Perge, Aspendos, Antioch of Pisidia, and Konya

My apologies for being offline for the last two days. Unfortunately our hotel did not have great internet access, and thus I was unable to update the blog. We have seen some really interesting stuff, though. On Thursday we visited the ancient cities of Perge and Aspendos. Perge was a brilliant Hellenistic city that the Romans rebuilt, adding a mile long road in the middle of town which had water running from a fountain at the head all the way down the middle of the street. Aspendos is not much of a town, but it has a completely in tact theater, which gives a real sense of what the theater in ancient times was like.

Antioch of Pisidia was essentially the Rome of the east, rebuilt by Augustus after 25BCE. It is important in Acts 13, as it is the site where Paul delivers his first address to the synagogue.

Finally, on Friday night we pulled into Konya, which was an important part of Turkish history during the Celcuk period (12th and 13th centuries). Here we toured tile and stone carving museums, and we also visited the shrine of Rumi, who is a major figure in Islam.

Saturday afternoon we drove 4 hours up in the mountains to Cappadocia, a region in central Turkey. Here Christianity flourished in the 4th and 5th centuries. The region is full of underground cities and caves, which the Christians used to hide from the Arabs when they came into Turkey. We'll be spending our day tomorrow here, and staying here tomorrow night. On Monday we fly to the south of Turkey for our last few days.

The highlight of today was the Whirling Dervishes show that we saw tonight. The Dervishes are Muslims who spin around as a part of a ceremony, begun in the times of Rumi, which allows them to mystically unite with god. Can't really describe it beyond this, but just imagine 4 guys in long white dresses spinning around for about half an hour with music playing, it was quite unique and impressive. No photographs allowed, though.

So, things are going well. The trip is certainly winding down, but we have some great sites ahead of us. Dad, we have not found Noah's Ark yet, but I'll keep my eyes open. I'll also be looking for the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail.

Hope everyone is doing well. I hope the girls enjoyed Atlanta.

Bo


In Perge we got our first closeup view of the Roman aqueducts.












Here's the incredible Aspendos theater, taken from the worst seats in the house. You can just make out one of my professors singing opera to the entire theater in the center.










Here's the major road (Latin "cardo") in Antioch of Pisidia. You can get a sense of how high up the city is, overlooking the surrounding area, and just how cold it was here. The wind was blowing and we were all freezing.









This is the altar of what's often called "St. Paul's Church" at Antioch. It is a 4th century church, making it one of the two oldest churches in the world. Many believe that this is the site of the synagogue in the city, where Paul preached his sermon in Acts 13.








Here is the tomb of Rumi in Konya.


















And here is the beard of the prophet Muhammed! (in the box)