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Biblelands and Greece trip

September - October 2019
A 36-day adventure by susie Read more
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  • TravelerBiblelands and Greece trip
    Day 16

    Day 13 Biblelands trip

    September 26, 2019 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Day 13
    Left the Dead sea today and drove through the Negev Desert, past many Bedouin encampments (there are 250,000 Bedouin living in Israel today) and more herds of wild ibex.
    Visited Avdat established in the 3rd century BCE as a stop over for Nabatean tribesmen transportng spices and perfumes.. it became known as the Incense Route.. and Avdat was taken over by the Romans and then the Byzantines..abandoned after an earthquake in the 7th century .
    More driving through the desert past massive solar farms, the Israeli Defence Force Academy in the middle of the desert, the top secret nuclear plant that our guide assured us wasn't for weapons but was a"biscuit factory"🤔
    Wilderness of Paran where the children of Israel were wandering.. such a dry arid area we could understand their murmurings about wanting to be back in Egypt where at least they had food.
    Timna Park...the site of King Solomon's copper mines, in the territory of Edom, with stunning natural rock formations known as Solomon's pillars. We visited a life sized model of the Tabernacle here.
    Eilat, the southernmost City in Israel.. We can see Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt from here.. Everything is so close 😲 Ended the day with a delicious refreshing swim in the Red Sea with awesome colourful fish on the reef!    Read more

  • TravelerBiblelands and Greece trip
    Day 17

    Day 14 Biblelands trip

    September 27, 2019 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Day 14 After a fairly stress free border crossing to Jordan we farewelled the lovely Effi and met our new guide Rami and drove through massive granite mountains with lines of dark lava.. quite spectacular.. This area known as the Exodus road. mentioned in1 Kings 9:26/Numbers 33:1 Elah (now known as Aqaba)..
    Headed to Wadi Rum (wadi means valley)..many movies filmed here Including Martian, Aladdin, Mummy 2, Lawrence of Arabia, Transformers. We had a fun 4WD jeep ride through the dunes and stunning rock formations, with a traditional Jordanian lunch in a Bedouin camp.
    Then we drove along the Kings way.,(mentioned in the Bible several times) to our hotel in Petra. Hot and dusty and very glad of a shower 😁    Read more

  • TravelerBiblelands and Greece trip
    Day 18

    Day 15 Biblelands trip

    September 28, 2019 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Day 15 Petra.. In 600BC Nabateans settled here.. After several major earthquakes in the 4th Century the site was abandoned. But in 1812 a Swiss explorer rediscovered the ancient city which was in 1985 declared a world heritage site. A definite bucket list item 😲

    Drove through Edom, to Moab through areas mentioned in the Bible although names have since changed (Josh13:16-20 territory of Reuben,Jeremiah 48:20-22)
    Ruins of Umm ar-Rasas where we saw some gorgeous mosaic dating back to AD 785 from Saint Stephen's church built in this biblically significant site on the King's Way (named in Bible times- Mephaath)
    Next stop was Arnon River Gorge with stunning views (part of the Exodus road on the way to Nebo).. Ammonites would've been on the right, Moabites on the left, Edomites behind us.
    We then drove to the capital, Amman..through cities and farming areas that shocked us with the amount of rubbish EVERYWHERE! So different from Israel, and the driving here in the Middle East is an adventure in itself😲😲 From highways wide enough for 3 lanes each way but no lanes marked so some interesting jostling for position.. babies in laps in the front seat unrestrained..to narrow streets really only wide enough for one car after there were cars parked and double parked at all sorts of angles.. our bus ran the gauntlet through these with stall holders either side 😲    Read more

  • TravelerBiblelands and Greece trip
    Day 19

    Day 16 Biblelands trip

    September 29, 2019 in Jordan ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Day 16. First stop the supposed site where the chariot of fire appeared and Elijah was taken, Elisha became his successor 2 Kings 2:11. We can see Jericho from here.
    Bethany beyond Jordan.. The site where it's believed John the Baptist baptised Jesus. The Jordan used to be the fastest running River in the world but little water remains. We had a breaking of bread here which was very special, and the words of a hymn we sang were so meaningful..'For Abraham's God is our God, and Isaac's God is ours. Ours is the God of Jacob, with His almighty powers'🎶
    Next we headed to Madaba in Moab, where Ruth was from, and visited a church built on top of the old Byzantine church with a mosaic floor containing 2.8 million tiles, of a map of the Holy land, designed to guide the pilgrims.
    Next stop Mt Nebo where Moses died after he had been shown the land (Deuteronomy 34) Unfortunately it was a dusty hazy day so we didn't get a great view but still awesome to feel we were on this mountain with Moses ❤️
    A very steep ascent with hairpin bends.. uneasily aware that what goes up must come down😲 but we safely made it to Maccherus where John the Baptist was beheaded after the daughter of Herodias danced A steep hot climb to the remains of the palace of Herod Antipas (Matt 14)    Read more

