Day 01 - Attalia, Aspendos, Perga

Greetings from Turkey! Today's theme was having eyes to see. We dug past the culture of the Roman Empire to see just how it impacted the way people thought and what they believed.

We began our morning on the harbor of Antalya. As we overlooked the Mediterranean Sea, Brian gave us 4 truths about Paul. We often view Paul as a man in a league of his own, but he was just a person like you and I. We talked a lot about all the time he spent learning and being discipled before he became the legendary apostle we know him as today. He had so many incredible teachers from Gamaliel to Barnabus guiding him.

From the harbor, we went to the Antalya Archeology Museum. We saw several statues both of the gods of Rome and the emperors. All of these were used as propaganda to push forward the Roman ideals. An interesting fact was that almost every statue was excavated from Perga, a place we were heading to later that day. Here we began to see just how indoctrinated the people of ancient Rome were to the pursuit of “the good life.” How can the gospel spread somewhere so concerned with getting the most of the here and now?

We then drove out to Perga. This was an incredible archeological site! Though the city was home to only 8,000-10,000 people, it was designed with beauty and power in mind. They may have had just as many statues as people at some points! Most of the city’s building were funded by a woman named Plancea Magna. As we walked through the ruins, we began to see the picture forming of a city who had everything it could ever want: security, entertainment (having both a theater and a stadium), a gymnasium, a spa, and so much more. This is a place people sought to get the best out of life “bios” (life here and now), but the gospel calls us to look forward to life “zoe” (life eternal).

Our final stop of the day was to the most well preserved Roman theater in the world - Aspendos. They are currently preparing for a festival, so the stage is set for a play. Theater was also a way Rome spread their propaganda. It was in everything from the architecture of the building to the subject matter of their plays. Theater was a way to be distracted. This was an especially awe-inspiring site. We each gasped as we rounded the corner into the huge theater. The magnificence and power of Rome was definitely on display!

We are now about 4 hours away in Psidian Antioch. We are all very excited to get our first full night’s sleep since traveling to Turkey! We are so grateful for the way the Lord allows us to look into the past to understand our present! 

Megan McGaughey