Leaving Kusadasi meant a long day of driving to get to Marmaris, through two different mountain ranges. In all about 7 hrs on the road, interspersed with some great stopovers. Firstly we visited a leather factory. Turkey is world famous for its leather products and we were blown away by the quality, fineness and the fashion of the leather clothing. The lamb leather is very light, strong and versatile, and even though it would have travelled well, neither of us succumbed to the temptation!

Another 2½ hr drive and we passed the ancient city of Laodicea. Paul requested that his letter to the Colossians be passed on to the church at Laodicea, and one of the seven letters in Revelation was also addressed to Laodicea.  It was fascinating to drive past this ancient place where no excavations have happened as yet. To think that it was only a few decades ago that other ruins we have seen would have looked similar, we have a new respect for the archaeological world and the work that is done.

We shortly came to the ruins of Hierapolis, built on the hot springs of the area. Another great quality theatre greeted us in all its glory. But not only the ruins attract people to this place. The enormous and quite spectacular limestone formations and cascading pools of Pamukkale bring hundreds of thousands of people here to visit. Millions of years of water flow bringing calcium carbonate have produced this beautiful location. But the hundreds of thousands of people are leaving their mark, and it wouldn’t surprise us if access becomes increasingly limited to allow for some natural rejuvenation to take place. There are lots of places the public is prevented from walking and unfortunately that means that positions for really good photos are limited. The water is diverted from a lot of the cascading pools and is stored. Each month different areas of the pools are used for the public, so every visit would bring different photo opportunities.

One of the most interesting things to realise is that in ancient times, the water from Hierapolis would have flowed down to Laodicea, which is only 15 km away. In the letter to the Laodiceans in Revelation, it says: ‘“ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” As the water from the hot springs flowed to Laodicea, it would of course have lost its heat. For this church to be reprimanded in this way, would have resonated with the people in a very real way. Again, being here, and seeing the physical and geographical relationships between these churches, has opened the scriptures to us more and more. Colossae is also not far away, but unfortunately it’s not a stop on this tour. But again, we see why the Colossians and Laodiceans were to share their letters from Paul. What a pity we don’t have the letter to Laodicea!

Colossians 4  ¹² Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.  ¹³ For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. ¹⁴ Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. ¹⁵ Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. ¹⁶ And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.”

^{Revelation 2:1} “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lamp stands. ² “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³ I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶ Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

Today we saw the place in the road where the lamp stands would have been placed. A larger hole in the middle, and four minor holes forming a square around it. The lamps were placed in the holes and used to mark the way for the pagan festivals of the gods. Amazing to see exactly what this letter was referring to.

Being at Ephesus was something both of us have been looking forward to for months. And it did not disappoint!

Ephesus has a history dating back to 700BC. But of course for the two of us, our interests are mainly in its 1st century history. Ephesus was transferred from Greek to Roman rule by bequest along with the rest of the empire around 133BC. It even has been visited by Marc Antony & Cleopatra while they organised one of their war campaigns. It was great to have some detail pointed out to us that showed the Roman ‘signature’ – the lion’s foot on the stair guards going up the small theatre.

We saw and learnt so much today, but again, to see the remains of this place where we know that the Apostle Paul spent nearly 3 years, and had such influence, was another awesome experience.

Paul disrupted much of the industry and market in Ephesus, which was based around paganism and the worship of the goddess Artemis. He taught about a Messiah who had come among the people, and about the one true God, and about the grace this Saviour Jesus brings. This meant that those people profiting from the market based around idols were losing trade, and so a riot erupted and there were many public meetings to try and solve the issue. And yet, through faith and perseverence, Paul also planted a church, taught them, fellowshipped with them, and made such good friends, that we read in Acts 20 as he was leaving Ephesus … “he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.”

Paul preached publicly and privately in Ephesus … we saw the small theatre and the large theatre [incredible!] … likely places where Paul would have preached.

