For those of you who slept through geography class, here is Turkey. It's just north of Israel.
We took a crazy flight out of Tel-Aviv. After about four 30 minute lines I will never complain about any other airport. Dad's 2 hr early rule is not even enough time to get to your flight on time here. PS IF YOU CLICK ON THE PICTURES THEY ENLARGE SO YOU CAN SEE THEM BETTER
These are just some highlights of the next few days. We went to tons of sights (about 5 every day) but there is no room nor time to mention them all, so once I die, you can read all about them in my journal.
We went to the Blue Mosque (AKA Sultan Ahmet Mosque). Incredibly beautiful. I have never seen anything so detailed and massive. (Little did I know we would be seeing lots of these places throughout the week though). In all of these mosques we had to cover our arms, legs and hair as most of you know. You can see the details in these pictures, but notice how the lights hang low with candles, the carpet has lines in it, so the Muslims can face Mecca in a line while praying. The columns were about the width of a car or bigger. I haven't seen anything like this before.
We then headed to a place called the Topkapi Palace. This is where the Sultans lived for 400 years Pretty sweet place. There are multiple courtyards and different things in each. For example, there are multiple exhibitions, one including some items from Muhammed, one has an 86 karet diamond ring, another has the armor the sultans used. They had interesting helmets, shields, and MASSIVE swords. They were about 6 feet long, no joke. We were wondering how someone hold hat, let alone fight with it. It was crazy.
After the Topkapi palace we headed off to the Basicilca Cistern. It was very cool. It was underground and HUGE. There are 336 columns holding it up and they would fill this with water for the Tokapi palace. This is the picture below.
After lunch we went to the Bizarre. One of the biggest malls in the middle east. IT is MASSIVE. They everything imaginable there. T-shirts, pottery, leather purses, wedding dresses etc (I found out where I am getting my dress).
After the Bizarre we took about a 2hr boat ride across the Bospherus. It was magnificent. Feeling the breeze, learning about all different palaces and seeing about 30 Turkish flags. lol They are very patriotic here.
The next day we visited ANZAC in Gallipoli and then Troy. Later we just had some free time at the beach so we got to swim in the Dardenelles (the finger that connects the sea of Maramara with the Agean Sea). It was a beautiful night. On the bus we also got to get some Vishne, which is a drink that famous here in Turkey. It tastes like a sour cherry pop kind of.
We woke up and drove to Assos. It was a beautiful place. I loved it. This is where Paul came by foot while the rest traveled around the Pennisula by boat.This was on of my favorite places by far. I could see on this point for days on end. Behind me you can see an island, this is Lepos, Greece. Crazy how close we were to there and also to Athens where many other biblical stories occurred.
After Assos we headed to Pergamon. Huge theater, cisterns, beautiful temples. Another spectacular view. Afterwards we had a very yummy dinner. Just so ya know typical Turkish food consist of a 5 course meal every time. lol We were stuffed after every meal. You started off with bread and lentil soup, which I LOVED. The salad typically had sourcrout, carrots and some greens, but no dressing. The meats were odd to be honest. I never had a good serving of it and I could never tell where it came from. Roasted stuffed peppers, rice, tomato sauce and chickpeas were very common as well. And the dessert was always a pastry soaked in sugar water. Very interesting but you could feel the big plump on your stomach after eating it.
We then went to Ephesus. What a HUGE city. Was not expecting it to be this big. Hey if you have gotten all the way to this place and are still reading everything, do me a favor. Look at the pictures in your scriptures and find Ephesus, and then look at me in this picture!!! One cool experience we have had at a lot of places is singing hymns. This has been my favorite as I am sure a lot of you know. But it is so powerful how one song can bring so many peoples attention. It was cool to see our tour guide in Turkey, Yasemin, listen to us and here what we were singing. I loved watching her eyes light up, and her smile glow while we were not only singing but as our professors would talk about incredible things that ocured at these sties. So cool.
After Ehesus we headed to Miletus, where Paul gave his last speech to his people before he left.
The next day we went to Sardis, incredible gymnasium and pool area. Then we went to Thyatira, where Lydi is from. Such great devotionals at all of these places. I have come to grow such a great love for my professors for the words they have said and the knowledge they have.
After Thyatira, we went to the Grand Mosque in Bursa. And then also to the Silk Market in Bursa as well. We got some Stretchy Ice Cream here which was very different but still delicious!!!
And our very last day in Turkey was fabulous way to end. We went to Iznik (Nicea) where the Nicean Creed was. And afterwards, we headed to Instanbul on another ferry ride. Last but most definitely not least, we were able to see the Hagia Sophia. This was even more spectacular than the Blue Mosque. I wish I could take you there in person. These pictures do not even begin to describe the beauty or the size. It was built in 1453 by Justinian and is now just a museum for people. Sad that its just a place to visit and not worship, because it is one incredible building.
This was one long but incredible trip. Seeing these places and studying about the events, its indescribable. Sitting on top of mountains, in mosques, in theaters built thousands of years ago has softened my heart. I have felt the spirit in so many different places and seen the Lords creation of this earth in so many different ways. There is no question or doubt in my mind that he created this earth, and he created it for us to live.
