14 Day Escorted Tour of Turkey (With fellow traveler Otto Schenk)
February 14-27, 2008 Gate 1 Travel: 2 week total package for the price of airfare
NOTE: Fred used the camcorder referred to in the text. Photo(dated with yellow numbers) credits go to Otto Schenk. Information gleaned from Google, our Turkish guide and guidebooks.
DAY 1 Depart USA for Istanbul, Turkey
With my wife Annette as our chauffer, Otto and I left New Ulm at 10 in the morning. We stopped at Emma Krumbee’s for an early lunch Annette dropped us off curbside at the MSP International Terminal for our NWA/KLM departure scheduled for 3:10 pm
After an eight hour, 20 minute flight, we arrived in Amsterdam at 6:30 am. Our walk to the next gate was considerable, but we had plenty of time. While waiting at the gate we met our first Gate One traveling companions who happened to have also been on our Minneapolis flight. We departed Amsterdam on an A330 at 9:05 am and arrived in Istanbul around 1:30 pm after a 3 hrs 25-minute flight. Both legs of trip had rather bland meatless menus. On the bright side, Northwest still offers wine and beer on trans-ocean routes. Otto chose the red wine and I the white wine. The anticipated tour of Turkey is outlined on a map as indicated on the video.
DAY 2 Istanbul, Turkey
Our flight landed at the Ataturk International Airport in early afternoon. The $20 Turkey visa charge was collected and we were given a stamp for our passport just before we approached customs. After we cleared customs and immigration, a Gate One representative met us in the waiting area and herded our members together. He arranged transportation for us in a large modern coach and we were off to the Oran Hotel.
The location of the hotel was excellent in that it was situated conveniently in the historic center.
Because of the narrow street in front of the 100-room hotel and the crazy intersection at the corner, the bus driver was presented with quite a parking challenge. He admirably maneuvered among the honking traffic and we were able to check into our 4-star hotel. Of the hotels we stayed at, this was probably the least fancy, but it was very adequate, clean, and really served our purpose well. We were extremely pleased to learn that we could walk to major historic sites on our own before dinner. Note street map on tape with our hotel as the focal point. The cool evening weather was great for a stroll.
On the way to the Suleymaniye Mosque, Otto and I crossed the street to view the nearby quaint old Kalenderhane Mosque. Like so many mosques, this was a former Eastern Orthodox Church converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. With high probability this particular church was originally dedicated to the Theotokos Kyriotissa. After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Mehmed II assigned the church personally to the Kalenderi sect of the Dervish. The Dervishes used it as a zaviye and imaret (public kitchen), and the building has been known since as Kalenderhane (Turkish: "The house of the Kalenderi"). ---More about the Dervish Order later in our journey.
We started with the southern exterior view of the mosque. The conservation of the building dates from the 1970s, when it was extensively restored to its twelfth century condition.
We took off our shoes, and, as requested, placed them on a shelf provided for such items, being careful that the shoes never touched the carpet. This building represents one among the few still extant examples of a Byzantine church with domed Greek cross plan. The mihrab was rebuilt, which allowed the mosque to reopen for worship.
Back outside, I taped the ruins from the eastern-most extent section of the Aqueduct of Valens of which the church/mosque had been affixed. The mosque had been built on a Roman bath that was supplied by the aqueduct. The best-preserved part of the aqueduct was the massive section towering over Atatürk Bulvarı highway which we had seen earlier just to the west of here. The surviving section is 921 meters long, about 50 meters less than the original length. The exact date that construction on the aqueduct began is uncertain, but it was completed in the year 368 during the reign of Emperor Valens, whose name it bears.
We continued down a narrow roadway to the Suleymaniye Mosque, approaching the massive
compound from the southeast. The mosque is 59 meters in length and 58 meters in width. The main dome is 53 meters high and has a diameter of 26.5 meters. At the time it was built, the dome was the highest in the Ottoman Empire, when measured from its base, but still lower from the ground level and smaller in diameter than that of Hagia Sophia. The complex has four minarets, a number only allowable to mosques endowed by a sultan.
Apart from the main mosque with the praying hall (cami) and courtyard (avlu), the mosque complex also includes a caravanserai or seraglio (sarayı; han), a public kitchen (imaret) which served food to the poor, a hospital (darüs¸s¸ifa), four Qur'an schools (medrese), a specialized school for the learning of hadith, and a bath-house (hamam).
In the garden behind the main mosque there are two mausoleums (türbe) including the tombs of sultan Suleyman and his wife Roxelana. We started our tour by entering the garden and filming the burial building of Suleyman the Magnificent.
Suleyman the Magnificent 1495 – 1566, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Source: Rit Nosotro (Last updated: Sun Jun 10 18:30:42 2007) Suleyman the Magnificent has been known as one of the greatest rulers of the Ottoman Empire. He is mostly remembered as a fierce conqueror of the Islamic religion. In Middle Eastern cultures, however, he is often referred to as a great builder. During his rule as sultan, the Ottoman Empire reached its peak in power and prosperity.
At the start of his reign, Suleyman performed many acts of kindness and mercy toward his people including freeing hundreds of slaves, bestowing his officers with gifts, and erecting a school for slaves. In return for his kindness, Suleyman demanded complete loyalty of all his subjects. Suleyman’s kindness was a sharp contrast to the acts of his cruel father, who had become known as Selim the terrible. While Selim had only been interested in war, Suleyman filled his palace with music and poetry. Suleyman himself came to write many poems of his own.
