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