Acropolis Mars Hill

Boarded the the bus in Pireas at about 8. We will be touring today before going to our hotel. The largest port in Greece is here. This was also the port for war ships in ancient Athens. The Sardonic Gulf is the southern border of Athens. In 1980 the Peace and Friendship stadium was built.

 

41/2 million live in Athens; 40% of the population. We are going to the Acropolis museum first to allow the crowds to dissipate on the Acropolis.

2nd Sunday in November is the Athens marathon. It begins and ends in the First modern Olympic stadium - Panathenean stadium 1896. All the seats are marble. During the last Olympics in Athens the stadium was used for women's archery.

 

Athens has a severe graffiti problem. We even saw graffiti on Mars Hill.

Mars Hill looking down on the Agora below the Acropolis

Before going to the Acropolis we went to the Acropolis Museum which contains the original artifacts from the Acropolis. The museum was very modern and well done. The inside was the actual length and width of the Acropolis with pillars in the exact position of the original with the artifacts placed where they would have been on the original structure. We saw the friezes that were near the top of the structure.

 

The scenes above would have been in the squares between the squares with the vertical lines.

 

 

Remains from the western end of the Acropolis.

The beautiful sculptures of "the Girls" that were the pillars on the Erechtheion were on the second floor of the museum. Each one was different from the other. The sculptor gave each an elaborate fishtail braid so the sculpture could support the head without a thick neck.

These maidens were originally on the Porch of Karyatids. Their right hands once held libation bowls for drink offerings. Erechtheus and Poseidon were worshipped here.

 

We found our way to Starbucks in Athens both mornings!

 

 

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Pamukkale/Hieropolis Laodicea

Pamukkale and Hieropolis are the same. People used to come here to be healed, many as a last resort so before anyone was treated they had to pay for their sarcophagus! Necropolis means city of the dead. The build up of calcium has been developing for 1400 years. 2000 sarcophagi were discovered here.

The above photo are of the calcium deposits; one from below and one from above.

UNESCO World heritage protected site.

We were able to hike up to the newly found tomb of Phillip. There is martyarion there dedicated to him. We also stopped on the way down to see the theater. It was so good to get out and do some exercise so I could earn my lunch!

 

Theater at Hieropolis

Heading to Laodicea through the Lycus valley. Very fertile! Large site with ongoing archeology. 100% Turkish project. A column from the second century was unearthed that faced a wall. It had an engraved cross along with a menorah. On one side of the cross is a grape leaf and on the other an arm. Evidently, it was meant for future generations since it faced the wall and could not b seen by anyone of that day. There could be 2 different explanations: 1) the person could have been a convert from Judaism or 2) he could have been hope of peace between the two groups.

 

They are currently excavating a church built in @ 325 AD. Possibly the oldest known church. It is very interesting to see the archeologists at work.

 

 

This city was known for it's wealth. After an earthquake during Nero's era, Laodicea was offered money to help rebuild, but they refused saying that they could do it on their own. The people here were very wealthy and very greedy! The concept of banking in the Middle East was introduced here.

(Meander river Valley is very fertile. It is the valley we will be driving through to get to Ephesus.) Denizli is the modern name for Laodicea.

We are stopping for lunch in about an hour and a half and then we will be on our way to Ephesus. Evidently, we will be staying in a wonderful hotel which sits on the water.

Medical care - Social Security System covers both medical and pensions. Some complain because those that work pay for those that don't work! Imagine that! Medicines and hospitals are free. New medicines with less side effects (or any other reason you might want them) can be prescribed if you pay a supplement. A green card is given to those who don't have work so they can get medical care. The people with green cards, when going for medical care, wait in line with those who pay from their salaries. This is causing some tension among those who work for a living.

Lines can be really long for surgeries. Sometimes 2-3 months. They do have private hospitals that can see you immediately, but you have to buy private health insurance policies. Some companies buy it for employees so they can get back on the job more quickly. More reputable companies do this.

Pensions. Retirement age is 63. Life expectancy is 69 due to smoking. New generations are living longer because they are living more healthy lives. It used to be that the days you work determined your retirement age, but not anymore. Cost of living increases are based on the inflation rate. Top limit on retirement benefit is 7000 lira per month no matter how much you use to earn. The lowest is no lower than minimum wage.

 

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Day 5 Pergamum Smyrna

Leaving at 6:30, as we will do everyday in Turkey. Headed to Pergamum . Temperature will about 80 today! The "we" section starts in Acts which means Luke probably joined Paul. This is where Paul saw the vision to go to Macedonia.

Arlene and I hiked down to the beach before leaving to get pictures of the Agean. Beautiful! We loved this hotel except for the hard beds! Turkey has the best watermelon and tomatoes. Some sort of peppers are served at each meal.

Sharon did the devotion today emphasizing social context of the Bible. Geology is evident that there was a flood.

Gedes is the river that caused the silting of the harbor of Troy.

We will be visiting two of the 7 churches today - Pergamum and Smyrna.

(On the way through the mountains my friend, Arlene, had to watch out the window so she could help the driver drive. :))

When we stop the bus gets washed the bus driver tips the washer 5-10 lira. There is no charge. The business charges them a fee and the fee goes to clean restrooms so it is a win win!

As a tourist we can see the economy's improvement by the road construction. Residents see improvement in medicine, technology, education etc. Industrialization of Europe helps Turkey.

Turkey is the fourth fastest developing country in the world. Tourism helped it started to boom. 16th biggest economy in the world. Textile and automotive are big industrial products. Known for quality textiles. Many well-known clothing companies are produced in Turkey. A lot of hand work is still involved. Most major car manufacturers are in Turkey. Great location! Centrally located - European Customs Country. Most factories are near Istanbul. Can produce and deliver an ordered car in 8 days!

