Day 05 - West Central Turkey: Sardis, Pergamum

We had a more relaxed morning at the hotel because we loaded the bus at 7 but did not need to leave until 8:30 because Sardis is very close to our hotel.

The breakfast buffet had some delicious options and Sue introduced many to halvah, a sesame treat that Joe said tasted like a Reese’s  peanut butter cup. Several of us enjoyed our new favorite Turkish breakfast of yogurt and honey.

It was another cool morning and we sat on the patio as the hotel workers prepared for the day. When we prepared for this trip, we had a lunch at Karleena and Cruzer’s house with a lovely lady from Turkey who taught us some Turkish customs and phrases. One was "kolay gelsin", which is a phrase you say to someone when they are working hard to tell them, ‘may it go easy for you’.  I got to say it to one of the workers and he was very appreciative.

Caleb got on the bus mic this morning and cracked some jokes but then led us in a great devotion which unexpectedly  started with Katy Perry’s "Hot N Cold" but then went into how in our relationship with God we can sometimes find ourselves on fire for Jesus and other times we are complaining about wanting coffee or more sleep. Caleb said we can be comforted in knowing that His faithfulness does not change based on our feelings and He is with us and loves us no matter where we are at. Caleb read Psalm 139 to us and reminded us that His mind is set on us and He sees us no matter what. Yvonne shared the thought that, “While He was on the cross, we were on His mind.”

After the devotion, Sardis was a five minute drive away and we jumped right into touring. The Lydians were the natives of this land and they were very wealthy and powerful. 

The road in Sardis was 30 meters wide and went for 1500 miles, it was not just a Roman Road it was THE Roman Road.

We were able to walk through the largest synagogue found outside of Israel, which was from the 3rd century A.D. Underneath the synagogue was a Hellenistic temple from 400 B.C. A sweet dog walked through the temple with us and would put his paw on you when he wanted cuddles.

In the temple there was a circular symbol, found in several locations so far, that many said looked like pizza pie in 8 slices…it was actually a secret symbol of the early Christians that had the letters that spelled out Jesus Christ Son of God, the Savior.

We gathered around Pastor Ralph in the temple and he spoke about the origins of the synagogue, which was never mentioned in the Old Testament. By the time of Christ, the synagogue was a religious and community center and they had schools connected to them to train the children to learn the Old Testament. 

Steve spoke about the school system, which was called the mishna. The younger children, aged 5-11 years old, studied and memorized the Torah. Then the children reached the age of accountability and made their Bar or Bat Mitzvah depending on their gender. The girls returned home and the more gifted boys went into deeper study into the rest of the Old Testament. From there, the most gifted 1% studied and apprenticed with a rabbi to continue as a rabbi or other leader at the temple. The others went home and learned a family trade. 

The Hazzan, or pastor, at the temple would walk among the people with the scroll and dance as he presented it to the people. There may or may not be video of Pastor Ralph dancing through the temple! He proposed that his title be changed to Hazzan Howe. He was voted down by the Crossroads trustees in attendance.

We headed outside and saw a massive gymnasium that was reconstructed in the 1970's. Though they rebuilt it with the original materials, at its prime it would have all been covered in marble due to the wealth of the area. Through the door of the gymnasium was a large pool.

The ruins in Sardis are split between two areas, so we took a three minute drive down the road to an area that held the Temple of Artemis/Diana. This was the 4th largest temple known to mankind from the Hellenistic period. The ruins are nestled in tree lined hills with beautiful mountains in the background. It was very scenic but of course they were doing very dark things there.

Next to the large temple was a small building that may have been a church where the first missionary work could have happened in the first century. Gokhan shared his own thoughts of how the early Christians may have shown kindness to the pilgrims to the temple of Artemis so when they asked if they worshipped the gods the Christians could speak to them about Jesus.

We sat at the base of giant columns to discuss the church of Sardis, the 3rd church of Revelation that we have visited so far and the 5th to receive a letter in the book of Revelation. Sardis was the opposite of Philadelphia; it was rebuked by Jesus because they had a reputation for being alive but they were dead. This was only 50 years after the church had started. Why does that happen? It could have been money. We trust Jesus but also depend on ourselves and our bank accounts. Or maybe they just moved away from the Gospel. When you do that it becomes a church on the outside and just a social club on the inside. We need to be looking at ourselves to see if we are falling into that pattern. We need to avoid the sin of familiarity where the Gospel becomes common and we lose sight of its full impact. If Jesus were writing letters to churches today, the American church would definitely get a letter. We need to stop being complacent and wake up! The letter to the church at Sardis is not ancient history - we have need to repent just as they did.

But the letter to the church in Sardis said there were some that did not compromise and they would be rewarded. It is beautiful how Jesus did not judge the church as a whole but instead knew each member of the congregation. He knows each of our hearts.

As we spoke as a group about what we learned, Jane made the point that Gokhan taught us that the Temple to Artemis was never completed and in Revelation, Jesus said that He did not find the church’s works complete. It was a reminder of what we discussed yesterday that He knew the culture of his audience.

After Sardis we had a one hour bus ride during which Gokhan taught us our Turkish word of the day, haydi…it means ‘Let’s go!’

We drove to the city of Akhisar and stopped at the church of Thyatira which is literally in the city center and was not part of our original itinerary but an added benefit that Gokhan provided. There was a light rain as we walked through the small location. You will see from the pictures that the columns that have been re-erected are within feet of shops in the town.  Indeed, only a small part was excavated and the current town is built on top of the full ruins.

Pastor Ralph taught us the lesson of Thyatira, the fourth church of Revelation. Jesus said this church was growing in love and in faith but He also strongly rebuked them for having a false teacher that was leading them astray and into immorality. If an outside force is leading you to sin that is one thing but if a church leader is teaching it that is worse. We can’t condone what God condemns but what is wrong is right in our culture and, if the church engages in that, we risk becoming the church of Thyatira. We need a sensitive awareness to the holiness of God and his call to what is holy.  

After another short drive we went to Kofteci Altay for lunch. We enjoyed fresh bread and chicken or meatballs. Dessert was honeydew, which the region is known for. 

Today was an early day, which was much appreciated after several days of travel. We are only at the Ramada Soma hotel for one night but it was nice having a few extra hours to relax or explore. Several rested, a few went to the gym and sauna, and some visited the convenience store next to the hotel for snacks. The name of the store translates to Gas Office and its symbol is a dog head with its tongue sticking out! 

Our hotel also has the first Starbucks we have seen since the airport in Istanbul. Coming from Florida, with a Starbucks on nearly every corner, it was nice to see a glimpse of home!

We had dinner tonight at 7 and while it was another meal of lentil soup, chicken, and rice, this one was definitely one of the absolute best we have had! A fun surprise was that Gokhan arranged a cake for Francis’ birthday and we all joined together to sing to him in both English and Spanish. It was the perfect way to end another perfect day in Turkey with our church family.

Please be in prayer for Michelle and Taylor’s daughter, Brooke. While they are here, she is home with a serious infection that has caused days of vomiting and weakness. She has been to the hospital twice due to fever and dehydration. It has been so hard for them to be away from her and they were up most of last night speaking to their family due to the time difference. Please pray for quick healing for Brooke and rest and peace for Michelle and Taylor as they are continuing to travel in Turkey and London when our tour is finished.

Finally, I have a quick correction from a prior blog entry! When we were at the travertine cliffs the other day I said they were made of salt but they are actually calcium carbonate. Oops! Sorry about that!

We are headed to bed early tonight as tomorrow is supposed to be another strenuous day in Pergamum. Good night!