Our guide, Gülin, told us that someone once asked on one of her tours, “Why did the Romans build so many ruins?” (Chuckle…)
After five days of visiting ~15 ruins, we find ourselves facetiously asking the same question. But the cool thing about seeing one Hellenistic/Roman/Byzantine site after another is that you really start to picture where the church was born—not just the Christian parts, but the whole of society that early Christians took part in. It’s like going from translating English to Spanish one word at a time, to thinking in Spanish. I can feel my mind starting to “think in” Early Christianity.
In the past two days we have been to:
Pamukkale the “cotton cliffs” of mineral deposits and thermal pools.
Hierapolis 2km of tombs in a necropolis on the hillside… As strange as it sounds, playing around in this graveyard was one of my favorite stops yet!
Sardis the first place to mint coins, biggest synagogue up until the Jews were driven out in 600CE, most grand “YMCA” we’ve seen (and we’ve seen a lot!)
Temple of Artemis not to be confused with the Artemisian temple from Saturday.
Acropolis at Pergamon the most magnificent view of the Turkish countryside from the highest ruins—just amazing. It was especially cool to hear simultaneous calls to prayer from 5-10 minarets in the village below echoing off the mountains.
Asklepion with healing waters and a temple to the God of Health (of course I had a sip…)
The Red Hall a church with Egyptian influence.
And something purely cultural we did today… A visit to a rug making co-op in Bergama. We watched how they make wool yarn, how they make silk threads, how they make various colors of dye, how they weave different types of rugs—it was amazing. I wish my dad could have been there with me. I bought a rug that I think Jay and I will hang on the wall of our next home. What a day.
And now I’m sitting in our hotel along the Aegean Sea, ready for bed.
lauren laughs 