Day 04 - West Central Turkey: Aphrodisias, Philadelphia

We are nearing the halfway mark of our trip, it’s so hard to believe! We met in the lobby this morning at 7:00 to check out of the resort and get our suitcases on the bus. Then we headed to breakfast where we shared stories and laughed together. It is really beautiful how close-knit our group is. We have all formed really sweet friendships and gotten to know each other better, which is a definite benefit of the trip that will continue to grow after we get home.

After breakfast we loaded onto the bus and Pastor Ralph led us in a devotion on the concept of "kairos" .

Kairos in Greek means a moment in time, and is used to describe a moment that stays with you. Its kind of like an “aha” moment. We have already had kairos moments on the trip and will likely have more that will stay in our memories.

We had a 1 hour 20 minute drive to our first location, Aphrodisias. It was a quiet ride, with some getting a little extra sleep, some talking, but most just enjoying the spectacular views. As we drive through different areas of Turkey, the views start to vary. This morning’s drive was lush and green with all sorts of trees. The mountains in the distance have so many trees on them they appear to be carpeted in green! There was a gorgeous blue sky today. The past few have been more cloudy, but today the sun was bright. It was an absolutely gorgeous, clear and crisp morning.

We arrived at Aphrodisias before 9:30. Gokhan likes to say “wakey wakey” when we get close so everyone can prepare to exit the bus. He told us both stops today would be relatively flat after all our climbing yesterday.

When we arrived at Aphrodisias, we were greeted by a pack of at least 10 friendly dogs. Other than all the animals, we had the entire site to ourselves for the first portion of the day.

Aphrodisias is not a biblical site but is another example of Roman life in the first century, which we have learned is important to understand the context of Scripture.

Gokhan explained how a Turkish photographer took pictures of this spot, which is set in the mountains and 38 kilometers from the main road, and thought he found something. It was a few years later that a Turkish professor saw the pictures and realized the photographer may have uncovered an ancient Roman city! They did not begin to excavate Aphrodisias until 1960, and they continue to excavate it today. Indeed, we saw them hard at work in an area where pictures are not permitted as they dig.

Aside from Rome, this was the largest temple for Caesar to be worshipped as a god. The entry to the temple was just unearthed last year. The archaeological team here is led by a group from NYU.

We saw a large pool that was almost twice the size of a stadium that was just restored in 2017. Even more recent was an entry with columns that was just a dirt pile two years ago! It is amazing to think that even where we were walking today may soon unearth ruins from centuries ago.

We took a group picture in the senate hall and if you check the pictures attached to the blog you may see that a cat and dog joined us for the picture.

We saw the temple to Aphrodite that, in the 5th century, was transformed into a church by the Christians, which involved moving columns and building an altar, which would have been a huge undertaking. They also carved crosses into the stone to redesignate it as a church.

We ended at a giant stadium, too large to get in one picture, to be used for gladiator fights and sporting events that were well planned and marketed.

We sat (very carefully) in this incredible stadium with steep stone stairs and Ralph stood below us (again, making us very nervous) and gave us a talk about Rome wanting to keep the people entertained so they would not pay attention to what the government was doing…sound familiar? Of course, that is what is happening in our world today. Rome trained the culture just as we are being trained now.

The writers of the New Testament knew the culture and used the culture to make Biblical points. Paul used stadium imagery to talk about living out our faith and running our race for Jesus.

While we listened to Ralph with rapt attention, one of the dogs fell asleep on the rock step in front of him. He joked about people falling asleep during his messages and Melinda named the dog Jonah:)

After discussing the races that would have been run in the stadium (they would have run naked), Pastor Ralph urged us to come out of the stands and come onto the field and run our race (at which point Melinda chimed in to please remain fully clothed if we chose to actually run)!

As Joe put it, “He just Billy Graham-ed us.” I guess it was the first altar call in the Roman Empire.