We saw the remains of terraced houses alongside the main colonnade … possible homes where Paul could have shared the gospel of grace with the people of Ephesus.

We saw the road leading to the port where Paul would probably have had his final conversation with the Ephesian elders.

But, the archaeological piece de resistance today was undoubtedly the Library, which was the third largest in the then known world. It’s height, stature, detail and imposing structure was hard to take your eyes off.

It is quite amazing that now Ephesus is about 6km from the coast as the silt buildup over the centuries has changed the coastline to such an extent.

Being in this place, was truly an eye-opening experience. But we feel blessed because we get to return to Ephesus in 2½ weeks, and can hopefully catch things we missed today.

We then had another great Turkish cultural experience by visiting a carpet manufacturer. We learnt the unique method of carpet knot used by the gifted Turkish craftspeople in their handmade work, and saw the fine result it gives. Seeing silk cocoons being spun, and the method used to find the end prior to spinning was incredible.

Other Turkish cultural firsts today was Chris trying Raki while I had my second Turkish coffee, and then moving on to try some Turkish wine – both a local red, and a mulberry wine as well. Verdict – pretty good on all counts.

Visiting a quaint old village which used to be Greek prior to the population exchange, but is now inhabited by Turks, with its narrow stone streets, and local produce markets was a beautiful way to end a beautiful day.

As we left Cannakkale this morning our drive took us past a wonderful view of the Gallipoli peninsular, where the Dardanelles opens into the Aegean Sea. We saw the French and the English Memorials at the tip of the peninsular.

Our first visit this morning was to Troy – an ancient city with a rich history, including 9 eras of civilisation. The layers however, have unfortunately been significantly destroyed due to the inappropriate and basically selfish work of one German archaeologist who started digging at the base to only pursue his specific interests and in the process, destroyed much of the subsequent layers.

Despite this, we saw some amazing things, including a Temple of Aphrodite, a couple of different eras of the city walls, and another section of the city wall which we were walking on, but hasn’t been excavated yet. It currently looks like a road because the ground around the walls is at the same level as the top of the wall. It’s amazing to imagine what might be discovered if excavations should happen there.

It was also amazing to see the ramp leading up to the main city fortress, and to imagine the former grandeur of the structure.

The story of Troy is confused between history and mythology, but there is a replica of the Trojan Horse which can be explored. Unfortunately, we didn’t find Helen, not did we see any Spartans. The experience of the history though, is a truly wonderful thing.

As we continued our drive south along the western coast of Turkey we were blessed to be beside the Aegean Sea with a great view to the Greek Island of Lesbos.

The afternoon was spent at Pergamum, the ancient city to which one of the seven letters in Revelation was addressed. Check it out in Revelation 2:12-17.

We ascended the acropolis by cable car and saw some excavating happening on the hill as we passed over. These amazing ruins showed evidence of a once thriving city that had the second largest library in the world after Alexandria.

The people here invented parchment made out of goat and sheep skin. There was a Sanctuary of Athena and Demetus, and a Temple of Zeus. The massive theatre, in excellent condition, could hold 15,000 people. We saw the Sanctuary of Asklepios [medical centre at Pergamum]. This famous ancient hospital could house 3,500 patients and especially cared for and treated people with psychological disorders. It was at the base of the hill and was joined to the city by a long colonnaded street which we could see from the top.

Also visible in the distance from the acropolis were two tumuli [burial mounds] situated in the modern city of Bergama. A tumulus was formed at the site of the burial of a rich or highly respected person, and buried with them was food, drink and all their possessions, so that when they were resurrected they had all they needed.

We were blown away by being here and came away thanking God that the Christian people of Pergamum were faithfully following Jesus despite the pagan worship surrounding them, and yet also aware that the same letter in Revelation 2 rebuked them for eating food offered to idols, obviously referring to the goats, sheep and bulls offered to Zeus.

