2011

Turkey  Tunisia  Algeria  Iran  Transnistria

Both Tim and I needed a good sleep, and fortunately we were able to obtain it last night.  After last night’s heavy rain, we woke to a superb morning with clear blue skies, bright sunshine and clear air.

Our drive today took us southwards along the western coast of Turkey, along the coastline of the Aegean Sea.  For much of the morning, we had wonderful views of the Aegean Sea, looking downwards from a winding road that followed the intricate curves of this ancient coastline.  Then, from late morning onwards, we followed a road that stayed very close to the calm, azure blue waters of the sea.

On our journey of about 400 kilometres, we made just one stop - or to be more precise, three stops in just one town.  The focus of our attention was the ancient town of Pergamon (or Pergamum), now a modern but picturesque city of 60,000 people that is known by its Turkish name of Bergama.

Our first stop in Bergama was Asclepion, found on a hill to the west of the main city.  This was an ancient medical centre, established about 1850 years ago, and now of course largely a collection of ruins.The ruins were approached by a long straight street, lined with the remains of Roman-style columns, that was used as a bazaar in ancient times.  The street led to a ceremonial area at the entrance to the Asclepion, which in turn led to the main section of the medical centre.  Some of the centre was underground, and there were several temples dedicated to a variety of gods at one end, with an amphitheatre accommodating 3500 people at the other end.  The treatments offered in the medical centre included drinking sacred waters, mud baths, massage, and the use of herbs and ointments.

The second stop was closer to the main city of Bergama, and this was the building known as the Red Basilica.  Built in the 2nd century, this was orginally a temple built to the Egyptian gods Isis, Serapis and Harpocrates.  The scale of the building was very impressive despite its run-down state.  Apparently the scale of the building was so large that when the early Christians took over the complex, they didn’t try to convert it into a church but simply built a basilica inside the original building.

Our third stop was by far the most impressive.  Reached by a cable car from a narrow, winding roadway, the Acropolis complex covered the top of an imposing hill that dominates the city of Bergama from its north.  The Acropolis is topped by the white columns of the ruins of the Temple of Trajan, which is in turn surrounded by the remains of several other buildings, including other temples, a library, baths, altars and palaces, and completing the ensemble, a huge 10,000 seat amphitheatre that sprawls down the hillside towards the town.

The Acropolis is presumably the imposing site of the ‘throne of Satan’ that is referred to in Revelation 2:13.

Having spent three hours exploring Bergama, we then spent another three hours driving south along beautiful expressways and through less beautiful traffic congestion in the large city of Izmir to reach our destination, the small city of Selçuk, at about 6:30 pm.

Actually, our precise destination was about 9 kilometres east of Selçuk, a small village of vineyards and orchards known as Şirince.  This small village of red roofed, white-walled cottages and narrow winding laneways, is largely populated by the descendants of freed Greek slaves who settled in the area in the 15th century.  The villages is a photogenic wonder to wander through, and the food we enjoyed for dinner (mainly local produce from the nearby farmers) was wonderfully fresh, tasty and nutritious.  Our accommodation, the Kirkinca Pansiyon, is fairly basic (and its internet has really fouled up the uploading process for my website), but it is a real treat to experience village life for an evening in this idyllic part of rural Turkey.

Day 2 - Çanakkale to Selçuk, Turkey

Tuesday

14 June 2011

Today’s Bonus Images