A few more pictures

Paul's Well in Tarsus, Turkey

Rugged terrain near the ancient mountain pass the Cilcian Gates

Unique Landscape of the Cappadocia Area

The "3 Sisters" formation in Cappadocia, note the hard lava cap over the soft volcanic ash stone underneath

This is a group photo taken in the Underground City in Cappadocia

Tomorrow the group flies back to New York and Connie and I begin our adventure east. I will try to continue to post along the way.

John Wineland
Adana, Turkey

Hello Again from Adana

Hello,

I wanted to fill in the gap in the blog. There were 2 days that I did not blog because the Internet connection was so slow that I could not blog while we were in Cappadocia.

On Sunday we had a long drive from Pammukale to Cappadocia. We left the hotel early and began our journey. We drove across the flat central plateau of Turkey. We drove to the site of Pisidan Antioch which is mentioned in the book of Acts 13:13 and following. Paul and Barnabus visited and preached in this city. The site has been excavated in the 1930's (the Temple to Augustus) and the much more in the 1980's -90's. Large portions of the Roman roads have been uncovered. Shops, a bath house and churches are now visible. In the distance a portion of the aqueduct of the city is visible.

After visiting this site we drove on towards Konya (ancient Iconium, Acts 13 & 14). Most of the ancient city is not visible today because of the modern city. While in Konya we visited the shrine of Mevlanna or Rumi the founded of the Sufi movement of Islam. This is a mystic group best known through the dance of the "Whirling Dervishes".

After visited the shrine of Mevlana we drove towards Cappadocia and stopped at a Caravanserai located by a sink hole lake. Caravanserais were built in the Medieval period to help trade from the east to center of the Ottoman Empire. They provided safety for travelers and place for them to sleep and eat. They also could bring their pack animals inside so they could lodged for the night.

We then drove on to our hotel in Cappadocia where we spent two nights.

On Monday we had a full day of touring. First we visited one of the Underground Cities. This "city" is massive with 8 levels of dwelling space that was used during times of attack. We squeezed through the underground city and safe the rolling stones that blocked enemies entering. We also saw kitchens, and lodging places.

After leaving the underground city we visited the Goreme Valley with its many fresco painted churches and houses carved in to the cliffs made of volcanic tufa. The landscape is beautiful and unique. Volcanic ash which became a soft stone, and covered with lava. Wind and water erosion carved the ash into "fairy chimneys" and other formations.

We also visited a pottery workshop and gallery and a onyx workshop and gallery. We saw how pottery and onyx pieces are made.

After lunch we visited the Zelve Valley a place that used for filming the first Star Wars movie for an alien setting. We saw a mosque carved into the cliff and we climbed through a tunnel.

We also saw a formation that looks like a camel and 3 pillars which are called the 3 sisters.

After this full day we returned to the hotel.

On Tuesday we left for Antioch. We drove south through the high mountains and we drove through a mountain near the ancient Cilcian Gates which was an important pass for many years. Alexander the Great passed this way on his way to the Battle of Issus. Many armies and merchants pasted this way also. Later we entered Tarsus the home of the Apostle Paul. We visited some of the Roman ruins of the city at the "Well of Saint Paul". Then we ate lunch in Tarsus. We drove on to Antioch to spend the night.

This fills in the gap of our journey.

Connie and I begin our eastern Turkey adventure tomorrow morning.

John Wineland
Adana, Turkey

PS I will send some pictures of this later this evening

Greetings from Adana

The "Fun Girls" and our guide "Al"

The delicious bread we had for our last lunch together in Turkey

Mosaic from the Antioch Museum, Orpheus and the Beasts

Hello,

Connie and I said goodbye to the group a few moments ago. We are in our hotel room in Adana Turkey. The group is now at the airport and they will fly out at 7:30pm tonight (about 2 hours from now). They will fly to Istanbul and spend the night. Tomorrow morning they will be transfered to the airport and fly back to New York. From there most will fly back to Miami while others will make there way to other cities.

Overall it was a great trip with a great group of people. Connie and I will miss them.

We had a wonderful guide, driver and driver's helper.

Tomorrow Connie and I will drive east to explore other parts of Turkey.

I will continue to try to blog the rest of our trip.

If you do not want to receive the email blog posts email me and I will try to remove your address from the listserve.

I will continue to post it to the same Blog, found at http://pbaturkey2007.blogspot.com

Today we slept in. We did not leave the hotel until 9AM. Then we walked to the wonderful museum at Antioch. The main feature of the museum are many wonderful Roman mosaics.