Within a year of his ascension to the throne, the sultan led a campaign against the Ottoman Empire’s Christian enemies, the Hungarians. Within twenty-eight days, the Turks led by Suleyman captured Belgrade, which was a strategically important city on the Danube. He then turned his attention toward the island of Rhodes, where lay a fortification of Christian knights, who had been terrorizing Turkish trading vessels. Suleyman gathered a huge army consisting of more cannons than had ever been amassed for any battle up to that time. The knights fought well and held the Turkish forces back for months. However, Suleyman was persistent and finally captured the fortification. The sultan’s first two victories at Belgrade and Rhodes were feats that had been attempted and failed by his predecessors, so Suleyman was honored with great festivities upon his return to Constantinople, the Turkish capitol. These distinguished victories were only the beginning of Suleyman’s grasp for power.
During his forty-six year reign, Suleyman undertook thirteen military campaigns of conquest. He managed to conquer large parts of Hungary, Austria, and nearly Rome. The everlasting problem confronted by Suleyman’s military was cold weather. The strong points of the Turkish forces were its cavalry and cannons. The cavalry could not operate well in the harsh northern conditions, while the cannons became very difficult to transport. As a result, Suleyman found that he could only conquer as much ground as he could gain in good weather and then must return to his capitol.
However, through his many conquests, the piracy of his navy, and tribute and gifts from other nations, Suleyman became one of the richest men of all time. His lifestyle at his palace displays his wealth. He would never wear the same clothes twice, he ate out of solid gold plates encrusted with jewels, and his harem consisted of over 300 women. When his empire reached a reasonably large size, Suleyman was content to build on his land. He had many extravagant mosques built for he was very loyal to Islam. Other constructions during his time included schools, city walls, and an aqueduct that surpassed any built in Rome.
Suleyman had a son, Mustafa, with “Rose of Spring”, a member of the royal harem. However, soon after, he met Roxelana, a slave newly captured from Poland. He immediately was taken with her and favored her above all other women. She bore him five children, three sons and two daughters. Roxelana’s only motive, however, was power. She influenced the sultan to send Rose of Spring away to live in a distant city. So, despite Rose of Spring being the ‘first sultana’, Roxelana was the favored one and held more power. She was the one who had a burial place next to him on the mosque just visited. In later years, when Suleyman was growing old, in his late fifties, Roxelana worked toward a new goal. By tradition, when Suleyman was to die, it would be the firstborn son, Mustafa, who would be the next sultan. However, Roxelana wished one of her sons to rule. She started rumors that Mustafa was plotting to kill Suleyman and take power from him. When word reached Suleyman, he called his son to him and had him executed. Despite being able to conquer other nations in battle and ruling a large empire, he could not run his own household and this cost him dearly.
Just outside the mosque walls to the north is the tomb of the famous architect Sinan. We tried to enter the enclosed courtyard but had to be content with just a view from the windows of the surrounding wall.
Sinan was the chief Ottoman architect & civil engineer for sultans Selim I, Suleiman I, Selim II and Murad III. He was, during a period of fifty years, responsible for the construction or the supervision of every major building in the Ottoman Empire. More than three hundred structures are credited to his name.
His most famous work is the Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul. He is considered the greatest architect of the classical period, and is often compared to Michelangelo as a Western contemporary. The stature of Michelangelo and his plans for St Peter's Basilica in Rome were well known in Istanbul, since he (and also Leonardo da Vinci) received an invitation to build a bridge over the Bosphorus. Sinan was born as a Christian in 1489 in Anatolia in a small town called Ag˘ırnas of Gree or Armenian descent. In 1512, he was converted to Islam.
During his tenure during 50 years of the post of imperial architect, Sinan is said to have constructed or supervised 476 buildings (196 of which still survive), according to the official list of his works, the Tazkirat-al-Abniya. He couldn't possibly have designed them all, but he relied on the skills of his office. He took credit and the responsibility for their work.
Before leaving we took pictures of the caravanserai and closing shots of the mosque. We returned to the hotel by the way in which we came.
We felt we still had time to locate an ATM machine to withdraw Turkish money. We found a bank half a mile away on Ordu Caddesi that took care of this need. Our guide had suggested that 100 lira per person should suffice for the trip. Therefore Otto and I withdrew 250 lira from my MasterCard account and split the amount to 125 lira apiece. Our last mission was to purchase bottled water. A little stand across from the hotel entrance had a large bottle for about half a lira, a very reasonable price. We always redistributed larger bottles into our smaller carry-on bottles.
Once back at the hotel we found that the tour guide for our bus (Bus A) would be Serap. The other two guides were men. She proved to be a very good guide – very friendly-- and she had in-depth knowledge about her home country, especially her home city of Izmir. Her English speaking ability was excellent and her words were easy to understand.
Dinner that evening was included in the tour price and we had our first taste of Turkey. Our dinner started off with the ubiquitous vegetable salad. I think we had quite healthy food all during the trip.