We had plenty of free time to explore on our own and walked around the fortress, through the Temple foundations and had amazing photo opportunities with the sun high in the sky at the Temple of Trajan. The foundations of the acropolis were a fantastic compilation of arches and stores, and really gave you the feeling of a lively and busy place with an active agora not far away.

To know that a Christian community had lived and faithfully followed and proclaimed Jesus as Lord in this place where we also were walking 2,000 years later, was yet another humbling and encouraging experience.

It was amazing to drive out of Istanbul this morning. The city is so large. From one end to the other is 176km and we seemed to be driving for such a long time before we could say we were ‘out of Istanbul’. Driving further into the European part of Turkey, we saw increasing agriculture, especially sunflowers. Hugging the coastline of the Sea of Marmara, we went through Tekirdag, a town famous for its production of Raki, the high alcohol content Turkish drink, similar to Ouzo.

We stopped for lunch at a great little out-of-the-way restaurant at Seroz beach. This was where we first saw the Aegean Sea. Absolutely gorgeous quiet little place.

It was then only a relatively short drive to the Gallipoli [Gelibolu] peninsular where it was very poignant to be at the place where Chris’ grandfather had landed and eventually was captured by the Turks, and was a POW for 3 years. As a family, we were blessed that he returned home. So many others did not. The total casualties along the Gelibolu Peninsular, from all sides of this conflict, was 525,000 young people.

This beautiful coast was so idyllic today, that it was hard to imagine how different the water would have looked with so much blood filling it. The impossible task proved just that and the whole campaign was so futile. It was again compelling to hear the story, to know how the soldiers of each side respected each other yet still obeyed their orders.

To see the memorials for the Aussies, for the New Zealanders, the Brits and the Turks was a powerful testament to courage, heroism and sheer determination shown on all sides of this epic battle.

Each place we stopped at had a story to tell. Each grave we saw had a story, each name on a monument had a story, and each family back home was scarred, whether home was in Turkey or on other shores. To know that every Turkish flag we saw marked a mass grave was a stilling thought.

Each person today just wandered alone in quiet reflection, whether we were in a cemetery, at a memorial, reading plaques, gazing at the magnificence of the blue Aegean, or walking in the crystal clear shallow shores.

We reluctantly moved on to Eceabat to catch our vehicular ferry for the short ride across the Dardanelles to Canakkale for our accommodation. We are now back in Asia!

So for the first day of our tour of Turkey we stayed in Istanbul and went back to the area of our initial hotel [which was such a great location by the way!] to see the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia. Each of them were quite amazing in very different ways.

The Blue Mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 and is the only mosque with 6 minarets. It’s called the Blue Mosque, not because of anything particularly blue on the outside, but because of so many blue tiles on the inside. It is certainly a feat of architecture and engineering, but there are many mosques in Istanbul which all look very similar. Continue reading Blue Mosque | Topkapi Palace | Hagia Sophia →

We left Tel Aviv on Wednesday having felt that our few days there gave us a good feel for the city, and especially for the portion of Old Jaffa that was close to our accommodation. Jaffa is the same place as Joppa in the Bible, so it is this place where Jonah ran away from the Lord’s calling to go east to Ninevah and went west instead across the sea. Well, we went northwest to Turkey, and what a wonderful bird’s eye view it was to travel over northern Israel, across the Mediterranean and then to see the amazing terrain of Turkey. By the way … Turkish Airlines is excellent! We would travel with them again without a second thought.

We were met by a driver from our hotel. What a blessing! We got excellent information at reception which helped us plan the few days here before our tour begins on Saturday evening.

Thursday – today we walked and walked. Our hotel is in a perfect location, very close to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and the Archaeological Museums. As we are doing a detailed

tour in this area on Sunday, we explored the Archaeological Museums at the recommendation of an old friend, Paul Arnott. What a place. Incredible artefacts, history and information.