We spent about 1 1/2 hours at the museum and then we drove to St. Peter's cave or church. It is built into the slope of the hills overlooking the city of Antioch. Many of the group climbed up the side of the hill to see the large carving of Antiochus I looking over the city.

We then went down to the church and saw the remains of mosaic floors and an alter. To the left side was a passageway that was used to escape the area when needed.

We stopped for a nice lunch and then drove to Adana. They we left the group in the able hands of our guide and Dr. Gary Poe.

Greetings from Antioch of Syria

Greetings

Everyone is safe and sound in Antioch of Syria

I am sorry I was not able to post sooner my computer is not working and the internet was very slow at the last hotel where we stayed for 2 nights

I will try to update more later/

John Wineland
Antioch of Syria
Turkey

Theater at Hıerapolıs

The falls at Pammukale

Greetings from Hierapolis

Greetıngs

My computer power pack ıs not workıng so I am usıng the hotel access whıch must be used only by standıng up at keyboard. Also I do not see any way to upload pıctures. Anyway I wıll do the best I can.

Thıs mornıng we left Kusadası and drove to the wonderful sıte of Aphrodisıas. Thıs sıte has a very nıce theater and was home to a school of sculpture. The best thıng about the sıte ıs the well preserved stadıum. We had a 'charıot' race there.

Then we had a wonderful lunch at the Anatolıan restaurant. We drove on to Colossae to vısıt the sıte of the unexcavated mound. Paul wrote a letter to the church of thıs cıty.

After thıs we drove to Laodıcıa to vısıt our last cıty mentıon ın Revelatıon. The sıte has been excavated for the past 6 years wıth extensıve ruıns

Fınally we drove to Pammukale the Cotton Falls whıch has whıte falls wıth pools of blue water. Next to thıss sıte ıs Hıerapolıs whıch has a wonderful theater and extensıve cemetery for all of the people who came to be cured ın the hot sprıng water. Even gladıators are burıed at the sıte.

We are stayıng at a nıce hotel tonıght.

Tomorrow we go on to Pısıdıan Antıoch and Konya (ancıent Iconıum)

All ıs well here ın Turkey

John Wıneland
Hıerapolıs Turkey

Views from Patmos

The harbor of Patmos, Greece

Mosiac Image of John at the Monastery on Patmos

Greetings from Kusadasi, Turkey

Group Picture on the Ferry Crossing the Aegean Today

Greetings,

Today we left the hotel quite early and traveled by a privately chartered ferry to the Greek Island of Patmos. The ride took about 3-4 hours over, and 3-4 hours back and we spent about 3 hours on the island.

Patmos is the island where Apostle John was exiled during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian. We visited the traditional spot where John received the Revelation. It is in a cave which was later made into a Greek Orthodox Chapel.

Then we traveled up to the monastery dedicated to John and visited the Greek Orthodox chapel which is 900-1000 years old. After this visit we also viewed the museum of the monastery. The highlights of the museum were a 5th century manuscript of the Gospel of Mark, and an 8th century illuminated text of Job (both in Greek). Also the museum has on display a painting by El Greco.

Later we enjoyed lunch and a nice boat ride back to Kusadasi, Turkey. The weather was beautiful. We had sunny skies and deep blue water.

We returned to the hotel about 7:00pm and had dinner outside by the pool at 8pm.

Our hotel overlooks the marina of Kusadasi which is on the Aegean Sea.

John Wineland

Kusadasi

PS I am having some trouble with my computer so this might delay some posts in future

Greetings from Kusadasi, Turkey

The large theater at Ephesus where the crowd rioted as recorded in the Book of Acts.

Dr. Poe is dying to rest after a hard day

Fragments of the Hugh Statue of Domitian

Hello Everyone,

Everyone is safe and sound here in Kusadasi. This morning we left Izmir and traveled to the amazing site of Ephesus.

Our first stop was at the House of Mary, high in the hills above the city. This was a quiet and peaceful place with many trees and a small chapel built over the site of an early house which many identify with the house of Mary.

Then we visited the site of Ephesus. This Greco-Roman has extensive runs. We started at the upper end of the site and visited the Odeon and made our way down the Curetes Road toward the Library of Celsus. Along the way we visted the nicely preserved bath house and Roman Toilets.

The highlight of the trip was the visited to the Terrace Houses. This area has been excavated extensively in the last 15 years and it was the wealthiest part of the city. Frescos and fine mosaics are preserved in this area.