DAY 3, Saturday – Troy and Canakkale
On video, the map route from Istanbul to Canakkale. Gate One arranged our wake-up call and informed us when to place our luggage outside our rooms. Otto was really a godsend: he kept tract of the daily schedule information – and woke me up when I didn’t hear the wake-up calls. Breakfast was served on the eighth-floor overlooking the city. It seems as if all the hotels agreed on the standard fare for breakfast: lunch meat, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh bread, buns, jams, olives, cereal and beverages. Otto and I usually grabbed an orange (or apple) from the fruit bowl for our lunch snack on the road.
I thought I had understood and anticipated the right kind of weather for the trip, but it seems as if a Siberian wind changed everything. Yahoo let me down with their 10 day forecast. My lesson plans did not include freezing weather, only low temperatures in the 30s and highs in the 40s. Our guide Serap said she had never seen such cold weather and heavy snowfall as we encountered. As long as we were in the comfort of our buses and peering out snow covered windows it wasn’t too bad. However, cars and trucks were piled up along the sides of the roadway – in both directions!
Our bus stopped in the town of Gallipoli for a lunch break and potty stop. I took a video of our restaurant from the bus stop. When we were on the bus our guide had explained how important this site was for Ataturk and Turkish history in WW I. Later we would be inundated with this history at the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara.
The World War I battle for control of the Dardanelles (Hellespont) strait was fought mainly on Turkey's Gallipoli peninsula, with appalling casualties. Around 100,000 were killed and 400,000 wounded during the nine-month campaign (1915-1916). Invading armies and navies have coveted the strategic Dardanelles strait since the days of the Trojans because it controls sea traffic between the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Aegean/Mediterranean. It's also the key to Istanbul: warships could conquer the city if they could get through the Dardanelles. The British navy wanted very much to get its battleships through the Dardanelles and attack Constantinople to knock the Ottoman Empire, an ally of the Central Powers, out of the war.
Ottoman forces, some of who were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) knew that if they did, it might mean the conquest of their country. Attaturk is on the right in the photograph.
Today, the Gallipoli battlefields are silent, preserved as a national park strewn with marble and bronze monuments, among the most emotionally touching places to visit in Turkey. More information may be found on pp. 168-169 of Eyewitness Turkey.
Our rest stop restaurant was situated right next to the Dardanelles ferry landing. Shortly our buses (with passengers onboard) pulled onto the craft and were heading across the narrowest stretch of the Dardanelles.
Behind us were the hills from which the Turks defeated English and French naval forces. Ahead was the city of Çanakkale. Before checking into our hotel, we headed first to the ruins of the classical City of Troy. First thing we saw as we entered the grounds was a large replica of the famous wooden horse built on a playground for children.
A wooden horse was built to gain access to the city as a plan. Well armed men, among them Odysseus of Ithaca and Menelaus, were hidden in it. The horse was left as a thank you to Athena and the Greeks burned their camps and sailed as if they had given up. Trojans found the horse and the ashes of the camp and pulled the horse into the city. 'It was midnight', says a fragment from the epic known as the little Iliad, 'and full moon was raising'. The soldiers jumped down from horse and opened the gates by killing the guards. The Greeks entered into the city and killed all the Trojans. After the Greek massacre, none of the males were left alive in the city. Neoptolemus killed old Priam on the threshold of his royal house. The male children of Trojan heroes were slaughtered. Hectors little boy was thrown from the walls. Menelaus decided to kill Helen but in front of her beauty he gave up. After plundering and burning the city, the Greeks left Troy. But this victory brought only more suffering to the Greeks. They were split up by storms and lost their way to return.
We began our walk of the ruins against the great walls of Troy VI, the powerful Troy of king Priam. This was the Troy of 1200 BC and the Trojan War.
The archaeological site itself is, as a recent writer said, "a ruin of a ruin," because the site has been frequently excavated, and because Schliemann's archaeological methods were very destructive. In his conviction that the city of Priam would be found in the earliest layers, he demolished many interesting structures from later eras, including all of the house walls from Troy II. For many years the site was unguarded and was thoroughly looted. However what remains, particularly if put into context by one of the knowledgeable professional guides to the site, is an illuminating insight into civilizations of the Bronze Age, if not to the legends themselves. For many years people believed that it was the city mentioned only in the tales and never existed until it was first found. Our guide Serap began her presentation here by the wall. We walked past the Temple of Athens, not on the tape, but I videoed large carved stones that were excavate from the temple ruins. Under a large protective canopy was the original foundation of Troy II (2,500 BC). We also viewed various sites from Troy II to Troy IX.
Serap said that the complex should be envisioned as an upside down wedding cake with the original small city of Troy (I) being the smallest layer. The weather was still cold and the strong wind persuaded us to keep moving on toward the waiting buses. Back on the highway we continued our circular drive that took us back to Canakkale. The comfortable hotel featured 136 spacious guest rooms -- each one having a private balcony. After an included dinner, Otto and I relaxed and reviewed material on the history of Troy.
DAY 4, Sunday - Izmir and Pergamum
Serap arranged the usual 7 am wake-up call; we placed our luggage outside the door and lined up at the breakfast buffet. In anticipation of the drive to Pergamum, I taped a route map and floor plan of what was the Acropolis during the ancient Hellenistic period (289-129 B.C.). As we waited for our 8:30 am bus to be loaded, I took a parting shot of the Dardanelles and an Akol Hotel sign.
