Day 08 - Western Coast: Didyma, Miletus

Today Miletus sits nestled in a lush, fertile valley. In Paul’s day, it hosted a bustling sea port on the sparkling waters of the Aegean Sea near an ancient Hittite settlement. On a clear day, one can see across the strait to Samos and other Greek isles.

Romans constructed a 15,000 seat theatre and other city buildings in Miletus around the 1st century AD. Although the site has not been significantly excavated, it boasts one of the most well preserved theatres we’ve seen in our travels. It stands as an amazing testament to Roman engineering and architecture.

Inscribed in the theatre’s stone, we saw seats reserved for “The God-fearers”, the distinction given to early Gentile believers. It seemed fitting to spend a few minutes singing songs of worship and listening as some members of the group demonstrated the acoustics with a rousing rendition of “Lean on Me.”

Next we gathered in the shade of a ruined bathhouse to learn from Shea about the end of Paul’s journeys in Asia Minor as recorded in Acts 20. Paul’s message in Miletus was his “gospel goodbye” to the Ephesian elders. He described the characteristics of church leaders: a servant’s heart, willingness to suffer for the good of the Church, and boldness in sharing the truth with love and teaching the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. As he prepared to sail from Miletus, Paul set his face forward, knowing suffering waited for him in Jerusalem. Yet, he modeled commitment to finishing faithfully, having fully counted the cost.

Shea challenged us to consider:

Is my life worth emulating because it points others to Christ?
If not, what do I need to repent of and course correct to get back on mission?
 

From Miletus, we motored to Didyma and dined on freshly caught grilled fish, calamari, and local beer. Across the street, 3 pillars stand 6 stories (60 feet) tall amid the ruins of a temple to Apollo, son of Zeus and brother of Artemis. Constructed over 500 years, at one point it was converted to a church during the Byzantine era.

 “Would you pay for an answer to your greatest question?” Christians in this region faced this question, this temptation, and it’s one we still ponder today. And yet, Shea reminded us, God has already answered our greatest questions with Jesus (Romans 5:1). We no longer need fear the unknown, because we have peace with God, through faith in His Son and the ever present power of the Holy Spirit.

May we be faithful to look to Him, not to a fortune teller or horoscope. Not to our bank accounts or news networks. Nor, as those in Didyma, to a hallucinating priestess hidden away in a “holy place” built over centuries with human hands only to slowly fall to ruins.

We rounded out the day with free time to enjoy the hotel and surrounding area of Kusadasi on our last night in Turkey.