Day 4 of Turkey: 10/10/13
Today we are going to another letter city, I'm so excited to be traveling through the missionary journey! We started off at St. Johns Basilica (Church) where we were able to lookout over the Temple of Artemis. WE then headed to Ephesus, modern Selcuk. This is also another city of Paul's letters. I loved the fact a whole city outline was left in the remains. There was a gym, library (Huge), temple of Domitian, and many many shops. We even saw ancient toilets, still slightly better than squatters (which I'm ashamed to say I had to try.....) We also took a picture to match the pictures in the back of the scriptures. I am so excited to make my own picture album of all the places in the scriptures we have been.
We then went to Miletus. Once again we read the more of Paul's missionary stories, although this city wasn't one of the 7 cities waiting for a letter from the apostle.
On our bus ride to the hotel and dinner, it was a 3 hour one; we played a fun singing game which was Niceps idea. The volunteer went to the front of the bus, where I was sitting, put in both headphones and then sang with the bus microphone a song of their choosing. It was hilarious to hear how people sound when they can't hear how off tune they really are! Nicept also told us how he met his wife. At the end of the story he stressed that the "free party life" is nothing compared to a family! It is interesting to see the world figure out priorities when the church tells us from day one: family, family, family. I am so glad that I had the direction and examples of my parents to teach me the gospel and give me the resources I need to be successful and to stay on the path.
Day 5 of Turkey: 10/11/13
Today we are planing to finish seeing 2 (kind of 3) of the church cities in Paul's letters. I say kind of three because we only drove through Smyrna and read the story on the bus. The first place we actually stopped was Sardis. Here we found some remains of another temple of Artemis and a huge gymnasium of the 2nd century A.D. You can find the letter of Sardis in Revelations 3:1-6 :)
The 5th city was Thyatira. This one was located in the middle of the city of Akhisar. Because of the setting it was a very different place! Some pedestrian stopped to ask why we would possibly stop a tour bus in a ****hole place like this. (Excuse my ****s) It's crazy to see people not realize or be interested in such cool biblical history or just plain history that are literally in their backyards!
To finish off the day we went to the beautiful Grand Mosque of Bursa. This is an active Mosque so our trip was fast to allow for their daily service, especially since Friday is a huge thing! This Mosque has 20 domes and 6 pillars. The pillars were a huge controversy because the Mosque in Mecca which is the BIG deal also had 6 pillars, so another pillar was added to Mecca to keep its status quo. Finally the Bursa silk bazaar where I bought a few scarfs and skirts. Not enough time, I just love to shop!
Day 6: Last day of Turkey 10/12/13
Our last day in Turkey, so bitter sweet! I just love this beautiful place! Our last stop was in Nicea, the modern Iznik. The council of Nicea formulated the Nicean Creed here in 325 A.D. This document by Constantine, a new Christian convert, would establish that the Nature of God and Man were different. The Joseph Smith History 1:5-17 disputes the Nicean Creed and states our potential to one day become like God. Such a powerful message!
Before we left we squeezed in 1 more ferry ride to the European side of Istanbul back toward the airport. Because of scheduling miscommunication we were in a huge rush and missed shopping. Dang it, I really wanted a cool glass lamp. We did have dinner at the airport and ate McDonalds, which I hate doing in a foreign country but food is food. We also had to say goodbye to Nicep, I really which he could come back and be our guide-he was great! Oh I almost forgot to tell you! I got some amazing apple tea from the airport, Herbal tea that we as Latter-Day Saints can have (don't worry our teachers gave it to us first!) I never like any other kind of Herbal tea but this stuff is heavenly. I can't wait to have some at home when it’s snowing outside!
Back to Jerusalem on Pegasus Airlines! I can't explain the cool experience it is to be considering Jerusalem as your home after a trip in Turkey, it’s an unreal experience! Oh how I love the life of a traveler!
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