The wind had not abated and the water was choppy. When we started our trip up the mountainous region in the snow, we were pulled over by the police and instructed to place traction chains on the back wheels of our bus. This presented our driver and his assistant with a cumbersome task while we waited in the comfort of the bus. Once our huge wheels were thus fitted we lumbered on with the noisy chains that assisted us on the snow packed highway.
Later, at a service station, our chains were removed while we took care of necessary business. Us Minnesotans thought it unusual to see service station attendants carting off snow in wheel barrels. Tour buses were washed off at all bus stops as a matter of routine. We appreciated the clean windows from which we could take pictures.
At last we reached the City of Pergamum. Here was a center for the worship of a pantheon of pagan deities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman) and, as the provincial capital, it was the official home of the emperor worship cult, a great honor for the city and its leaders. But, twice in his letter to the church in Pergamum, John mocks the city's status as a cult center for emperor worship with the use of the phrases: "where Satan has his throne" and "where Satan lives." To John, the emperor was not a god to be worshiped, but Satan incarnate. With this in mind, read the entire letter:
"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, and who was put to death in your city--where Satan lives
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it" (Rev. 2:12-17)
Two other pointed references are seen in this letter. Both refer to the fact that Pergamum, as the provincial capital, was one of the few cities granted the power by Rome to inflict capital punishment. This was known as "the right of the sword." By introducing Christ as the one "who wields the sharp sword with the double edge" and as one who will fight "with the sword of (his) mouth," John was telling the Pergamum church that Christ wielded greater power than either the provincial rulers or the Roman emperors!
The Gospel probably reached the city at the time of Paul's extended stay in Ephesus during his third missionary journey (52-57 AD) and, by the end of the 2nd century AD, Pergamum had become an important Christian center. But, with the weakening of Roman power, the city went into economic decline and lost much of its importance. In 716 AD the Arabs sacked it and in the 14th century the Ottomans occupied the region. Thereafter the city on the acropolis was abandoned and fell into decay, while the new town of Bergama grew at the base of the hill. (ourfatherlutheran.net).
Above the city was the towering Acropolis. When we entered (walking) the Acropolis, the remains seen at our right side, were the foundations of Propylon (monumental gates), which were constructed by Eumenes II. When we passed to the square surrounded with three stoas of the Doric order we noticed the ruins of the Temple of Athena, built during the time of Eumenes II in the 3rd century B.C. It's just above the theater. The temple columns and architrave pieces are still in Berlin. The fact that the city's most important temple is the Temple of Athena, as it is in Izmir, Milet, Eriythrai, Foca and Assos as well, reflects the religious tradition of Western Anatolia. The famous Library of Pergamum, which contained 200,000 books, was situated north of the square. Antonius gave all the books of the library to Cleopatra as a wedding gift. Its only equal in the world was the Library of Alexander. The remains near the library are some houses from the Hellenistic period. The library also contained a 3.5m high statue of Athena, which is now in the Berlin Museum.
The Trajaneum, the highest terrace in the acropolis, was made for the Roman Emperor Trajan, who was declared to be divine. Measuring 68 x 58 m, the temple sits perched upon a high terrace surrounded on three sides by covered promenades. Hadrian had the temple built for his predecessor Trajan, but it is known that both of the emperors were worshipped here because the colossal heads of statues of Trajan and Hadrian honoring them were found here. These items are also on display in the Museum of Berlin.
I did not video the Theater of Pergamum, but Otto managed to capture a shot from the Trajaneum. It is one of the steepest theaters in the world and has a capacity of 10,000 people. Constructed in the 3rd century B.C., the theater underwent changes during the Roman period under the reign of Caracalla. There is a 246.5 m long and approximately 16 m wide stoa (portico) in front of the theater. The road in front of the theater leads to the Temple of Dionysos (known in Rome as Baccus, god of wine).
I did take a video of a storage well designed to hold rainwater, before retracing my steps back to the bus. Serap pointed out the remaining sites of the Trajaneum. Back at the Temple of Athena was an interesting Roman arch above the Altar of Zeus. The famous Altar of Zeus in Pergamum was on the south of the theater. Eumenes II (197-159 BC) constructed it as a memorial of the victory against the Galatians. This Altar has the shape of a horseshoe and its dimensions are 36.44 x 34.20 m. It is composed of four parts and the high relieves on it describe the war between the giants and the gods. The Altar, which was taken away from Pergamum in 1871 and carried to Germany by the German engineer Carl Humann, is exhibited at the Museum of Pergamum in Berlin, in a manner conforming to its original. Today Turkish government is trying to get it back from Germany bringing the issue to the international court.
Down below this last video shot is the city of Pergamum (Bergamum).
While we were driving down toward the city, I asked Serap where the famous medical clinic of Galen was located. After pointing out the direction, she expounded on the topic.
Asclepion translates as 'place of Aesklepios', the son of Apollo and the god of healing and health, and was an important health center in Greco-Roman times. Among the types of therapy practiced here were mud baths, sports, theatre, psychotherapy and use of medicinal waters. A colonnaded street leads to the Asclepion, and to the left of the entrance is the temple of Asclepio, Galen's clinic, which catered to Roman women. The Insignia of the Doctor (Snakes, the symbol of Aesklepios) is located on a round marble altar in the Aesklepion. In the ancient world snakes symbolized healing and life-renewal.
