Day 04 - West Central Turkey: Aphrodisias

The hot air balloon ride was on!  Winds had died down from the previous day and 25 GBC travelers met to board the vans to to experience a once in a lifetime event. It was a picture perfect morning to enjoy God’s creation. The splendor of the geography, the floating in air and the rising of the sun gave us awe and called our hearts to worship our risen Lord, Jesus.

After another filling and delicious breakfast we were ready to go. Before we left, Jane Glupker gave us a wonderful devotion. Hope was the message and her text of Matthew reminded us that there are two kinds of hope: the biblical and the worldly. She pointed out that even in struggles, Jesus is the resting place for our hope. The end-of-life journey of her mother and her example of hope was a solid witness for us.

We journeyed on to Aphrodisias, which is heading to the southwest of Turkey. The hour drive allowed us to see orchard after orchard of olive trees. We had a lively discussion of the medicinal uses of olive oil with our guide, Gokhan. 

Aphrodisias is located in the Morsynus River Valley where marble quarries abound. As we entered the site, we were met with the immensity of the structures that have been unearthed by New York University and University of Oxford who later joined in the excavation. By the city's name, it is apparent that the origin is with the goddess Aphrodite.  She is the Roman godess of love. Aphrodisias was distinguished by its sculpting school. The agora was being unearthed, a public open space used for markets and assemblies. We also were able to view the bouleuterion which is a building which housed the citizens who would vote and decide on public policy. Most notable was the stadium. Some of the group were able to climb down into the massive structure and walk in it. It is one of the best preserved buildings in Turkey. It held approximately 30,000 and is the largest ancient stadium in the world. 

Brantley gave us a teaching in the theater. He compared how things are made from a worldview perspective and biblical world view. Genesis 1:26-27 and Isaiah 14:8 were referenced. Implications of where human dignity derives was also explored. God as our sculptor and restorer was brought home in this archaeological theater site. We were given time to sit and reflect on his message with the focus as God as my sculptor, what rough edges is He smoothing and taking off? What tools does our Lord use? And are there any people in our lives that God is using to refine me/us?

While seated in the massive stadium, Ty delivered a gladiator message! He used Paul’s message in 1 Thessalonians regarding work and the client and patron relationship in the Roman New Testament era. Gladiator language and cultural metaphors were shared from 2 Cor. 4:11, 1 Cor. 15:30-32 and 2 Tim. 4:16-18. The language Paul uses encourages us as it did the NT believers to struggle to get our lives together, to give our lives away and to give our deaths away. Ty could not omit sports as a metaphor while standing in such a grand stadium. He use Hebrews 11 as the text. It not only brought to mind in our hearts but visually what Paul was instructing to the NT church and vividly seen by us today.

We enjoyed another great lunch at a roadside restaurant. We were met by a guitar playing man with a hopping parrot on a chair - quite a sight!

The long bus ride to Sardis helped us wind down before dinner and getting settled in our rooms. Fellowship, laughter and comparing foods was a great way to end another day filled with blessings.