Day 02 - Central Turkey: Pisidian Antioch

Today, our tour guide Gokhan taught us some more Turkish phrases, so if you asked us:

Nasilsin - how are you?

We would respond:

Harika - awesome!

The trip really has been incredible so far, it’s hard to believe we have only been touring for two days!

Many of the group commiserated about some disrupted sleep last night … several woke up completely rested at 1:30-2 am and could not fall back asleep! One issue as Floridians is we are used to cold, air conditioned rooms and in Turkish hotels they only offer air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter. Thankfully we have some longer spans on the bus today if people need naps!

Breakfast at the hotel was lovely again. An unexpected offering was french fries! They also had fresh honey off the comb, which mixed perfectly with the strong Turkish tea.

By 8:00 we were all on the bus for the 2 hour ride to present day Yalvac, which was previously known in Roman times as Pisidian Antioch, our primary location for the day.

Pastor Ralph started our morning with a devotion about the similarities of us, like many of those in the Bible, being outsiders in a foreign culture.

As we drove through the winding mountain roads, we passed beautiful Lake Egirdir and Gokhan taught us about Turkey and its many regions and the crops and resources of each area. Then he gave us “Power Nap” time, which some took advantage of while others enjoyed the incredible views. Turkey is an unbelievably beautiful country. 

The younger crew on the trip were in the back of the bus giggling and singing Disney songs.

As we arrived to our first location, Gokhan explained that some cities are referred to as “slow cities” or no stress locations. We all loved the laid-back lifestyle of these communities.

The first stop of the morning was to be the archaeological museum but we got there and it was closed! But we are an easy going, flexible group so we all said, "no worries!" The only concern was that we all needed a bathroom break so we stopped before the archaeological site.

As we walked through the parts of the Roman city of Pisidian Antioch that have been excavated thus far, we were followed by three kittens, one who was quite loud and we aptly named him Loudmouth:)

Steve led us in our first talk based in Acts 13 where he explained how Paul was led to this location and the events that took place once he arrived. Specifically, we did a deeper dive into who Sergio Paulus was, what his role was, and how Paul and Barnabas interacted with him to lead him to Christ. As we learned in church last week, archaeology always confirms the truth of scripture, so we saw pictures of confirmation that was found of who Sergio Paulus was and that he lived in this area as a proconsul. By connecting the dots, it is entirely possible that Sergio Paulus commissioned Paul to come to the Roman city in Pisidian Antioch to give his family the message of Christ as well. This might also explain why Paul was not persecuted as badly here as he was in Perga.

We had the opportunity to explore on our own for a few minutes and use our imagination of what this area looked like in all its Roman splendor.

Then Ralph led another talk about what we are seeing and the world that Paul walked into where they worshipped the emperor as a god.

Caesar Augustus ruled at the height of the Roman Empire and brought about the Pax Romana, which was not peaceful unless you complied with the Roman decrees.

Riley read an account about Caesar Augustus where they spoke of him as the savior and a divine being and another that begins, “the beginning of the gospel of Caesar Augustus”, which shows the courage of Mark in starting his gospel, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God.”

You had to receive special permission to have a temple to the emperor, which was considered an honor. It was hard to be impressed by the grandeur of what had been there because it was a dark, evil, awful place where they sacrificed and brought offerings to Caesar Augustus. He was the first example of worshipping an emperor who was still alive. Previously they viewed Julius Caesar as an emperor who became a god after he died, but for Caesar Augustus they worshipped him in his lifetime.

The early Christians faced tremendous persecution for not bowing down and worshipping Caesar. Paul wrote to them to strengthen them in a city that required emperor worship. To reject worshipping the emperor was to reject Rome and be an enemy of Rome. Paul said you can do whatever you want to me but I am NOT ashamed of the gospel. He was not intimidated by Rome. As Pastor Ralph put it so aptly, we are intimidated to share our faith at the food court but Paul stood up to the entire Roman Empire. Paul’s spirit was provoked and moved to take positive action to tell people that Jesus was their one and only Savior. Paul shared that truth exactly where we were all sitting, seeing scripture come to life in ways we never imagined.

Our last stop at Psidian Antioch was the church that was built in the 300's AD above the synagogue where Paul preached. At that spot, Steve spoke to us again.

Paul was in the synagogue  and gave his first and longest sermon here in Pisidian Antioch. Several members of the group took turns and shared his sermon as found in Luke in the very spot where he proclaimed the gospel to those in attendance. It was a total mic drop moment.

Steve explained this message and broke it down to practical advice we can use in our own lives. We each have a commissioning in this life. What are we looking to become? We need to view that through the lens of Christ instead of superheroes of the culture.

Paul gave us a formula to follow. He sat and listened and met them where they were at and adapted to them. He told them about Jesus and they asked him to come back the following week and the crowds all came to hear what he had to said. He got rejected by some and Steve told us it’s ok if people reject us. We do our part and the Holy Spirit does the rest. This is the mission of our church. We are not Paul, and we don’t need to feel intimidated by Paul. We need to live the mission in who God made us to be to point others to Jesus.

After this site we were given a beautiful handmade gift by Sharon to remember the trip that we will all treasure forever.

The coolest thing about this morning is that we were the ONLY ones at the site. Gokhan explained that the distance from other tourism locations and the cost make it less visited and that usually only Christian groups come because they understand the biblical significance of where we were.

For lunch we went to Nazlu Kebap and had (you guessed it) lentil soup but also Turkish pizza, either cheese or mince meat. It was delicious and the portions were huge. Nick took all the leftovers for the stray dogs and cats.

After lunch we grabbed the bus for the long trip to our hotel, the Doga Thermal Hotel and Spa. Our back of the bus singers shared a rousing rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’” and then, “I Thank God.”

It was a 4 hour drive but after 2 hours we stopped and Pastor Ralph treated us all to apple tea, which was like delicious hot apple cider. Some also tried a traditional Turkish snack of yogurt, honey, and poppy seeds.

As we drove, the entire landscape changed to hills with fields and then other small towns and back to mountains again. The views were varied but all spectacular. I don’t think any of us expected the sheer beauty of this country. The morning was overcast and chilly, but by afternoon the sun was out and our jackets were off!

On the second leg of our bus ride to the hotel Gokhan spoke to us about how Turkey became 97% Muslim. In the 800s AD many Turks were pagan or believed Turkish mythology but they were introduced to Islam by Arabic people. When they conquered the Roman Empire there was Christianity in the land they gained but the Turks brought their Muslim tradition into the country. Today most of the country is secular Muslim but there is still a call to prayer 5 times per day. We have heard the broadcasted chanting during our travels.

Gokhan said that despite the religious differences, the people of Turkey have very close family ties and believe in togetherness and being neighborly and as a result there is very little homelessness and crime in most of the  country.

We arrived in Pammukale shortly before dinner. We are staying at a beautiful resort hotel for two days so we are happy to not have to repack everything tonight!

The hotel has thermal pools and a spa that many booked services at tomorrow. They also had an extensive dinner buffet with gorgeous desserts.

Some went swimming, while others explored the town and others opted for an early night to bed because we are meeting at 6:35 tomorrow morning for a hot air balloon ride!

Please be in prayer for everyone to sleep well and to stay healthy, as a few have coughs.  We thank you all for your prayers for our group! Even just a few days in we are being impacted and changed by what we are seeing and learning and can’t wait to bring our stories home to all of you!