We also saw the Library of Celsus. It was restored by an Austrian team of archaeologists. We saw the site of a brothel but we could not see the famous footstep inscription that some believe was an advertisement for the brothel because that section of the road was closed due to renovations.

We then entered the great theater of the ancient city this was the site of the near riot in the city where Paul’s ministry caused the salver smith guild to work the crowd into a 2 hour frenzy calling out great is Artemis goddess of the Ephesus.

The weather was good for our trip and the crowds while much heavier than we are used to were relatively light for this time of year.

Then we ate lunch at local buffet and visited a place where they make hand woven Turkish Rugs. Everyone enjoyed seeing the silk being spun from the cocoons.

We then visited the nice museum of the site of Ephesus. The highlights of this museum included a fresco of Socrates found in a villa, also the fine statues of the Ephesian Artemis. There was also a colossal statue of Domitian and a fine display about gladiators.

After this we visited the Church of Saint John and saw the traditional place of the burial of John. There is a fine baptistery in the floor of the church and also a mosaic of John, Jesus and Mary.

Then we visited a shop which makes and sells articles of leather. We had a special fashion show at this shop.

After this we drove to the site of the Temple of Artemis. This was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world but now only a single column remains with a stork nest on top.

We are staying in a nice hotel and in the morning we sail to the Island of Patmos which is controlled by Greece.

Everyone is doing well and feeling fine and we looking forward to the rest of our trip.


John Wineland
Kusadasi, Turkey

Greetings from Izmir

A platter of "pot Kebabs", several people ate these today for lunch at a nice restaurant near Sardis. The vegetables and meat are baked in a wood fired oven in a ceramic pot which has its lid sealed with dough. The food here was great.

The massive Temple to Artemis at Sardis (notice some of the group is near the large columns)

Hello Everyone,

Everyone is doing well and safe and sound.

This morning we drove to Sardis one the seven cities mentioned in Revelation. Sardis was the capital of the Kingdom of Lydia, home of King Croesus. It is also the place where coins were invented.

First we visited the area of the gymnasium and 5th century synagogue. People enjoyed seeıng the Late Roman/Byzantine perıod toilet. We saw several ancient shops along the way.

Sardis was the home to the Persıan Royal road which ran from Sardis to Susa. This was an important route whıch carried messages in 'Pony Express' style from one end of the Persian Empıre to another. An earlıer Hıttıte road was also on thıs route as well as a later Roman road.

We then vısıted the 5th century AD synagogue which ıs one of the largest and best preserved of the ancient world. It ıs decorated wıth mosaıcs and has a fınely carved table at the front before the seats of of the elders. The table has eagles on eıther sıde.

The gymnasium ıs a large complex wıth a Palaestra (exercıse area) ın the front. The large buildıng has been reconstructed and ıt has fıne ınscrıptıons and columns. Behind ıs a large tepidarıum pool of a bath.

Then we visited the Temple to Artemis which has massıve columns and capitals. The site has been extensively excavated by Harvard University.

Then we drove to the small town of Phıladelphıa one of the 7 cıtıes of Revelation. We saw the remains of a 6th century Byzantine basilica which has a mosque built nearby showıng the reuse of sacred space down through the centuries (we saw a small Byzantine church buılt on part of the remains of the Temple to Artemis earlıer in the day).

There were several ınscrıptıons at the church which were mainly funerary inscriptions many from the 19th and early 20th century. Some ın our group are become very ınterested in the varıous inscriptions we are seeıng along the way.

We have now seen 5 of the 7 cıtıes and we wıll Ephesus tomorrow and Laodocia ın a few days.
We then had a great lunch near the town of Sart. The food overall has been very good and everyone ıs enjoyıng ıt, esp. the fresh fruıt and vegetables and the Turkish Delight ( a specıal sweet candy made from honey).

After lunch we drove to the Izmir Archaeological museum. We looked at some of the fine statuary and everyone was impressed by the special coin and jewelry room. We saw a coin hoard from the 6th century BC which had some of the earliest coins ever minted. They were first minted at Sardis.

We ended the day trıp up to a Turkısh fortress which overlooked the city of Izmir. The fortress was first used the in the time of Alexander the Great. From the top we had a beautiful view of the city and its harbor.

Tomorrow we wıll spend all day at Ephesus vısıtıng the ancient sıte, the church of John and the sıte of the Temple of Artemis which was one of the 7 seven wonders of the ancient world.

Tomorrow night we more to a new hotel ın the resort area of Kusadasai.


