out bread to make something akin to a large thing tortilla, then folding it over and filling it with meat, cheese and spinach to be cooked over a wood fire, coming out with something like a quesadilla. And boy was it tasty! I recommend eating it with Turkish Tea, here called cay (jay).    We toured the Basilica of St. John, built over the final resting place of St. John, who lived in Ephesus until he died of old aged, supposedly with Mary mother of Jesus by his side. Although we didn't visit it, her house is rumored to be in the area, and is a holy site for Catholics across the globe.

  We also visited a Turkish carpet company, where the hand made Turkish rugs. Most of their weavers are families in the area, but the have girls learning how to weave on site, along with 8 thousand hand made rugs. Made of wool, cotton, or silk, every pattern and color is unique of the area it comes from. Silk rugs take the longest to make, as it is the finest thread and can fit the most knots into a square inch, and also makes it the softest carpet, followed by cotton, then wool. I can honestly say every single rug was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! It's no wonder Turkish rugs are known world wide. They certainly convinced most of our group to buy something. A lot of families are going to be happily surprised.

  Tonight we sleep in Kusadasi (Kushadasi), named after the island of birds in the port, and known for being the end of the famous silk road. We walked the docks before dinner licking ice cream and looking at statues and ships in the harbor. Now we sleep to wake tomorrow to visit Miletus, Loadicea and Hierapolis.

  Until then, well wishes from al of us in Turkey!

  "Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love." Letter from Paul to the Ephesians, 6: 23-24.     

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Christian Church Experience and 3 out of 7 Revelation Churches

      We were able to experience a Christian church here in Izmir today, and compare our own American experience to the short part of the service we attended. There were few differences, the biggest being that the service was all in Turkish, so we smiled and nodded a lot. Overall, the church had a great community and you could see the members of the congregation engaged in fellowship before church, and enjoying each other's company. They didn't have a sense of time, and just talked until it felt like time to start worship as more came in. They had told us the service would start at 11, but it was more like 11:15-11:20 when worship started. We are able to say from our time there that we sang "I Love You Lord" and "How Great is Our God" in Turkish since we learned the pronunciation rules from our guide. Overall it was an interesting experience and great to see a strong congregation in the midst of a dense Islamic population. 
       The other three sites we visited today were all mentioned in the book of Revelations, when John is writing to the seven churches. The city we are in is also known as Smyrna, and we were able to see the ruins of the ancient agora of the city. There was a basement uncovered and a huge arch and columns. There were quite a few graves uncovered, which were there as well with ancient inscriptions along the side.
       We then traveled to Sardis, which also means "west," so this city was the furthest west. The ancient acropolis was set on a mountain, but only the city wall remained due to landslides in the past. Thought a temple to the goddess Artemis still stood at the bottom of the mountain, with huge columns still standing and parts of the altar. Though this was not as impressive as the massive gymnasium still intact across the street. The building still stood tall and you could see where the shops along the side had been located and where they exercised and went in the pool and the baths. The synagogue inside still had some mosaics on the floor and altars still intact. It was impressive to see so much still standing and see how the people lived in that time and what they did in their gyms. 
        There were more parts here than in Philadelphia, which was another Revelation church. Philadelphia had the remains of a church dedicated to St. John, which only had a couple big pillars and underground rooms left. 

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Singing in the wind, rain, and hail!

Greetings from Izmir, Turkey,

We visited quite a few sites today, those being Assos, Pergamum, and Izmir. Each place had its tremendous charms even through the drenching rain, gusts of 35mph wind, and occasional hail. In Assos, we climbed (mostly by bus) to the top of the city, known as the acropolis. There we saw the remains of a temple to Athena. Although much of it was in the process of being excavated, we got an idea of the original structure from a mini model of the building. This temple was so high above the town that it acted as a lighthouse to sea-travelers on the ocean 775ft below.

Pergamum had a similar acropolis, but on a much larger scale. The temple and theater are visible from anywhere in the city. It was here that we got caught in a deluge, finding shelter in the foundations of the city. A HUGE altar used to remain on this site but now resides in a museum in Berlin. This alter was known as the Seat of Satan because sacrifices were constantly being burned on it, leaving a continuous trail of smoke. Altough this altar and the temples were in peices, much of the foundations of the site were in better shape. The group greatly enjoyed the enormous amphitheater where a few of us climbed down the near-100 steps to cavort around the "stage" and yell up to the group at the top. Hey, everyone in the theater should supposedly be able to hear you from the bottom! We then made our way to Pergamum's Asclepium, an anceint health clinic. This temple was dedicated to the god of healing, offering remedies and therapies to the ill. These included ceremonial washings, hypnosis, and physical therapy, among other things. Unfortunately, we were unable to stay long due to a very close thunder storm.

