Tanks for Everything

After having visited the vast basilica built by the Emperor Justinian, things tanked a little when we went to visit his vast underground cistern. It all washed out well though when we discovered that the Byzantine approach to vast containers out of sight was to make them as beautiful as buildings above ground.

Thus we found the columns of the vast complex capped with Doric, Ionian, and Corinthian capitals:















Making our way to the back passages of the cistern we found things somewhat awry. Two heads of Medusa were used as bases for the columns, but from their original perch in former temples, they were a little askew:












Seen with a Stony Expression

Research

Now that our trip to Turkey is over, a classmate sent me this photo of me studying on the bus . . .

Gated Community

Wednesday the 24th was our last day in Turkey, so Tuesday we slipped in a visit to the Archeological Museum in Istanbul, one of the largest in the Middle East.

The Gates of Babylon were there:







Why be lion down when you can walk right in?




Guarding the gates of the city of Nebuchadnezzar were creatures not seen these days . . .







Like this serpent-jackal-eagle.





All in all, the museum was pretty dead:
















Which, among other things, gave us a glimpse of what the afterlife looks like:









At least in a Greco-Roman vision.

Freely You Have Received

Happy Feast Day of Saints Cosmas and Damian! We visited their church in the Roman Forum this previous Lent during our 40 days of Station Masses! Link back here to see the most excellent post from that day . . .

Byzantium

The few days we've had here in the former capital of the Roman Empire have of course been nowhere near enough . . .

There are a whole chorus of reasons to come to Constantinople, but one of the main ones would be Kariye Djami, or the Church of Holy Savior in Chora.








Christ and his Mother.




This is one of the rare churches that survived Muslim iconoclasm and still contains the stunning imagery of the original sanctuary.






















St. Paul, Saint of the Year.





A side chapel was devoted to funerals, so the images had an impressive black background.






















With of course, the image of the Resurrection:








Abel is first to the right of Jesus in the light green, holding a shepherd's staff.





We visited Holy Savior in Chora on Sunday on our way to Hagia Sophia, the vast basilica built by the Emperor Justinian.

Up on the city's central hill, where the emperor's palace used to face the basilica, stands the Blue Mosque.























Now with complementary red.






Hagia Sophia, Holy Wisdom, was built in the 530's, and is still today an architectural marvel.














The interior dome is massive:










With a splash of contemporary scaffolding.




Not as fortunate as Holy Savior in Chora, Hagia Sophia was immediately made into a mosque with the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453, who painted over the sacriligious interior imagery.
























Photos don't do justice to the scale of the enormous church.





Occasionally you can find an original face peeking out, like the Theotokos and Christchild in this central arch:















With Constantinople being the center of the Empire for centuries, the bishop of Constantinople played a pivotal role in the Church. We were able to visit the church of the Patriarch of Constantinople, and pray for a reunion of the Churches of East and West after the tragic division of 1054.








The symbol of Saint Andrew, patron of the Church of Constantinople, is the two-headed eagle over the doors of the iconostasis.

Ilium

Alexander the Great came here. Julius Caesar came here. Paul of Tarsus came here.

And now, I too, have come to Troy.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words (which isn't even as many ships as were launched to invade here), but unfortunately for you, our internet access is limited so I can't upload photos for the moment.

And I'm not about to type a thousand words.

Suffice it to say, Troy was epic. Not to be mythed. Of legendary proportions. A site you wouldn't horse around with.

After having looked out over the Hellespont from the gates of Priam, we then proceeded to cross over by ferry to enter the European continent and press on to Constanti--excuse me, Istanbul.

All that was yesterday. Today concluded our coursework with a final morning of lectures and exams in the afternoon, of which I am grateful to be finished. We had excellent professors during the course of our journey--five all together--which made the preparation for the final well worth our while.

Now we have several days in the city to take in the history, and I'll be able to pass on those photos to you soon!

Apocalypse Now

We haven't come to Armageddon, which is in Israel, but we have started walking through the book of Revelation, visiting three of the seven churches, and passing by a fourth, Laodicea, on the road. This was the third of the cities we visited, Pergamum.

Its ruins were in two parts--in the valley, and up on an acropolis towering over the landscape.

The city in the valley was famous for its hospital. The treatment was twofold, always involving a priest and a doctor, and was based in the healing waters of the area. The process was pretty interesting: first dressed in a white gown (like today, actually), the patient would be given some opium and put to sleep in an underground room with dogs and snakes, where running water was channeled. In the morning, they would describe their dreams to the two practitioners, who would then work on a diagnosis. Treatments would often last 10 days or two weeks, and so the amenities of a minor city were all present, including a small theater and an atrium for walking.

Going to the acropolis, we encountered a cascade of former temples and homes of the rulers.









Former Temple.





The theater here was built overlooking the vast panorama--to the right you see the temple of Dionysius.















Revelations 2:12-17 has the message of Jesus to the church in Pergamum: they are described as living where Satan's throne is. Not only was the complex of temples renowned for their opulence, the massive temple of Zeus was found there--the stronghold of the pagan power.









