Day 01 - Southern Coast: Antalya Harbor, Antalya Museum, Roman Road

We started our first day with an early morning walk around the harbor and devotions by Pastor Kent: 

Galatians 4:4 - "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law..."

and

John 1:14 - "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

We then reflected on how Jesus has changed the world. He taught his disciples well and commanded them to spread the message throughout the world. We discussed Paul’s conversion of his on the road to Damascusand his zealous commitment to spread the word. We now have the opportunity to Walk where he walked and learn more about his journey and experiences in this ancient world.

We then proceeded to To the Antalya Archeological Museum where we explored the ancient world through sculptures of Roman Emperors, the Dancer sculpture, the sarcophagus of Heracles depicting the 12 tasks of Hercales, and ancient coin collections. 

Our next journey was to travel on a portion of the ancient Roman road Via Sebaste which goes 350 miles Pisidian Antioch.  As we walked in the heat of the afternoon, sun, stumbled on the uneven rocks, and became breathless as we climbed the mountain, we reflected on these words from Paul in 2 Corinthians 11: 

"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches."

How can we even begin to understand the difficulties of his travels and the depth of his commitment to the teachings of Jesus? What a humbling experience for each of us. 

Unlike Paul, We were rewarded with a swim in the Mediterranean and a bountiful buffet dinner. 

Nancy