Sincerely

John Wineland
Izmir, Turkey

Greetings from Izmir

A platter of "pot Kebabs", several people ate these today for lunch at a nice restaurant near Sardis. The vegetables and meat are baked in a wood fired oven in a ceramic pot which has its lid sealed with dough. The food here was great.

The massive Temple to Artemis at Sardis (notice some of the group is near the large columns)

Hello Everyone,

Everyone is doing well and safe and sound.

This morning we drove to Sardis one the seven cities mentioned in Revelation. Sardis was the capital of the Kingdom of Lydia, home of King Croesus. It is also the place where coins were invented.

First we visited the area of the gymnasium and 5th century synagogue. People enjoyed seeıng the Late Roman/Byzantine perıod toilet. We saw several ancient shops along the way.

Sardis was the home to the Persıan Royal road which ran from Sardis to Susa. This was an important route whıch carried messages in 'Pony Express' style from one end of the Persian Empıre to another. An earlıer Hıttıte road was also on thıs route as well as a later Roman road.

We then vısıted the 5th century AD synagogue which ıs one of the largest and best preserved of the ancient world. It ıs decorated wıth mosaıcs and has a fınely carved table at the front before the seats of of the elders. The table has eagles on eıther sıde.

The gymnasium ıs a large complex wıth a Palaestra (exercıse area) ın the front. The large buildıng has been reconstructed and ıt has fıne ınscrıptıons and columns. Behind ıs a large tepidarıum pool of a bath.

Then we visited the Temple to Artemis which has massıve columns and capitals. The site has been extensively excavated by Harvard University.

We then had a great lunch near the town of Sart. The food overall has been very good and everyone ıs enjoyıng ıt, esp. the fresh fruıt and vegetables and the Turkish Delight ( a specıal sweet candy made from honey).

After lunch we drove to the small town of Phıladelphıa one of the 7 cıtıes of Revelation. We saw the remains of a 6th century Byzantine basilica which has a mosque built nearby showıng the reuse of sacred space down through the centuries (we saw a small Byzantine church buılt on part of the remains of the Temple to Artemis earlıer in the day).

There were several ınscrıptıons at the church which were mainly funerary inscriptions many from the 19th and early 20th century. Some ın our group are become very ınterested in the varıous inscriptions we are seeıng along the way.

We have now seen 5 of the 7 cıtıes and we wıll Ephesus tomorrow and Laodocia ın a few days.

We then drove to the Izmir Archaeological museum. We looked at some of the fine statuary and everyone was impressed by the special coin and jewelry room. We saw a coin hoard from the 6th century BC which had some of the earliest coins ever minted. They were first minted at Sardis.

We ended the day trıp up to a Turkısh fortress which overlooked the city of Izmir. The fortress was first used the in the time of Alexander the Great. From the top we had a beautiful view of the city and its harbor.

Tomorrow we wıll spend all day at Ephesus vısıtıng the ancient sıte, the church of John and the sıte of the Temple of Artemis which was one of the 7 seven wonders of the ancient world.

Tomorrow night we more to a new hotel ın the resort area of Kusadasai.


Sincerely

John Wineland
Izmir, Turkey

Group Photo from Sardis

This is the group today in front of the Gymnasium complex at Sardis, one of the seven churches of Revelation.

Group Photo at Troy

Greetings From Izmir

"Trajan" at the Temple to Trajan, Pergamum

The very steep theater on the acropolis of Pergamum

Group Photo in front of the Temple to Trajan at Pergamum

Tuesday May 29th

Hello,

I did not get to post yesterday because our hotel last night did not have any internet connection. Tonight we are in Izmir the third largest city in Turkey. Izmir has a large port and is the main city of Western Turkey it is along the coast of the Aegean.

Here is a recap of what we did yesterday, Monday May 28th

We began the day in Bursa. We departed early and drove to Troy. Everyone enjoying seeing the site connected with Homer's writings. We visited the area where Paul set sail for Macedonia after receiving his vision tell him to come to Macedonia while he was at Troas (Acts 16). Then we ate a picnic lunch along the Aegean Sea.

After lunch we visited Alexandria Troas, where Paul raised Eutychus from the dead after he fell from a window while Paul was preaching (Acts 20). There are some new excavations at Troas and part of temple and street have been uncovered.

Then we drove to the town of Assos which is located high above the Aegean Sea. Paul visited here briefly (Acts 20:13) during his third missionary journey. The city is most famous for its Doric Temple of Athena. Aristotle lived here before he became Alexander the Great's tutor. We spent the evening at a hotel along the shore of the Aegean.