Galen (129-199?) was the most outstanding physician of antiquity after Hippocrates. His anatomical studies on animals and his observations of the human body functions dominated medical theory and practice for 1400 years. Galen was born of Greek parents in Pergamum, Asia Minor, which was then part of the Roman Empire. A shrine to the healing god Asclepius was located in Pergamum, and there young Galen observed how the medical techniques of the time were used to treat the ill or wounded. He received his formal medical training in nearby Smyrna and then traveled widely, gaining more medical knowledge. About 161 he settled in Rome, where he became renowned for his skill as a physician, his animal dissections, and his public lectures. About 169, the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius appointed Galen as the physician to his son Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus.
Most of Galen's later life was probably spent in Rome. Galen dissected many animals; particularly goats, pigs, and monkeys, to demonstrate how different muscles are controlled at different levels of the spinal cord. He noted the functions of the kidney and bladder and identified seven pairs of cranial nerves. He also showed that the brain controls the voice. Galen showed that arteries carry blood, disproving the 400-year-old belief that arteries carry air. Galen also described the valves of the heart and noted the structural differences between arteries and veins, but fell short of conceiving that the blood circulates. Instead, he held the erroneous belief that the liver is the central organ of the vascular system, and that blood moves from the liver to the periphery of the body to form flesh.
Galen was also highly praised in his time as a philosopher. In his treatise On the Uses of the Parts of the Body of Man he closely followed the view of the Greek philosopher Aristotle that nothing in nature is superfluous. Galen's principal contribution to philosophic thought was the concept that God's purposes can be understood by examining nature.
Galen's observations in anatomy remained his most enduring contribution. His medical writings were translated by 9th-century Arab thinkers and became highly esteemed by medical humanists of Renaissance Europe. Galen produced about 500 tracts on medicine, philosophy, and ethics, many of which have survived in translated form. Text from Microsoft Encarta
When we returned to town we again passed by the Temple of Serapis (not on video). The similarity between our guide’s name and this one was not lost on our group. The biggest structure and best-known attraction in the town is the Kizil Avlu (Red Basilica), a temple made of red brick dedicated to the gods of Egypt. The temple lies in what is now the modern day town of Bergama. The two pools in the temple with towers indicate ritual cleansing rites and a religious background that was neither Greek nor Roman. The fact that it faces west, and is decorated with statues in an Egyptian style, indicates that it was possibly presented to Serapis, the Egyptian god of the underworld.
In the Byzantine period, it was turned into a church by extensive remodeling, especially to the apse sections, and was dedicated to the Apostle John. In early Christianity, it was one of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor addressed by St John in the Book of Revelation, who referred to it as the throne of the Devil. Although a crumbling ruin, it still contains the remains of a mosque in one of the towers.
Our bus moved onwards toward Izmir, or Smyrna (map on tape), a city believed to be the birthplace of Homer. Smyrna was 35 miles north of Ephesus, built near the ruins of an ancient Greek colony destroyed in the 7th century B.C. Lysimachus, one of Alexander the Great’s generals, rebuilt Smyrna as a new Hellenistic city in the 3rd century B.C. The city was later established as Roman commercial center with a port on the Aegean Sea. Scholars believe the city grew to about 100,000 by the time of the apostles Paul and John.
Acts 19:10 suggests that the church there was founded during Paul’s third missionary journey.
'St. John wrote: “The first and the last, who once died but became to life, says this: "I know your tribulation and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who claim to be Jews and are not, but rather are members of the assembly of Satan. Do not be afraid of anything that you are going to suffer. Indeed, the devil will throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will face an ordeal for ten days. Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.' "Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The victor shall not be harmed by the second death." (Rev 2:8-11.
The church in Smyrna (2:8–11) had experienced great pressure from the Jewish authorities, called the synagogue of Satan. No archaeological evidence exists today for such a synagogue. It had closed its doors to Christians, and its leaders were inciting the Roman authorities to persecute the church.
The Jews later had a similar role in the martyrdom of the bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp. The crown of life is a possible allusion to the acropolis Mount Pagus that looms over the city. Such ancient writer as Aristides describes it as Smyrna’s crown. Whatever temporal crown the citizens of Smyrna enjoyed, the believers were guaranteed an eternal crown.
They were also promised exemption from the second death. There existed in the ancient world a connection between death and Smyrna. Its name is identical to the Greek word for the sweet–smelling spice in which dead bodies were wrapped (e. g., Jesus; John 19:39).
We had a very nice hotel in the Kaya Prestige, located a block away from the Downtown Hilton. Right across the street was a market where we could replenish our bottled water supply. Otto hammed it up for the camcorder by hoisting up his trophy of water. The rooms in the hotel were spacious and we were provided with three single beds. The delicious dinner at the hotel was included in the tour price.
DAY 5, Monday - Full Day Izmir (Smryna)
A wake up call roused us from our beds, but we did not have to put our luggage out. Fortified with a buffet breakfast, we set out for the optional tour of Ephesus. Although this would be my third tour of the great city, some sites would be new to me like the House of the Virgin Mary and the sites associated with St. John.
Our first visit was to the House of Virgin Mary. Virgin Mary accompanied St. John to Ephesus, where she allegedly spent her last years living near a grove of olive trees close by to Ephesus. It has been said she lived to be 101 years of age here.
