Day 03 - Hierapolis, Laodicea

It was such a cold morning today. Light snow dusted the landscape on our way out to Hierapolis; the snow looked like small white flowers.  

It was a trek out in the freezing wind, and we walked for what seemed like miles and miles till we got to our destination of the Hierapolis Theater. Coming around the bend, the sight took your breath away as we gazed at the beauty of this structure! The facade is 300 feet long, and is still standing, with 50 rows of seats, and a stage that is 12 feet high.  

What stood out about this was Ceasar used the theater to manipulate the people. Offering free entertainment, food and road safety, and a common language made it easy to be absorbed into the Roman culture. But good came out of some of this as well, the safe roads, a common language making it easier to travel, made for a quicker way of  the spreading of the gospel. This also reminds us that Jesus came at just the right time for all these things to be put into place after His death. Just as we are put into this time and space, because He is making a way for us to spread the gospel!  

Another hike/walk up Philip's Martyrium. This is the place where not only was the Apostle Philip murdered, but his daughters as well. His family was a family that was on mission for the cause of Christ, even in their deaths. There is also a church built there to honor his death, and you can see the start of the use of symbols to mark safe places for Christians to come together and worship.   

We got our shoes and socks off for this next high-stake adventure: Hierapolis Pamukkale!  The air was still so cold and windy, and even with hot coffee in hand taking our shoes and socks off left all of us a bit numb! But in the end, we all hiked down to the bus navigating our way around the heated pools, stopping every so often to warm our feet up before moving on! Can we say lunch time??

After yet another delish meal we headed out to our last stop of the day, Laodicea. Because if its geographical location, it was excellent for trade and commerce. It has two theaters, one that is being restored now, and another that has been left untouched for centuries. We also got to walk on an original ancient road.  

The letter to this church is in Revelation 3:14-21. Ask us how this relates to this site, as we put the pieces together from the teachings.  

We wrapped up the day walking through the Peristyle House, and the Byzantine Church. The house was one of the earliest church home gathering, and Jojo spoke directly to us about how our God is a personal God, and He knows where we are. What time and space He has us in. The letter to them wasn't filled with condemnation, but conviction! Prompting us to ask ourselves, "Where is the Lord convicting me?  Where is He pruning me?  This pruning means there is still life, we are not given up on!" 

Pray for no winds tomorrow, we are suposed to go on our hot air balloon ride!  

Iyi Aksamlar ~ Goodnight.