Today we left the hotel early and traveled south to the city of Pergamum. This is one of the seven cities mentioned in Revelation. We tour the acropolis with its spectacular theater and the Altar to Zeus. There is also a large temple of Trajan on the site. We visited the acropolis of the city and then the Red Basilica which was a church building in Byzantine period and which originally had been built as a Temple to Serapis (the Hellenisitic Egyptian husband of Isis) . Later a mosque was built on the site.

Then we drove down to visit the ruins of the Asklepios shrine. This was city where Galen lived and practiced medicine. Asklepios was the Greek god of healing.

On our way to Izmir (Smyrna) (mentioned as one of the 7 cities of Revelation in Rev 2) we drove to Thyatira to visit the ruins of a Byzantine church. Thyatira is mentioned in Revelation chapter the churches mentioned in Revelation chapter 2.

Tomorrow we visit Sardis, Philadelphia, and the Archaeological museum in Izmir.

John Wineland
Izmir, Turkey

Sunday at Nicea and Bursa

The site of the ruins of Constantine's Palace at Nicea where the first Ecumenical Council was held in AD 325

Greetings,





Several of the students gave me additional email address of friends and families, so you should now receive each blog post as an email. I will try to blog each day and tell you what we did. You can check past posts at http://pbaturkey2007.blogspot.com





If some reason reason you do not want to receive these emails or you know of some else who would like to receive these email posts please let me know at mailto:wineland@kcu.edu





Today we traveled from Istanbul and crossed over to Asia from Europe. We visited Nicea the home of the first and last ecumenical councils (1 & 7). It is located on a beautiful lake. Then we traveled to Bursa we were scheduled to visit the Green Tomb but it was closed for restorations. We did visit the Green Mosque nearby and did some shopping near the mosque. Tonight we are staying at a very nice hotel in town.





Sincerely





John Wineland

Details about the First Day of Touring

The Image of Christ at the Chora Church, Istanbul Turkey

Greetings,

Here is a bit more details about the first day of touring (yesterday). In the morning we drove to the Chora Church which is a small but impressive place. It has spectacular mosaics and frescos on its walls and ceilings. One section has scenes from the life of Christ. It houses, what many consider to be, the best preserved and finest Byzantine mosaics in the world.

Then we visited the famous Blue Mosque, which was built in the 17th century. Its name comes from the blue tiles which decorate the interior. After we stopped for a group photo, we crossed the street to visit the Hagia Sophia or St. Wisdom. This church was built by Justinian in the 6th century A.D. It had the largest dome in the ancient world and it was the largest church building too. This record remained until the construction of St. Peter Basilica in Rome. It is decorated with beautiful mosaics and frescos.We then visited the Roman/Byzantine Hippodrome which seated 40,000 fans. Today the central part of the Hippodrome is preserved in a park. We saw an obelisk from Egypt during the reign of Thutmosis III. It was brought to the spina of the Hippodrome by the Romans. We also saw the remains of the bronze tripod which is made up of three intertwined bronze serpents which once stood before the Temple to Apollo in Delphi. We later saw of the three heads of the serpents in the National Archaeological Museum.
We stopped for lunch near the Hippodrome, most people ate in the Pudding Cafe.After lunch we visited the Byzantine Cistern which held 80,000 cubic meters of water. It is famous for appearing in the James Bond Movie "To Russia with Love" where they ran speed boats through the cistern. It was constructed during the reign of Justinian.We then walked to the National Archaeological Museum. There we saw the famous Siloam inscription and Gezer Calendar. We also saw the beautifully carved marble sarcophagus of Alexander the Great. It is called this because it has a depiction of Alexander the Great in battle. This sarcophagus was found at Tyre, Lebanon.

In the Near Eastern Building we saw several of the baked glazed tile animals and figures which once lined the entrance way to the Ishtar gate from ancient Babylon. We also saw the earliest international peace treaty between the Hittites and Egyptians, the Kadesh Treaty.Then we walked to the Spice Market for some shopping. Then we returned to our hotel for dinner.

John Wineland
Bursa, Turkey

Lady Selling Worry Beads Green Mosque Bursa

This lady did some good business with our group outside of the Green Mosque today. She sold her worry beads (on the left) for 1 Lira each. She would say "Thank You" in English. I think sold about 10-15 beads to our group (20 people).

John Wineland

Iskender Restaraunt

Wood fired cooking



The Trade Marked Logo

We ate lunch here today. It was very good eating. They only serve Donner Kabob since 1867.

John Wineland

Green Mosque Bursa

The Ladies in the group at the Green Mosque in Bursa with the traditonal head coverings.