Alright, I know this post is long overdue, but things have
been so busy!
So now that I have a moment, let me tell you about my
adventures in Turkey! I wrote a lot, and you don't have to read it all, but at least take a moment and look at the pictures!
We flew from Tel Aviv and arrived in Istanbul excited for
a week of adventure! First thing we did was eat a little Turkish delight.
Throughout the week, I spent time both in the European and
Asian continents and I saw Islands of Greece, all while in Turkey. We traveled
along the western part of the country by bus, stopping at sites along the way.
Even the hours on the bus were enjoyable because of the scenery. We passed
orchards of cherry blossoms and drove alongside green mountains and hills that
took me back to Guatemala. The hills are
a giant green patch worked quilt of agriculture. The little towns that we
walked through were charming with their colorful storefronts and cobblestone
roads. Istanbul is probably the most incredible city I have ever been to. You
know how there is an LDS church building on every block in Utah? That’s how
Muslim mosques are here. Domes and minarets poke out from every direction. We
got to visit quite a few of them, and each time, we all had to take our shoes
off and all the girls put scarfs over our heads to cover our hair. Some mosques
are simpler than others, but they are all very beautiful. The Blue mosque and
the Hagia Sophia were my favorites. The Hagia Sophia is massive and so
detailed. It is the largest, grandest, and most intricate piece of art work I
have seen in my life, and I am convinced it will be really hard to top.
We also got to spend some time in the grand Bazar which is
quite the happening place. The sides of the walkway were lined with
hand-painted pottery, colorful lamps, t-shirts, hand-woven towels and rugs, jewelry,
and just about everything else you could imagine. Outside the Bazar were street
vendors with their little red carts selling fresh-squeezed pomegranate and
orange juice, roasted chestnuts, and pastries. I had only ever sung about
roasted chestnuts in Christmas carols before, so I got some. They were so tasty!
Once the sun set, we walked along the market street up to
the restaurant where we ate dinner. The setting made me feel like I was in
movie with a very European feel. There were lights strung above us between the
buildings and little restaurants and fish and produce stands all along the
cobblestone road that curved up and around the hill. Our restaurant was right
on the tip of the Golden Horn overlooking the water, which was beautiful. Turkey
is huge on a few things that we ate almost every meal- lentil soup, meat kabobs,
and baklava for desert. From what I could tell, their basic spices were mint
and dill- which they put in just about everything.
While in Turkey, we got to stay at some pretty sweet places
on the Aegean Sea and the Dardanelles. I love the water so much! Especially
when the sand sparkles- that’s right, it was sparkly- and the water is is so
crystal teal blue like it was in Turkey! We watched the sun set over the dock
and star gazed at night.
I wasn’t really sure how to cover everything we did in the
packed week in one blog post. This is probably for my sake more than anyone
else’s. This is a list with some pictures of all the places we went! The ones
with the * are some my favorites, and the ones with the ** are even cooler!
Keep in mind that pictures don’t do half of these sites any justice.
Topkapi Palace-
Primary residence for
the Sultans for 400 years
Us on the balcony of
the Palace
Bascilica Cistern-
Underground cistern
built in the 6th century to provide water for the imperial palace.
Tons of columns and a couple of Medusa heads from Roman structures.
Hippodrome of Constantine-
horse track
**Sultanahmet Mosque (Blue
mosque)-
Built in the 17th
century, called the Blue Mosque because of the blue Iznik tiles used on the
interior.
Gallipoli-
on the Dardanelles, where the Gallipoli
Campaign during WWI took place. It is a memorial and burial place for the
Turks, Australians, and New Zealanders who died in the battle.
Troy-
Trojan war. We got to
see the horse they used in the Hollywood movie, but the one they usually have
on site was under construction, so we couldn’t get inside and reenact the
Spartan surprise attack. Too bad.
Troas-
Paul had a vision
here that a man from Macedonia said, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts
16:1-13). It is also where Paul taught the disciples until midnight and where
he embraced Eutychus, who had fallen out of a window and appeared dead, and
assured everyone he was well (Acts 20 6-14). We weren’t able to actually visit
Troas, but we passed it and talked about it.
*Assos-
Aristotle established
an academy there. Paul also visited Assos.
*Pergamum Acropolis-
The second largest
library in the world was found there. Also found there was a Roman theater which
is the steepest known theater in the ancient world, seating about 10,000
people.
Smyrna-
hometown of Homer,
the Greek poet who wrote the Illiad
**Ephesis-
Paul taught in the
synagogue at Ephesis. He found people there who claimed to have been baptized
by John but did not know about the Holy Ghost. Paul rebaptized them and gave
them the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 19). The apostle John probably lived here
before he was exiled to Patmos. The Third Ecumenical council took place in the
Church of St. Mary.
There is nothing cooler than flipping through the
photos behind the BD and realizing you are standing in one of the settings.
Between Israel and Turkey, we have had the opportunity to visit a lot of
photographed sites.
*Priene and Miletus-
Paul visited Miletus and spoke to the Elders
of Ephasis there. He told them it would be the last time he would see them and
warned them against apostacy. (Acts 20:13-38)
Sardis-
really cool Roman
bath-gymnasium (it was nasty weather so we didn’t stick around too long). In
the Book of Revelation, the Lord rebuked the church at Sardis for hypocracy.
Thyatira-
famous for its production of purple dye made
from shellfish found in the Mediterranean. Story of Lydia who listened to Paul
and was baptized (Acts 16:8-15). The Lord praised the church at Thyatira for
their good works, charity, faith, and patience, but chastised them for letting
Jezebel persuade them into fornication.
This is where I
discovered what a squatter is. Another funny thing about bathrooms here is you
have to pay for them. Almost every time we stop, one of the professors has to
negotiate prices with the attendant haha. I miss US bathrooms…
Bursa-
the capital of the
Ottoman Turks in the 14th Century. We went to the Ulu Cami Mosque
here. It has 20 domes on top. The area was known for their silk, so we spent
some time at the silk market.
Nicea-
The council of Nicea and formation of the
Nicean Creed happened here. We talked about it while standing on the shore of
Lake Iznik. It was frigid cold!!
**Hagia Sophia-
The church of “holy
wisdom” was first built in 360 AD as a Basilica, then destroyed and rebuilt a
couple times. It was later turned into a mosque and all the Christian mosaics
were covered with plaster. Now it is considered a museum and they have
uncovered some of the mosaics. It is huge and stunningly gorgeous inside!