Although we are spending the next two nights in Izmir (the third biggest city in Turkey with a population of ~3.5mil), we have yet to see the famous agora and fortress. Look for them in later blogs! We did, however, get the chance to meet a Turkish pastor and his wife. We learned from them much about the history and current status of Christianity in Turkey. Turkey is often the forgotten location of many biblical events. For example, many of Paul's journeys took place here, the seven churches started here, and the Garden of Eden was/is most likely here as well. The church in Turkey, although small, is strong, growing, and in need of our prayers.

Tesekkurler, sogal!
(Thanks, blessings)

Friday, January 11, 2013

The ruins of Troy

Group shot

One of the stray cats


A Visit to Troy

This morning, after breakfasting in the hotel, we left Istanbul and drove south towards the coast. The drive was long and on the way, our tour guide instructed us in the basics of the Turkish language. In Turkish, many suffixes can be added to words until one word can equal a paragraph in English, There are 29 letters in the Turkish alphabet and they are all extremely phonetic, so it's merely a matter of learning to pronounce each sound. We learned "merhaba" (hello), "su" (water), "sogul" (please, pronounced sow) and "lutfen" (please), among others. Our tour guide also informed us of the history of some of the places around us. After a couple hours of driving, we reached the Dardanelles, which is a tiny strip of land that connects Turkey's little peninsula to the rest of Turkey. The Sea of Marmara is on one side and the Aegean Sea is on the other. In World War I, British and French troops tried first to use the waterway, then the narrow peninsula to try to give aid to Russia. However, the Turks beat them back.

We gained a short reprieve from the tour bus when we had to ride on a ferry to get to Canakkale. The wind was so strong that, when blowing directly in my face, I found it hard to move forward and, when at my back, I found myself running. Afterwards, we drove several more hours until we reached Troy, and yes, it is the same Troy from Homer's The Iliad. Each new city was built on top of older ruins, so there are ten cities from different time periods that are all essentially Troy. There are sections of walls that are standing, and our tour guide informed us that the supposed "break" in the wall is not actually a break at all: it's a deception to deceive invaders from the real break, which is the the weakest part of the wall and therefore vulnerable to attack. There was a wooden replica Trojan horse at the entrance that our group gleefully climbed into and took a group picture. There were many stray cats and dogs milling around, and more than once we caught the attention of one little one that followed us around for several minutes, cold (it was very windy as well as rainy) and wanting attention. One even jumped onto the model city of Troy in its efforts! 

After our visit to Troy, we drove for a while longer until we reached Assos. Unfortunately, by this time, it was pouring rain, so we were unable to view the ruins. We drove past them as our tour guide pointed out a few things, and then found ourselves in a cute little seaside town right on the coast of the Aegean Sea. We will stay in this town for the night and then journey to Ismir in the morning, stopping at the Pergamum Acropolis & Asclepium and the Smyrna Agora and Fortress.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Our first day in Turkey

On arriving at the airport in Turkey, we made our way to our mini-bus (her name is Dhyana) and were greeted by the rippling and glistening waves of the Marmara, which was filled with the modern (sea barges) and flanked by the antique (walls of the old city). We were glad (though very much tired, having stayed up close to 30 hours at the writing of the post!) to have entered a city that is so rich in religious, political, and cultural history. Although Istanbul (at least the part we explored) seems only a shadow of its former glory (measured perhaps by beautiful architecture now replaced by low-quality retail outlets and florescent lights), and has been heavily transformed by the effects of globalization on the urban environment, it still retains that "historical mystique" if only because I've learned so much about it, but have never been able to put a picture to those lessons.
We immediately made our way to the Hagia Sophia, once a magnificent Christian church which was converted into a mosque after Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, and then turned into a museum. There were mosaics aplenty, especially of the Virgin Mary with Baby Jesus, or Jesus flanked by various emperors or angels. The columns and windows were spectacular; we were all, I think, not expecting the six huge green medallions inscribed with Arabic surrounding the sanctuary. Afterwards we saw the remains of the hippodrome, which was where chariot races used to take place, right outside the Hagia Sophia and next to the Blue Mosque (named so for its blue tiles). We called it an early day after taking a tour of the aforementioned places. The other sites on our itinerary include Assos, Troy, Izmir, Philadelphia, Cappadocia, and Ankara, among many others.
We are expectant and excited for the beautiful and certainly awe-inspiring sites yet to see and cities yet to visit. Although only a short smattering of the riches Turkey has to offer, it is our hope as a group that this experience inspires further exploration of Turkish history and a greater understanding and appreciation for those cities in the Bible we often uncritically read over.