Day 04 - Aphrodisias, Weaving Center

Day 4 has wrapped. Some of us woke up early and went up in hot air balloons to explore the terrain of Turkey from the sky. The rest got to sleep in a bit! 

Today we visited Aphrodisias- a city dedicated to the greek goddess Aphrodite in western Anatolia. We saw fantastic buildings such as the Sebasteion, and the Bouleuterion where the local government officials would decide for the city. We explored the Temple of Aphrodite that later had been turned into a church. 

From here we walked to the ancient stadium, where we learned of the great chariot races and gladiatorial games that occurred in this space. At this point, Dr. Henning spoke about a few times in the New Testament, which spoke of believers “running the race.” Here we chatted about the imagery in Hebrews 12 on how in running the race we must make compromises, but we cannot compromise on the big things in the faith (such as denying the faith). 

From here we went to a delicious lunch, where we were greeted by a dancing parrot! 

After this, we drove to a weaving center where we learned how Turkish rugs are made, and even got to see a presentation of how the different material make a difference in the quality of the rugs. 

We ended the night going to our hotel along the Aegean Sea, and enjoyed the sunset from our balconies.

Tomorrow we journey to Ephesus, and we are all pretty pumped!