Day 06 - West Central Turkey: Sardis, Pergamum

It’s almost impossible to not be distracted from the beautiful mountains and ancient sites by the numerous kittens and dogs roaming the streets of Turkey. While at first glance you may think they are all strays and a growing problem, the reality is quite the opposite! Every urban jungle cat and k9 is affectionately taken care of by the local population, including spay/neutering and tagging. 

In fact, each site we’ve visited thus far has had it’s own set of mascots and guardians who have accompanied us, with much approval, as we explore the area. Today, at Sardis we met a dog we named Tony. Tony decided to guide us through his home town of Sardis, exploring ahead, pawing at members of our group for pets, and happily trotting along with our group as we moved from section to section. 

While our *HUMBLE* tour guide Ozan has been fantastic, our four legged companions have made the difference between good sites and great sites.

P.S, some of us may be coming back with new pets 

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Our second site of the day was the acropolis of Pergamum.  Pergamum was constructed on a 1,300 foot mountain and was rife with pagan worship.  There are 13 discovered temples on at this single site, far exceeding the total number of temples we have seen at all our other sites combined.  We studied the letter to Pergamum in Revelation then navigated our way to the bottom.  It was a difficult route that took some time but one thing I saw was incredibly encouraging.  Any time someone in our group was struggling with any aspect of the path all the others around them would pitch in, offer a hand or shoulder, and help them navigate their way.  It was a beautiful picture of what the body of Christ is called to do.  

Today was a long day, but we learned much and are ready for an exciting and far less laborious day tomorrow.