Turkey Trip

Turkey!

So this post is very late this week, but since getting back from Turkey, we’ve had a lot of assignments due, midterms to take, and regular class work to keep up on. Last week we were in Turkey from May 19-25. It was so cool to go around Istanbul and Asia Minor. We saw so much, I can hardly fit it all into a reasonable-sized blog post. But I’ll try.

On Sunday, we flew to Istanbul (it was a lot easier getting out of Israel than getting in!) and were picked up by our buses and tour guides for the week. The way we’re divided up for trips and field trips is by which Old Testament class we’re in. I spent pretty much every minute with the same 38 people in very close quarters for a week. We only mixed classes when we were given free time at the end of our days and were allowed to do whatever we wanted. My tour guide was Yazemin and she had the joys of being in close quarters with us every minute all week. On that first day, we didn’t see much; we were given free time, during which I walked around the part of Istanbul by our hotel, and then we went to dinner at an exclusive restaurant. We ate kabobs and one of the waiters made napkin roses for all the girls at our table. Our meals all week were always very good and classy, and I’ll tell you about the more memorable ones.

On Monday, we walked the half-mile or so to the Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, and Topkapi Palace. The Blue Mosque is a very beautiful building and an active mosque, so we had to cover up our sinful hair to go in. We then went into the Basilica Cistern, which is a huge underground water tank, then to the Topkapi Palace, the home of the Royal Ottoman family for 400 years. In one of the exhibits was an 86-carat diamond. It was as big as my palm and very sparkly. I decided I might want to upgrade my ring for that- it’s only $30 million. After we saw the exhibits at the palace, we went to the Grand Bazaar, where we were set loose to buy as much cheap stuff as we could. I got some good gifts and the beginnings of my bridesmaid scarf collection. From there we walked to the Spice Bazaar, where we had just enough time to look around before heading to our boat for a cruise of the Bosphorus Strait. The Bosphorus is the strait that connects the Sea of Marmre to the Black Sea. We rode along the European side and then the Asian side of Istanbul. We came within 10 miles or so of the Black Sea, but couldn’t see it.

Tuesday, we drove down to Gallipoli, the site of a major WWI battle. There is a nice memorial there for the Australian/New Zealand and Turkish forces that fought there. We took a ferry across the Dardenelles Strait (which connects the Marmre and Aegean Seas) and drove to Troy. We got to take pictures in the original Trojan horse. Yes, it is still there and in great condition, such good condition, in fact, that you can see it featured in the recent movie Troy with Brad Pitt. From Troy we went to our hotel, which had beach front property. The beach was actually kind of gross, because the area is commercial, but the best part of it was all the jellyfish swimming with us. They were stinger-less, so we could pick them up and throw them at each other without consequence.

Wednesday, we drove to Assos, as mentioned in Acts, and saw what remains of the Acropolis and the Temple of Athena. Then we made our way to Pergammum, where we got to ride gondolas to the top of the hill (a tender mercy). That’s the place where the famous Temple of Zeus was still in perfect condition (but is now in Berlin). It also has the steepest theater in the world and a lot of really cool structures. From there we drove to our nicest hotel of the week. Bro Judd referred to it as Hotel Fantastica all week. It had a beautiful beach, pools, saunas, a huge buffet and terrible internet connection. Matt and I tried skyping there, but it kept dropping the connection every few minutes. It was minutes away from Ephesus, where we went the next day.

Thursday, we went to Ephesus, starting with St. John’s Basilica, which is the supposed tomb of John (who we know is translated and not dead).  You can see the famous Temple of Diana (Artemis) from there, but all that’s left is a grassy area with one column reconstructed for tourists, the rest of the stones are gone. Then we went to the main city of Ephesus, where we visited the temples, fountains, latrine, and theaters, saw the great library, watched an Anthony and Cleopatra reenactment, and shouted “Great is Diana of the Ephesians” in the Great Theater, just like the mob in Acts 19. It was huge! By far the largest site we went to, at least in terms of reconstruction and things to see. But it is a very popular tourist spot and that day there were 7 cruise ships at port, so it was also the most crowded place- there were people everywhere. We ended Ephesus by going to the Church of St. Mary, where one of the seven Councils of Nicaea was held. In contrast to the busyness of Ephesus, the final site of the day was at Priene, which was so peaceful. We were the only people there and the hill has a lot of trees, so it was shady and quiet. We had fun in the odeon (which is the name for a small theater meant for government, etc) making dance videos and sitting on the thrones that surround the stage.

Friday, we left Ephesus and went to Sardis. We learned about the kingdom of Lydia, who brought us currency as we know it today, dice, and knucklebones. You might have heard the phrase, “Rich as Croesus”? He was the king of Lydia when they created gold and silver coins. We then went to the nearby Temple of Artemis. The columns there were huge. It would take at least 6 people to make a circle around each. That was a beautiful place, because the mountains behind it provided a very nice background and the area around the temple reminded me of the Sound of Music. We then went to Thyatira, where Lydia and the famous purple trade come from.  After that we went to Bursa to a mosque there that was very beautiful, too. The area is famous for its textile industry so after the mosque we walked over to the silk bazaar, where I got a few more bridesmaid scarves for very cheap and had fun looking around.

Saturday, the last day, we went to Nicaea, to the sites of the first and last of the Councils of Nicaea. The Hagia Sophia (not to be confused with the Hagia Sohpia in Istanbul) was the site of the last Council but was converted into a mosque when Ottomans came but then fell into disrepair. They put up a roof and is an operating mosque, but it’s so little used that we didn’t need to cover our hair. We then went to spot of Constantine’s Palace on Lake Izmir, the site of the First Council. It was a beautiful clear lake. We took a ferry across the Sea of Marmre to Istanbul and ended our sights with the Hagia Sophia. It was in process of restoration, so the north wall had scaffolding and a wall covering it. After we left, we had some final free time, so we went back to the Grand Bazaar. We needed to have at least 1 guy with us, so Nathan was our bodyguard that day. It was Nathan and 4 girls, and the shopkeepers kept giving him a hard time. They’d yell out variations of “Is that your harem? You’re a lucky man!” so Nathan didn’t stop blushing for most of our trip. It was pretty funny to watch and Marissa and I started calling each other ‘sister-wife ’. Our last meal was memorable: we were each given a whole fish, scales, eyes, and all! Some people ate beforehand so they wouldn’t have to, but I thought it was actually pretty good (I didn’t eat the eyes, though).

So that’s Turkey! A very condensed version, even if you don’t believe it. I’ll write a shorter letter about this week on Sunday. And I’ll finish posting Turkey pictures and maybe some others.

Love, Kelby