  • TravelerBiblelands and Greece trip
    Day 20

    Day 17 Biblelands trip

    September 30, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Day 17 On the way to the airport for our flights to Turkey we stopped at the Citadel of Amman.. where David sent Uriah to battle possibly where he was killed, as this would be the likely place to defend the city (2 Sam 11 ancient city of Ammon)

    Last look at Amman from the lookout . Our guide shared his sadness with the fact that orruption and greed dominates the politics and the cost of living and low wages with very high unemployment rates..up to 30%..makes life very difficult for the average Jordanian family The gap between the rich and poor is increasing and the national debt has doubled from 20 billion to 40 billion in 20 years 😢
    More interesting Middle Eastern driving..where herds of goats actually waited for the lights to change on a major road before their goatherd led them across.. Better disciplined than a lot of the humans here 😂
    Flight from Amman to Ankara. with great perspective of Israel, Cyprus and Turkey from the air..then Ankara to Izmir.to meet our new guide. Arrived at our hotel for a late dinner after 9pm excited for the next part of the adventure 😊    Read more

  • TravelerBiblelands and Greece trip
    Day 21

    Day 18 Biblelands trip

    October 1, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Day 18 We plan to visit the sites of the 7 churches of Asia minor now called Anatolia) mentioned in Revelation, so on the bus we read Rev1.
    First we drove to SARDIS.. Rev 3 "To the angel in the church at Sardis write.. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen the things that remain.... the one who conquers will be clothed in white.. and I will never blot out his name from the book of life"
    Some very impressive gymnasium and synagogue ruins, and the Temple of Artemis. (In other news.. the yummiest dried figs I've ever tasted😍).. This was clearly a wealthy community, gold mining and the origin of the coin was in this area..but perhaps it was all for show as is suggested in Rev 3.
    PHILADELPHIA... Rev 3 "To the angel in the church in Philadelphia write.. You have kept my word and have not denied my name..I will keep you from the hour of trial.. hold fast..I will write on them a new name.."
    Not a lot remains of the early church here, a modern city is built on the site. All that's left of the original city are a few ruins, but we saw 2 huge sides of a massive arch from St John's church built in the 6th century AD. The rest of the stones have been repurposed to build the modern city 😢 We sampled some delicious local sultana grapes

    We then drove to Hierapolis.. (mentioned in Colossians 4:12.. Laodicea, Hierapolus and Colossae) This is an extensive ruin site, with the best preserved theatre in Turkey, where 95% of the seats are original. It's occasionally used today for performances. Right near here is Pamakkule..2 types of thermal springs.. The most well known are the White formations because of the calcium carbonate in the hot water(34°)(there is another pool with sulphur that is a hot spring 30°all year round) We walked on the White formations and waded in the warm pools
    Next we drove to LAODICEA Rev 3 "To the angel in the church of Laodicea write.. you are neither hot nor cold.. You are luke warm..I am about to spew you out.. you say you are rich and have need of nothing...you are blind.. put salve on your eyes so you can see.. Repent.."
    Here, instead of grapes there are fields of cotton, as this area is known for its textiles. Also in Bible times for its medical Centre.. particularly its eye salve. From here we can see the hot springs of Pamakkule and there are also mountains here with cold water from the snow.. they had everything they would've wanted here..a fertile area..perhaps this is why they were coasting along, in need of nothing, not thinking they needed God..neither hot nor cold, but luke warm. An analogy they would have well understood, along with the blindness/eye salve analogy    Read more

  • TravelerBiblelands and Greece trip
    Day 22

    Day 19 Biblelands trip

    October 2, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Day 19
    Kusadasi means Bird Island.. Our hotel overlooked this little island This is the site of ancient Ephesus, an area famed for its peaches, pomegranates and figs. Samos is the closest Greek island to Turkey,about 1.5km from the coast. We sampled the local baklava, apple tea and Turkish coffee 😊

    Rev 2 "To the angel of the church at EPHESUS write..I know that you have persevered and endured hardships.. and not grown weary.. But you have forsaken the love you had at first.. Repent."

    There were 4 different Ephesus in the one city, over the centuries. We started with St John's Basilica in the 4th Ephesus, built in the 6th century AD.(John lived in the 3rd Ephesus and some believe he was buried here, so of course they built a church !)From here we can see the Temple of Artemis .'Great is Diana of the Ephesians!'and the 3rd Ephesus from Paul's time, which we explored next.. walking from the upper gate all through the city to the lower gate. This was largely destroyed in an earthquake which is why they moved to the site up the hill, the 4th City. Of particular interest was the theatre where Paul would've preached (24,000 capacity!!)and the Agora where Demetrius the silversmith would've had his shop
    After lunch we visited a traditional Turkish rug making shop, before heading to Izmir (ancient Smyrna)

    "To the angel of the church at SMYRNA write..I know your afflictions and poverty. Yet you are rich.. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.. Be faithful..and I will give you life.."