Located on the top of the "Bulbul" mountain 9 km ahead of Ephesus, the shrine of Virgin Mary enjoys a marvelous atmosphere hidden in the green. It is the place where Mary may have spent her last days. Indeed, she may have come in the area together with Saint John, who spent several years in the area to spread Christianity. Mary preferred this remote place rather than living in a crowded place. The apostle John, according to tradition, spent many years in Ephesus, where he died and was buried.
The house of Virgin Mary is a typical Roman architectural example, entirely made of stones. In the 4th century AD, a church, combining her house and grave, has been built. The original two-stored house, which consisted of an anteroom (where today candles are proposed), bedroom and praying room (Christian church area) and a room with fireplace (chapel for Muslims). A front kitchen fell into ruins and has been restored in 1940's. Today, only the central part and a room on the right of the altar are open to visitors. From there one can understand that this building looks more like a church than a house.
A visit is considered to be a Pilgrimage by the Vatican. We did not sprinkle holy water from the sacred spring because the cold weather froze the source. Serap led the way up a passage way and into the house portion that served as a chapel. Once outside she lit a candle at a Marion shrine. She said that Muslims honored Mary, too. She recommended the scenic view of the countryside from the men’s room, but she did not accompany us there. Our last Kodak picture spot was of the baptismal recess. Some sources express doubt about the association of this site in Ephesus with the Virgin Mary, like Georges Henri Tavard, who states that "the tradition of Mary's residence in this city of Asia Minor arose only in the twelfth century. The universal tradition among the Fathers of the Church places her residence, and thereby the locus of her Dormition when one begins to speak of it, in Jerusalem" I visited this particular site when I was in Jerusalem in 2007.
We boarded the bus and headed down the mountainside. We encountered a shepherd and his flock of multicolored sheep midway down, affording an interesting video recording. Shortly the bus stopped at a scenic overlook and we were granted permission to leave the bus for pictures. I started taping with the large statue of Mary and then turned on a fellow Gate Oner from Alabama as he walked to the overlook and then focused down below to the ruins of a Byzantine gateway in at the foot of Ayasoluk Hill.
From here we headed to Ephesus situated in the fertile Ionian landscape and famous throughout history for its temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Ephesus is considered to be the showpiece among all the antique cities of the world.
Biblical Ephesus
Ephesus, with a population of 300,000, was the chief commercial city of the province and the center of the mother goddess worship of western Asia. In the New Testament era it was the fourth greatest city in the world, after Rome, Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch of Syria. “Ephesus was the Gateway of Asia. One of its distinctions, written down by statute, was that when the Roman proconsul came to take up office as governor of Asia, he must disembark at Ephesus and enter his province there. For all the travelers and the trade, from the Cayster and the Maeander Valleys, from Galatia, from the Euphrates and from Mesopotamia, Ephesus was the highway to Rome. In later times, when the Christians were brought from Asia to be flung to the lions in the arena in Rome, Ignatius called Ephesus the Highway of the Martyrs.” (William Barclay, The Revelation Of John, Vol. 1, p. 58).
Paul In Ephesus
The apostle Paul first visited Ephesus on the return from his missionary journey where he “entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews” (Acts 18:19–21). On his second journey, Paul came to Ephesus and taught the twelve disciples who knew only the baptism of John (Acts 19:1–7) and “went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8). He later taught in the school of Tryannus for two years, and as a result, “all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:9–10). Ephesus was full of wizards, sorcerers, witches, astrologers, diviners of the entrails of animals and people who could read one’s fortune by the palm of the hand. And yet, after the preaching of Paul, the magicians publicly burned their books, “so the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed” (Acts 19:19–20). Timothy and Erastus were with Paul, but he sent them to Macedonia, while “he himself stayed in Asia for a time” (Acts 19:22). At the end of his third missionary tour, in the spring of AD 57, Paul stopped briefly at Miletus, “for Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost” (Acts 20:16). Paul met with the elders of Ephesus at Miletus (Acts 20:17–38). In his final words to these elders he told them of his deep sorrow that they would see his face no more (Acts 20:38).
The City Of Ephesus
Although Luke does not mention Paul being imprisoned while in Ephesus, Paul himself told the church at Corinth, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves…” (2 Cor. 1:8–9). On another occasion he spoke of his fight “with beasts at Ephesus” (1 Cor. 15:32). Near the end of the first century our Lord said of the Christians in Ephesus, “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars” (Rev. 2:2). “A city of such prominence as Ephesus, located on a world thoroughfare, was bound to get its share of false teachers, even men claiming to be apostles. John approved the practice of proving all spirits (I John 4:1).” (Hailey, Revelation, An Introduction And Commentary, p. 121).
As I had in former visits to Ephesus, I started my tour at the higher elevation of the city and worked downhill. Gate One used the same strategy. Serap led our group and began near the site of the political agora where Paul preached in the heat of the day. We had no problem with the heat, but fending ourselves from the cold wind. St Paul remained in the city for three years from 65 to 68, and that it was here that he preached his famous sermons calling upon the hearers to embrace the faith in one God. He taught that God had no need of a house made with human hands and that he was present in all places at all times. This agora was used not for commerce but for business, it played an important role as a meeting place for the governmental discussions. During the excavations in the northeast corner of the Agora were found a great number of graves from the 7th-6th centuries B.C and a stone-paved road, and an archaic sarcophagus of terra cotta. From this it is understood that in the archaic period this part of the Agora was used as the necropolis of Ephesus. There is a water reservoir at the corner of the Agora, which played an important role in Ephesus. Its water was brought to the city through the Pollio Aqueduct, the remains of the Pollio Aqueduct can be seen 5 kilometers away, along the Selçuk-Aydin highway. The agora is 160x73 meters, with stoas on three sides and a temple in the center, dating from the 1st century A.D. The temple was dedicated to Isis, surrounded by ten columns on the long side and 6 on the short side. It collapsed during the reign of Augustus and was not re-built again.