Agriculture is a big industry. Can sell to anywhere in Europe-2 days max delivery time. 70% hazelnuts are from Turkey. They grow everything except coffee.

Tourism means tourism from neighboring countries not necessarily from the U.S. We only contribute minimally. Turkey has great beaches. Some places have 11 month summers. The Aegean Sea is the warmest right now than it has ever been. There are many theme hotels - ex. Venetian, Topkapi, etc. Which can be $2000 per night and are all inclusive. Russians are highly represented in these tourists. They have money that they can now spend that they could not spend under Communism.

Coach tours-Japanese are the biggest users of coach tours. They do shorter tours but spend just as much money as a 10 day tours. Australians are in second place.

8% unemployment, officially! 6% inflation rate which is considered good. Minimum wage is only payed to people who have an extra income ex. Bellboys, waiters ($400) per month. Average income is $14,000 per year. The government is starting to look at taxing tips.

Salt refinerys from water in the Aegean Sea.

Pergamum was amazing. We took a gondola to the top. The theater was a highlight. On the opposite side of the mountain there is a reservoir created by a dam visible from the highway.

 

We stopped for lunch and some of us ordered Pide which is like a very thin crusted pizza. Delicious! Did a little shopping and now we are headed to Smyrna which is about 2 hours away. Now is a good time to take a rest!

 

 

 

 

(Disclaimer: I know I have made many errors so far. Just consider the source and give grace where needed, please! Not a lot of proof reading going on here.)

Izmir or ancient Smyrna is the fourth largest city in Turkey. Beautiful 5 star hotel tonight! Heading to the thermal pools before dinner! We visited Smyrna today in the heart of Izmir. I think I have my priorities wrong. The pool really isn't more important than the ancient site! :)

The air conditioning doesn't work and the jets in the jacuzzi are pitiful, but there is a pianist in the lobby. We all had to wear these "swimming hats" in the pool. They look like the ones food servers wear. Very fashionable! However, the water was warm and very refreshing after a long day.

I have tried 3 times to load more pictures,but they keep "failing" so all I am sending I what I've written for now.

 

 

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Sea of Marmara, Canakkale, Troy

Yesterday we were at the Archelogical museum in Istanbul. We saw these lions and other animals that were along the entryway to Nebuchadnezzar 's palace.

 

Leaving Istanbul. It took 40 minutes to get out of the city. We will see fields of wheat, corn, canola and sunflowers.

Just had our first experience of a pay bathroom - 1 lira. At least it was fairly clean, had tp, soap and paper towels. Some ordered coffee and didn't appreciate the cultural experience!

Gas prices about 10.50 per gallon! 800% tax! They are trying to reduce the use of cars. People resist using public transportation. Sound familiar?

Attaturk was the commander of Turkish forces under the Ottoman Empire.

During his college years he was involved in Illegal activities and was formulating plans for a Democratic Republic. He postponed his ideas because of the war in Balkans (1908-12). The war caused the Ottomans to lose all but a small portion of the land in Turkey. The Germans promised them their property back so the Ottomans became Germany's ally. Because of Attaturk's skills in the political and military arena he became hero.

 

Women could vote and be voted for before most of the rest of the world. It was the third country after New Zealand and Australia to give women this right. Too many men had died in the war so the economy depended on women.

Attaturk introduced the use of sir names use before then only titles. In 1923 the use of sir names was adopted as law. Attaturk died at 57. This Democracy is only 80 years old. Currently 65% of the country is under the age of 35. Turkey is a secular country not ruled by religion. A few examples: they can drink wine, women don't have to wear burkas, they can or can not celebrate Ramadan. Father Attaturk means Father Turk. His picture is on the Turkish Lira.

Galipoli - British attack were helping Russian with ships on the Black Sea. Stopped by Turks so landed on Galipoli to get control of Dardanelles.

Had red lentil soup for lunch, delicious! Next stop, the ferry across the Dardanelles! Went from Europe to Asia! Lapseki is the docking city. Now on our way to Troy! There is an actual wooden horse there. Must prepare for pictures in the horse!

European city where we caught the ferry

 

We toured the city of Troy. They had a replica of the Trojan horse that we could climb in and get our picture taken.Troy used to sit on the water but now it is about 4 miles inland. They are building a new Museum to house the artifacts that they are finding. The city of Troy has nine different layers. The sixth layer was when the city had the most population of about 10,000 people.

Father TurkLutfen = pleas

 

Entry gate at Troy

 

 

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Flight - Legs 1&2

Just getting to the end of our 11 hour flight to Frankfurt! Four of us ladies got to sit together in one row. Good thing, we are packed in here like sardines! I did manage to sleep a few hours. It seems that they were constantly feeding us. We had dinner about 6 our time and we just had breakfast at about midnight our time. I guess they are getting us ready for the time change! We will all be happy to get out of our 4' square of floor space in the plane.

End of the line on Lufthansa in Frankfurt

We are on a two hour flight to Istanbul after waiting to board in Frankfurt and they are feeding us again! They have also come by twice offering hot and cold drinks! My 2 hours of sleep in the last 24 hours is starting to catch up to me!

 

Gate B20 Frankfurt

We are arrived during a public holiday - Sacrificing Eid. Animals will be sacrificed and the meat will be given to the poor. A very holy time for Turkish Muslims. It is like American Christmas.

 

We arrived at the Eresin Hotel in the Taxim Square area of Istanbul. We are all very weary.

All of the streets in this area are "cobblestone". Our bus driver did quite a job of navigating these narrow streets. Many of the people in our group were complaining this morning about the noise in the night, but I slept like a log! So thankful that I got some sleeping pills from my doctor!

 

 

 

 

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