    We visited the old Agora, which is all that is left from Bible times after the modern city was built on top.
    The afternoon was spent sipping a local rosé with special friends sitting on the coast of the Aegean Sea ❤️    Read more

  • TravelerBiblelands and Greece trip
    Day 23

    Day 20 Biblelands trip

    October 3, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Day 20

    Rev 2 "To the angel of the church in Pegamum write..I know where you dwell, where the seat of Satan is..yet you remain true to my name.. Nevertheless some among you hold to the teachings of the Nicolaitans..Repent..I will give that person a white stone with a new name.."
    First stop Bergama (ancient PERGAMUM) The modern city again has been built on top of the 1st century city. We took the cable car to the top of the agora. There are so many temples to different gods.. the most well known is the temple of Zeus.. maybe this was why it was called the seat of Satan.. false worship. You can see the dark rock that is naturally occurring which the original City was built from.. also the white stones the Romans used as a facade to beautify it.. Perhaps this explains the reference to white stones with a new name. More than a facade..a true change.

    "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write. .I know your love and faith, your service and perseverance.. Nevertheless.. You tolerate Jezebel..who misleads my people.. Repent.. The rest of you- hold on to what you have until I come.."

    Very little remains of ancient Thyatira, as the modern city of Akhisar has been built around it.This area was known for its purple dye. Lydia the seller of people came from here..

    It's been fantastic to visit all 7 ecclesias and we noted that in every letter there are those mentioned that needed to repent and those that were exhorted to hold fast, which we found both sobering and encouraging.

    We then had a 5 hour bus ride which seemed to go very quickly with lively discussions and a stop over for Turkish delight 😊 We witnessed another glorious Turkish sunset as we crossed the Ozman Gazi Bridge, across the Marmara Sea, an inland sea separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. We also crossed the Bosphorus bridge which joins the Asian and European sides of Istanbul. The next few days we will spend on the European side.    Read more

  • TravelerBiblelands and Greece trip
    Day 24

    Day 21 Biblelands trip

    October 4, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Day 21
    First stop the Topkapi palace(meaning Cannon gate) which was the residence of the Ottoman sultans.. completed in 1475 on an area of 700,00 square metres! The last Sultan lived here in the mid 19th century and then the Dynasty moved to the Dolmabahce palace on the water, built in 1853. There are 4 courtyards, getting progressively more private. Great views of the Bosphorus which is a channel connecting the Marmara sea and Black sea.

    Next stop Hagia Sofia,(means Holy Knowledge) the largest temple structure in Turkey.. Rebuilt 3 times. It was originally a Christian church then became a mosque then now a museum. Spectacular mosaic walls and ceilings! There are 104 marble columns taken from the temple of Artemis in Ephesus which is why we only saw one still standing there. A lot of marble spheres and blocks are also 'repurposed' from Pergamum
    Next stop the Basilica cistern, an underground water system constructed for Justinian the Byzantine Emperor in 5th century (140m long 70m wide with 336 columns, each 9m high)
    Next we had a quick look at the Blue mosque (so named for the more than 20,000 blue tiles) but as it was under restoration most of it was under wraps.
    We very briefly explored the Grand bazaar with 3000 shops.. Then quickly exited 😲
    We walked back to our hotel which is right near the
    Galata tower, built as an observation tower in 14th century.    Read more

  • TravelerBiblelands and Greece trip
    Day 25

    Day 22 Biblelands trip

    October 5, 2019 in Turkey ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Day 22
    Last day in Turkey today.. some things I learnt here..Turkey is located between Asia and Europe(OK .I did know that bit 😊) with 8 bordering countries. The main income is tourism, followed by agriculture - 80% of the world's hazelnuts and 90% of the world's pine nuts come from here. Also olives, pomegranates,grapes (for dried fruit and white wine mainly). Textiles is the next major source of income, as it was in Bible times (Turkish rugs, fabrics) Tea is very culturally important.. our guide Yetkin drinks 15-20 cups of black tea a day, coffee is not as popular. Baklava and Turkish delight are the traditional sweets. The country is 90% Moslem, but it is far more relaxed and respectful of other religions than Arabic countries. There are no images allowed in the Moslem mosques, so they use tiles instead, So tile making is a very important art.
    Istanbul, where we spent the last few days is much more cosmopolitan than Asia minor where we started, but the countryside and the friendliness and helpfulness of the people in the Anatolia area was lovely.
    We spent our last day cruising the Bosphorus and seeing the many mosques and palaces on the water. Then we wandered the local streets and the Spice Market. After dinner a last local Apple tea with friends ❤️
    Tomorrow...onto Greece!    Read more

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