I walked over to the area north of the upper agora to view the Basilica (imperial hall with three columns) a typical Roman Basilica. It is 165 meters long, and located on the northern part of the state agora. The Ionic columns in the basilica are adorned with bulls' head figures dating to the 1st century A.D. The basilica was used for stock exchange and commercial business. It has three gates opening onto a stoa leading to the Bath of Varius.
From here I ventured back to the main thoroughfare of Ephesus – the Street of the Curetes (priests). In mythology the curates were demi-gods, a name which was used for a priestly class in Ephesus. They formed the largest cultic union in the city. The street that took its name from the curates leads down to the Celsus Library. Because it is the central street in the city there are many monumental edifices that face onto the street. There were mosaics and galleries of columns on either side of the street. Immediately before me, at the entrance, stood the Gate of Hercules. A little further on, to the right, was Trajan’s Fountain. This had a two-story facade, decorated with columns and statues and a basin. A statue of Trajan once stood in the central niche. His foot and a round object still remain of the statue. Nearby, also to the right was the Temple of Hadrian, erected in 138 at the latest.
It forms a simple naos structure with a plain monumental pronaos. At the front of the pronaos are four Corinthian columns with triangular capitals. There was an arch over the two central columns. In the center of the arch was a bust of the city goddess Tyche. The semicircular capital over the door there is a likeness of Medusa amidst acanthus leaves and flowers. The frieze on original lentil over the pronaos door is in the museum. When the temple was being restored copies were used in its place. The frieze is of four parts; the first three include gods and goddesses; then Andorcles, the protector of Ephesus. Hunting wild boar, Amazon goddesses, and Amazons with Dionysius. The fourth part has Athena, the moon goddess Selene, a male Apollo, a female figure, Androcles, Hercules, and the wife and son of Theodosius. At this juncture, Otto joined me, having also separating himself from the group to take pictures. The bright sun helped our photo shoots.
In front of the Slope Houses or Terrace Houses, (preserve of the rich) was a well-preserved mosaic covered walk way. Since the Terrace Houses are located in the town center they were obviously occupied by important people. The area is therefore called the "Rich Houses" or "Hillside Palace". Every terrace on the stepped street was a home entrance. All were peristyle (with a small pool in the center) and the rooms were arranged around the pool. Most houses were three-story not higher than 20 or 25 m. Columns were on all sides and the floors were marble. There was running water to the houses, either from a fountain or along the side. In some houses there were even cisterns and wells. Light came in from the open peristyle, but not enough to keep the houses from being dim, since there were no windows. The floors were mosaic, the walls had frescoes or colored marble. The precious finds from the houses are on display in the Ephesus Museum. The houses were built up the first century AD and were used as late as Heraclius' time (611-641) doubtless with multiple restorations. Unfortunately, an ugly shed-like cover had recently covered up these houses and an admission fee has been added. So much for progress.
Diagonally across the street were the Public Latrines with marble seats and water channels. Wealthy hired people to warm up the seat. These public latrines had a square pool in the center surrounded on four sides by toilet seats, in front of which was a channel of running water. Mosaics covered the floor. Because of the cold weather, the water had turned to ice. The marble seats looked too cold for comfort. On my previous trips here, guides pointed out a connected building that was allegedly used as a brothel. However, since then a sign has been posted citing those assertions as incorrect. The nearby baths (Baths of Scholastica with frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium) were cordoned off to the public so were not accessible on this trip.
To the right of the famous Celsus Library is the Market Gate or Gate of Macaeus and Mirthridates. Mazeus and Mithridates were slaves of Emperor Augustus who, upon manumission, received permission from their former master and built this lovely archway dedicated to Augustus, his wife Livia, and daughter Julia just a few years before Christ.
The Library of Celsus: One of the fully restored structures at Ephesus is the Celsus Library. Around 92 AD Roman Consul Tiberius Julius Polemaeanus was responsible for public buildings in the city of Rome, and was from 105 to 107 Proconsul for the province of Asia, the capital of which was Ephesus. When the man Celsus died in 114 at the age of 70, his son Tiberius Julia Aquila built the library for a monument to his father. The construction was finished in 117. The structure of the building reflects the period of the emperor Hadrian with its emphasis on the front of the building. The façade is two-storied. The lower floor had pairs of Corinthian columns with nine steps leading up to the entrance level that had a 21 m entrance porch. There were three richly ornamented doors between the columns, with the center door being the widest and highest. The statues in the niches between the doors are copies of originals, which were taken to Vienna during the time of excavation. The statues represented various virtues, as inscribed on their pedestals. The virtues of Celsus symbolized here were Sophia (wisdom), Episteme (science), Ennoia (intelligence), and Arete (excellence). The columns on the second floor were smaller with triangular and semicircular capitals. On the walls were niches for the scrolls of the library. From the niches in the upper wall it is understood that the interior was not two-floored but that there was a mezzanine balcony instead. The space behind the walls was left open to guard the scrolls from moisture.
