Goodbye Greece, Hello Turkey!!

Our last two days in Greece were simply fabulous. Sunday we got up at 4 am to fly to the island of Samos. Once we got there, I didn’t mind the fact that I was dead tired because the island is beautiful!! Just like the Greek islands you see in the movies. Little colorful houses dotting the hillsides with steep winding roads. Before going to our hotel we checked out one of the archeological sites where there was a small town and temple, as well as a big tunnel built in the 6th century BC that was built into a mountain to carry water from one side of the island to the other. Apparently the island’s main product used to be water because it was the only island in the area that had fresh water. Therefore it was a major port town, and even invented the dock by building up large stones in the sea. (We had to do something educational here since nothing biblical happened here…really they just wanted to take us to a beautiful island. No complaints by me!) After the tours a group of us walked a bit down the road to the nearest beach. All of the beaches are small and stony but lovely! We spent the afternoon swimming in the Agean sea and looking for sea glass in the rocks.

The column of the Temple in Samos

Me swimming in the Agean Sea.

Me in front of the Samos port.

The next day we took a ferry to Patmos. The ferry was rough! The sea was very choppy with huge magnificent blue waves which made the boat pitch back and forth and up and down. On the way home several in my group got seasick. Patmos is the island on which John wrote the book of Revelation. The cave in which he received the visions recorded in Revelation is there, and has been turned into a beautiful chapel. The holes in the cave in which John (according to legend) rested his head and used as a support to get up are enshrined as well as the natural ledge that was used as a writing surface. It was really neat to see and the people of the island are so proud of this fact that they call themselves the “second Jerusalem.” We also visited the monastery dedicated to John, which was beautiful. Then we had lunch at a small restaurant where they treated us to a performance of Greek dancing! It was fabulous, as well as the food and complimentary wine!

Patmos

The entrance to the cave of John

Our dancing waiters.

It was sad leaving Greece because I had grown accustomed to it, but once we got to Turkey, all thoughts of Greece disappeared. The thing that I cant get over is how close Turkey and Greece are, but how distinctly different they are. The architecture is completely different, the food is different, the people and general atmosphere are different! Both beautiful though! It is interesting that there are Turkish flags everywhere. They are very patriotic apparently. Lots of tapestries and hookahs for sale!
We got off the boat, got on a bus and went straight to Ephesus. I had heard that Ephesus is so in tact that you can really see Paul walking down the street. It is so true! The ruins are incredible. The carvings in the buildings and temples are exquisite. The site is huge, which gives an idea of how big the city would have been in its prime. We walked a mile from one end to the other, and spent over 3 hours. The theater was one of the most exciting because it is huge, and one of the main passages in Acts about Ephesus takes place there. We were singing and dancing on the stage, and some climbed to the top and said they could hear us perfectly. There is also a huge façade of the library at the end of the main street, which was beautiful.
We also visited the ruins of a basilica dedicated to John the Apostle, since it is believed he buried there. The altar would have been over what is now marked as his Tomb. Legend states that John took Mary to Ephesus and that they lived out their days there. We did not have a chance to visit their “house” though. While we were looking around the basilica, a minaret of a nearby mosque sounded its call to prayer. It was absolutely beautiful, and lasted about 3 minutes. I guess we will be hearing that often in Turkey because the country is 98% Muslim. A friend of mine who had visited Turkey in the past said that the Muslim call to prayer was a reminder for themselves to pray, and they took the opportunity to pray for peace in the Middle East. I think I will do the same.

Part of the basilica dedicated to John

Me "performing" in the theater.

The view from our hotel window... its a rough life.

Wednesday we were in Antioch. We visited a cave church that the early Christians used. Since Antioch was the first place followers of Christ were called “Christians,” and was Paul’s home base while he went on his missionary journeys, it was very moving. Then we went to a museum that had a really impressive mosaic collection and artifacts from the Hittites.

The most amazing adventure happened in the afternoon though. Sheila, Kathy, Lori and I went for a walk to find some shopping. We found a perfume store which we wanted to look into because we feel smelly after being in the sun all day. The man in the store was so nice and hospitable, he gave us free cokes. Then we asked where we could find some spices, he said he couldn’t tell us, but he could show us. He left his store and walked with us about 3 blocks, across the river to take us to the local market. It was amazing and huge with winding streets filled with vendors and their goods. We found spices easily, in huge sacks, overflowing with colorful, rich smelling spices. Lori, Sheila and Kathy bought saffron because the price was a fraction of what we pay in the US. (We all know that I can’t cook, so no spices for me). Then we bought a bag a pistachios to take on the bus rides, only after several minutes of pantomime and several translators to get the size and price correct. Everyone was so helpful, and when a shop owner couldn’t speak English, he went a couple stores down to get his buddy who did. They would leave their shops to walk us to another shop that sold what we were looking for. And even though we were clearly tourists, no one yelled at us to buy things, or pushed items at us. It was just a nice really inexpensive local market, and so much fun! I even bought some cute leather shoes for 5 euro!

The Church of St. Peter.

The local market in Antioch

Today we visited Paul’s hometown of Tarsus, and a well that is traditionally held to be a well that Paul used. We got to drink water from the well! Then when we got to our hotel in Adana, Lori, Kim, Eddie, Frances and I walked around and found a huge mosque. We asked if we could go in, and they said no problem, if we take off our shoes and cover our heads. It was absolutely beautiful. I looked it up online. It is called Sabancı Merkez Camii and is one of the largest mosques in the Middle East. A man there said it was the largest in Turkey.

Drinking water from Paul's well

The mosque... amazing.

Next we go through Cappadocia on our way to Istanbul!
I'll keep you all posted!