Day 01 - Southern Coast: Antalya Harbor, Antalya Museum, Perge

Hi friends, 

We set off on our first full day today here in Turkey. I knew we were in for a treat when I woke up and pulled back the hotel curtain to see the beautiful Mediterranean Sea set against the mountains of Bey Daglari It was truly a delight after a long day (two days?)of travel. 

We set off on foot after breakfast wandering the sleepy historic streets of Antalya right along the Mediterranean coast. For this Texas group, a breezy 75 degrees Fahrenheit was a welcome change from the 106 degree weather back home. Shea led our first teaching right there at the old Attalia harbor, where Paul would have entered as he first brought the gospel to Asia Minor. We learned about Saul of Tarsus and set the stage for our time here in Turkey. We learned about how Saul’s training and education as a child and later in Jerusalem uniquely positioned him to spread the gospel. We took a few moments to reflect on how God has (and is) working through the circumstances of our lives to create opportunities to spread the gospel.

We then made our way to the Antalya Museum where we explored lots of old artifacts and sculptures from the Roman and Byzantine empires. It is truly amazing to see these stunning marble sculptures they were able to create. It made our next stop, Perga, come to life all the more.

Perga is located just inland of the Attalia harbor in the same region of Pamphylia. We explored the old ruins of this Roman city, and given our most recent stop at the museum, we were able to picture the grandness of the city fully outfitted with statues and sculptures. While Scripture doesn’t say much about Perga, we do know Paul, Barnabus, and John Mark all came through this city by way of Attalia. We took some time to learn a little bit more about the nature of the relationships amongst these three men and some of how that influenced the way scripture is written. Taking the time to set the stage today and learn more about these men has been so helpful, and I’m sure it will be even more helpful to have that context in the days ahead. 

By the time we finished up here, we were hot and hungry, but we had a wonderful Mediterranean meal before heading up to our next hotel in Isparta. We arrived early this afternoon giving us a little bit more time to unwind and rest from all the travel. It has been such a gift to begin to get to know each of person on our trip more and more with each meal and bus ride, to learn about their story, and to laugh together about our poor understanding of Turkish norms. It is my hope and prayer that these friendships will deepen even more over the next 10 days as we learn more about scripture and how God will reveal himself to us. This is only just the start. 

Thanks for reading friends,

Emily