Taking a 90-degree right hand turn I walked down Marble Street (once lined with archades and decorated with statues). In sections that were restored in early times tracks from chariots are visible The sacred way that surrounds the Panayir Mountain is called the Marble Street here, and is well preserved The road was intended for vehicles, since pedestrians could use the colonnades on the side of which the floor levels were higher than the road surface. The extensive sewer system of the city, which here has a channel large enough to be entered by a human being, also ran under this street. I did not videotape the agora to the left this time. The Lower Agora was the main market square and center of commerce. The commercial agora, one of the significant centers in Ephesus, was the real marketplace for trade in Ephesus. It was square (hence its other name, the ''Tetragonos'' agora) and bounded on all four sides by colonnades it was founded during the Hellenistic age, and rebuilt during the reign of Nero and again in the third century A.D.
The Marble street led to a Roman style Theater where people gathered for all kinds of purposes (religious discussions, political debate, entertainment and gladiator fights) outfitted with orchestra, stage, and tiers of seating for 24,000 spectators.
Demetrius, the silversmith of Ephesus, whose silver shrines of Diana were not selling because of Paul’s preaching, stirred up the people and led a crowd of thousands of Ephesians to the theater. Here they booed and stoned Paul and his two colleagues, chanting, "Great is Artemis (Diana) of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"
So turbulent was the crowd that Paul and his companions escaped only with great difficulty. From his Epistles to the communities it would appear that Paul spent some time as a prisoner in Ephesus. He stood trial here for preaching Christianity. It was from here that Paul left for Macedonia.
In front of the Theatre was the main street of the city --- the Arcadian Way, which led from the harbor to the theater. The picture above depicts ot as it looked at the time of St. Paul. The street was over 100 feet wide and paved with marble slabs. It was often used for parades and ceremonies, and was flanked on either side by rows of columns 50 feet deep. The name given was in honor of the emperor Arcadius (AD. 383–408) who enlarged and restored it. At night lanterns lighted the street. Ephesus once had a great harbor, but because of the lack of tides in the Mediterranean to clear out the debris, the harbor tended to silt up. It was probably from this harbor that Paul set sail for Macedonia after the Ephesian riot (Acts 20:1).
This was the end of the walking tour. The weather was cold and windy so I pulled into a café with a makeshift plastic windbreaker cover. A hot cup of Nescafe (four lira, or around $3.30) brought life back to my body.
Otto soon came by and joined me in the shelter. An ever-present picture of Ataturk hovered over us. Eventually Serap and the group arrived from their trek and we headed for the bus.
Our lunch break that soon followed consisted of buffet spread that cost around eight lira.
Our next destination was the nearby Basilica of St. John where some believe that the evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region. Three hundred years after the death of Saint Paul, a small chapel was constructed over the grave in the 4th century. The church was changed into a marvelous basilica during the reign of Emperor Justinian (527 -565 AD). The monumental basilica was in the shape of a cross and was covered with six domes.
Its construction, being of stone and brick, is an extremely rare find amongst the architecture of its time. Raised by two steps and covered with marble, the tomb of St John was under the central dome that was once carried by the four columns at the corners.
The columns in the courtyard reveal the monograms of Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora. Constructed in the 5th century AD, the baptistery is north of the nave, with its keyhole shape. Rampart walls around the church were constructed for protection from the Arabian attacks in the 7th - 8th centuries AD.
The impressive 10th century AD frescoes representing St. John, Jesus and a Saint, ornament the chapel. With the invasion of Turks, the chapel was used as a mosque in the 14th century; unfortunately ‘’Basilica of Saint John ‘’ became unusable due to the serious earthquake in the same century.
The Isa Bey Mosque is one of the most delicate examples of Seljukian architecture, situated below the Basilica of Saint John. Before its construction the Muslims used the Basilica of St. John. The master Syrian architecture Ali son of Mushimish al -Damishki, between the years of 1374 and 1375 built the mosque.
The mosque was styled asymmetrically unlike the traditional style; the location of the windows; doors and domes were not matched, purposely. The columns inside the house of prayer are from earlier ruins in Ephesus, making an interesting contrast to the mosque. The domes are ornamented by turquoise and blue faience, revealing the characteristic of Ottoman style.
As we headed back toward our hotel in Izmir, we had a commanding view of the Roman fortification outside the St. John Basilica complex. Our well-versed guide continued her interesting commentaries along the way. Once back in Izmir, I videoed the “slums” (term used by Serap) that covered an urban hillside. Immigrant squatters that followed no construction codes and failed to provide for adequate services built the mazes of hastily constructed shacks. Serap said these slums are being systematically removed by the government and are being replaced by large apartment buildings. A block from our hotel, in the central city, was this magnificent fountain built in a massive roundabout. Then, as we waited for a traffic signal, I had a Kodak picture moment of a man pushing his car of fresh eggs – a little touch of the old amidst the modern city setting.
We returned to our comfortable room at the 5-star Kaya Prestige where we indulged in a good night sleep.
GO ON TO 2008 TURKEY PART II