Several of us made it down the treacherous steps and some ran the stadium while others walked and explored the grounds while others just sat and prayed. Sharon and Jeff engaged in gladiator games, sword fighting with walking sticks. Caleb did a lap around the entire stadium. Sandy, Kristina, Karleena, Michelle, and Yvonne joined in singing beautiful hymns. It was a varied time of worship and all of us using our different spiritual gifts to praise God in our own personal ways.

For lunch we went to Antalya Restaurant, which Gokhan has been visiting since 1996. As we pulled in, an older man was playing a guitar while his little, colorful parrot bobbed up and down and then climbed onto the guitar!

We had the option of fish, meatball, chicken, or mushrooms with cheese for lunch. Everything was delicious and they had pita fresh and warm from the oven. For dessert we had the option of fresh fruit or yogurt with honey, which was absolutely amazing.

We had a few minutes to explore the grounds of the restaurant with its peacocks and pomegranate trees. All the restaurants we have visited for lunch have been wonderfully accommodating and attentive to our large group.

As we made our way back to the bus for a two hour ride to Philadelphia, or as Gokhan put it, “the original Philly,” the adorable parrot was out again and several members of the group got to have him sit on their arms!

The longer bus drives never feel bothersome because there is always an opportunity for rest, looking at the scenery, conversation, or reflecting on what we have experienced. Quieter days like this can be even more impactful than the busy ones like yesterday because of the scope of the messages we have received and those "kairos moments" that Pastor Ralph spoke about this morning.

One thing Pastor Ralph asked on the first day as we walked together was that there be no complaining on the trip. Certainly if there is a problem we can get it resolved, but group trips can turn sour very quickly when negative energy is introduced. Well, we are four days in and have yet to hear a negative word out of anyone, even with inconveniences that arise. That says so much about the character of those in the group and what it means to live like a Christian. We are following in Paul’s steps on this trip and Paul above everyone had reasons to complain but he never did, instead he viewed it all as joy and gain because it worked to advance God’s kingdom. We are all emulating Paul and that same desire to put God first, instead of ourselves, for the benefit of others and sharing the love of Christ.

We arrived at Philadelphia close to 4:30. It was a small spot, in a bustling downtown area, with the sounds of traffic passing close by. Even Pastor Ralph was not here on his prior trip to Turkey because of the location’s small size and the difficulty in parking, but we knew we had to come because of the significance and our desire to experience the Seven Churches of Revelation.

Gokhan explained that this area was badly destroyed by the earthquakes in 17 AD and the name of the town was changed in honor of Caesar. After the next earthquake, the name was changed again and has been changed many times since and is now named Alasehir, or town of Allah.

Pastor Ralph showed us a map (are you surprised?) of how the churches of Revelation were all in a path on the trade routes.

He also gave the background that all of the churches of Revelation were facing persecution.

Philadelphia was the 6th church to get a letter in Revelation. It was one of only two letters that received no rebuke or correction. Members of our group read the letter to Philadelphia exactly where it was read by the church after receiving it. Philadelphia, at the time, was like a mini-Athens. The church here was an open door, not for Hellenism, but for the Gospel. And since they had been faithful here, they would be protected from the tribulation and judgment at the end times.

As we were considering and discussing what we read in Revelation, we experienced a really cool moment. There was another tour group opposite ours in the small park. As they walked out, a man from the group stopped us and shook Ralph’s hand and said they were a group of Christians from France and they wanted to give us their blessings. Then members of our group spoke with theirs. It was a beautiful expression of how our faith unifies us, despite language barriers and different cultures, a true example of brotherly love in the actual City of Brotherly Love!

We finished our touring for the day and made the 40-minute drive to our hotel for one night, the Lydia Sardis. What a cool hotel! It has very eclectic furniture and a lot of personality!

Dinner was another beautiful buffet with a variety of Turkish foods. For those with American tastes, we had the opportunity to have onion rings at breakfast AND dinner today if we wanted, lol! There was a live Turkish band at dinner.

Some of the group stayed in the lovely sitting area in the lobby to hang out. This hotel also had a thermal pool. But others were tired from another incredible day in Turkey and went to bed early!

Tomorrow we will be continuing our tour of the churches of Revelation.

Thank you again for all your prayers and for following along on our journey:)