We then walked the Spice Bazaar and eventually found our way through alleys, streets and more bazaars to our pre-booked Turkish Bath!

What an experience. Such unique fun, and a definite ‘must do’. It was 90 minutes of sheer historical and cultural immersion.

After finding a great cafe for some

dinner, we arrived back at our hotel, after basically walking for close to 9 hrs. But we’ve got a bit of a handle now on this part of Istanbul!

Friday – booked an all day tour with a morning cruise up the Golden Horn and then through the Bosphorus. It’s fascinating to think that Turkey straddles two continents and is the meeting place of Asia and Europe.

And Istanbul is the city where this happens and basically has two hearts. The two continents are only separated by a narrow body of water called the Bosphorus joining

the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara.

But Istanbul is actually split into three parts with the Golden Horn being a narrow bay of the Bosphorus going west.

We saw the amazing Rumeli Fortress up the Bosphorus towards the Black Sea. This amazing structure was built in 4 months in 1451.

It was a lovely morning cruising up and down, seeing both history and the contemporary. There is a lot of wealth in Turkey generally, and in Istanbul in particular.

The afternoon moved to the land and we bussed our way round the city, firstly ascending Pierre Loti Hill to have a view of the city.

Easily the highlight of today was a visit to Dolmabahce Palace, the home of the last six Sultans prior to the dismissal of the Caliphate in the 1920s. Extravagant, opulent self-indulgence is probably the best way to describe it. Unable to take photos inside we suggest you go to http://www.greatistanbul.com/photos/DolmabahcePalace/dolmabahcepalacegateandthejanissaries.html

The odd thing was that this palace was built as the power and influence of the Ottomon empire was declining, and the Sultans were trying to show that they did still actually have power through the building. This clearly showed to us the illusion of power when you try to hold it.

We also had some incredible conversations today – a Muslim family from Kent, England holidaying in Istanbul for a few days. Had a great conversation getting into some real detail about variances in religion. Shared lunch with a Muslim family from Melbourne, who are now quite relaxed in their faith and not actually practicing. Met two women from the US who are off to the Holy Land in a few days, meeting up with a group from their church for a tour. Met an African couple – husband from Cameroon and wife from Burkina Faso, both bankers working in France. And then had afternoon tea with a couple from Newfoundland in Canada, and again had an opportunity for a gospel conversation, asking about his professed atheism and her agnosticism, following both having grown up in the Anglican Church.

From a day beginning at 9am, we finally arrived back at our hotel at 7pm. Another great day!

Saturday – Today we simply moved hotels to the other side of town, rested, wrote, read, washed, and met up with our next tour group before the beginning of our 2 weeks touring Turkey.

It’s interesting to be dealing with two different currencies in Turkey – the Turkish Lira and Euro. Some establishments only deal in one or the other, and sometimes you pay in lira and get euro as change or vice versa. We’ve only dealt with four currencies so far, but keeping the right exchange rates in our head so we can consider value for money is getting really tricky! We’re very grateful for some great little apps on the phone to keep us on track.

Today we took a real tourist option and went on the open top bus tour of Tel Aviv. This city is such a sprawling, widespread city, with no real CBD heart, but office high rise, residential high rise, markets, shopping, cultural buildings, civic facilities, military facilities, educational institutions all spread across all areas. This tour certainly gave us a good overall picture.

Continue reading TEL AVIV TOUR – Tuesday August 19 →

Sunday

Wow!! Tel Aviv is hot and humid. The guesthouse we’re staying at, Beit Emmanuel, is a Messianic Jewish Christian community and church. It has been around a fair while, and the room and accommodation is quite basic. We have a second floor private room with bathroom. And with very high ceilings, it means that the stairs are many. And our bags are heavy. And there’s no lift. You get the picture! Chris worked hard knowing that there’s no way Lynda could bring her own bag up those stairs.

Continue reading TEL AVIV – Old Jaffa →