We visited the ruins of Ephesus, one of the best-preserved ancient cities in the world. Despite its historical and Biblical importance, the highlight of the day may well have been the carpet co-op, where we learned how carpets are made by women who are given a fair wage for their hours of tedious work.
Dr. Preben Vang had been considering a carpet. The Turkish salemen were experts, and the battle to see who would get the best deal was on. When Dr. Vang called home, all bets were off.
Student Ben Greco journals at the city of Assos
Monday was a busy day, but did not require near the number of miles traveled on Sunday. Today we focused on Ephesus and the sites related there. We began the morning in the Ancient Roman city, the place where Paul had lived for close to three years. While there he wrote a number of his letters, as well as getting the silversmiths all worked up! As the emperor Domition plays prominently in Ephesus especially in relation to the Christians it was significant to see the remains of the temple to Domition. We also visited the remains of the world famous library at Ephesus. We read the account from Acts about the uprising of the silversmiths after Paul’s preaching had put a ‘pinch’ on their business interests. We did this reading while sitting in the coliseum where the uprising would have occurred.
After leaving the ancient city we visited a rug shope and learned about the process of Turkish rug weaving. The shop hosted our lunch and provided us with great entertainment!
We were also able to spend a little time in the museum in Ephesus and see many of the original marble statues that had once populated the ancient city. We ended the day at the near-by port city of Kusadasi. Tomorrow we will embark from here on our ship to cruise the Aegean sea!
We overlook the valley from the vantage point of the ancient city of Pergamum
We began Sunday on our bus heading South out of Canakkle. We were headed for Alexandria Troas, Assos, and Pergamum. As we were heading to Troas first, Dr. Vang read to us from Acts on the story of Paul’s time there. We were reminded of the story of the young man who fell out the window when he fell asleep after Paul kept on talking. Fortunately those that were sleepy while Dr. Vang spoke did not fall out any windows! More importantly we were reminded that it was here, in Troas, that Paul had his vision about a call to Macedonian. This trip to Macedonia would begin his ministry in Europe. So it was certainly an important city in terms of the history of Paul. We saw a number of remains and pot shards, as well as the remains of the Roman baths there.
After a short stop in Troas we headed through the small rural agricultural villages and wound our way to the ancient city of Assos. Set very high on the top of a hill,we visited what was the temple of Athena. This temple looked out over the Aegean sea with the island of Lesbos in the distance. It is a spectacular view that is hard to forget.
Next we pressed on for the fortress city of Pergamum. But before marching up the steep hill we stopped in the modern city of Bergama for a nice Kebab or Turkish ‘pizza’ lunch. Then we climbed the hill to visit the ancient city, allied, and then bequeathed to Rome in the 2nd century b.c. We saw the remains of what was one of the most magnificent libraries in the ancient world, second only to the library in Alexandria. Then we moved on past the temple to Athena to the temple built in honor of the Roman emperor Hadrian. After climbing down into one of the largest ancient ampitheaters, we ended were the temple to Zeus used to sit.
It was a full day that lasted from 7 until 7. We climbed many hills and everyone was ready for a good night’s rest once we arrived at our hotel in Izmir, the 3rd largest city in Turkey.
At Topkapi Palace, sultans had a view of Europe and Asia overlooking the strategic Bosporus Strait. Our group got the same view on Friday.
PBA honors students, with professors and guests, arrived in Istanbul for the first leg of the 2009 Honors Study Travel program on Thursday May 14.
We hit the ground running, taking a tour of the ancient city straight from the airport. The Blue Mosque and hippodrome were first on the list.
After a good night’s sleep, we ate our fill of Turkish cheese and fruit on Friday. Then the group set out for Chora Church and its mosaics, the sultan’s Topkapi Palace. After lunch we visited the architectural marvel of Aya Sofia church, the cool cavern of the cisterns, and finally the Grand Bazaar.
On Saturday we awoke early and took a ferry ride across The Dardanelles Strait to Canakkale, and toured the ruins of Troy.
On Sunday, we’re off to Pergamum. More soon.