Rubble Formerly Known as the Temple of Zeus.





"To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it."

Packed in Like Sardis

We're making our way north along the Western Coast of Turkey. Sardis was the first of our cities: found in the Book of Revelation (chapter 3) as one of the seven churches.

We had a minor variant on the text--instead of running into an angel, we had a dog who followed us on our tour.









Local Guide Dog.





The synagogue in town was quite ornate--extensive mosaics were still present. Large Roman baths had been partially restored. Higher on the ridge was the Temple of Artemis.










Hard to Miss.




"Awake, and strengthen what remains." Not much remains in the city, but Jesus' words to the church there apply to us today--"Remember then what you received and heard; keep that, and repent. If you will not awake, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you."

Apollo Numero Uno

Didyma was famous for its massive temple of Apollo.









Muy grande.




Colossal in scale, it was built around 300 B.C. to replace an earlier temple destroyed by the Persians in 494 B.C., making it the fourth largest temple in the Greek world.








Dude with wings.





The site had originally become well known because of an oracle who would give messages from Apollo. Houston was apparently never mentioned.























Hanging out.






Having taken over 150 years to build, an earthquake in the 15th century brought down the house.










Fall down, go boom.

My, Let Us Visit Miletus

We read Acts 20:15-38 in the theater of Miletus today. The theater faces one of the two ports of the ancient city, from which Paul would have set sail.











Ancient Greek Van.




Actually, the van was on site with a team of archeologists doing a dig.









You could tell you were near the coast.





This next photo has a story with it--I spotted the enormous lizard, about 8 inches long off to my right, and jumped up onto a rock to get a closer shot. After snapping a few quick shots, I stepped back, and the stone rustled beneath me: a four foot snake whipped off the stone into the underbrush--with another lizard as a sidekick! Who said ancient history doesn't get your blood pumping?










Photo brought to you at great personal risk.





Before heading onto our third city of the day, we stopped for lunch.










Which of course, was on the coast.

Triple Hitter

Three (!) cities compressed into our day today: Priene, Miletus, and Chicago. Wait: Priene, Miletus, and Didyma. Yeah, that's what they were. Since we've been staying in Ephesus, we're in striking distance of several of the classic Greek cities along the coast.

One of the best examples of a classical Greek city is Priene. Built on a mountaintop, it follows and in many ways defines the model of a standard city plan.
























The theater had four seats of honor.






Two of which were seen above.





















Very honorable.





The temple of Athena was famed as being the model for the Ionic style--it was imitated throughout the Greek world.
























Column like you see 'em.

Meryam Ana

Our group made it up the hill this afternoon to Mary's house, where we were able to celebrate Mass in the Cappuchin chapel--
























The icon shows Saint Polycarp, Saint Timothy, an angel with the Letter to the Ephesians, and Saint John. With Mary and Jesus.





After Mass, I was able to meet with the Sisters Minor of Mary Immaculate, who care for the shrine with the Cappuchins--and who knew my parents from when they stayed here several years ago!












Sister Ana and Sister Antonia.

Tomb of the Theologian

Saint John the Evangelist lived to be almost 100, even after being exiled to the island of Patmos for many years. When he died, his tomb quickly became one of the most visited sites in the early Christian world. By the 300's, pilgrims were coming from all over Asia Minor--and Europe--to visit his hilltop grave.

The Emperor Justinian built a much larger basilica after the previous church was damaged by earthquakes, making Saint John's tomb one of the largest churches in the world at the time.

Climbing the hill today, there was a breeze blowing in off the coast.









Site of John's tomb.




Saint Timothy is also buried on the hillside, just south of St. John's Church:

431

We were in the ruins of Ephesus today.

Paul got quite the run-around here. Read Acts 19 to hear about the dust-up that ended up in the theater of the city (at left--largest in Asia Minor): for two hours the whole city was yelling, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

We figured we'd try to recreate the moment . . .





This is the city that Paul then spent several years in, and wrote a letter to. St. John then came here with Mary and presided over the church for many years.

Then in 431, the Council of Ephesus was held, that declared Mary to be the Theotokos--Mother of God--reaffirming that Jesus was one person, fully God and fully human.








Church of Mary where the Council was held.





Things got shook up after that--a couple of earthquakes caused the city to be deserted.









So what's left is mucho old, as they say in archeological terminology.

I'm Home!

On the commemoration of Our Lady of Sorrows, today, September 15th, we pulled into Ephesus mid-afternoon. This is where Mary lived for 9 years with Saint John at the end of her life here. Father Joe from D.C. and I snagged a taxi to take advantage of a window of free time and drove up the mountain to Mary's House--Meryam Ana.

























You can see the sea from up here.





Inside the home, which has a 13th century chapel built over it, was such a peaceful place to pray. To be there today and lift up friends and family in prayer was a special gift.

Left in Ruins

The west coast of Turkey was our destination today, but on the way there we stopped by one of the most extensive set of Greco-Roman ruins yet, in the town of Aphrodisias.
















Hanging with the big cats.





The elaborate temple to Aphrodite was begun around 100 BC, and was converted into a Christian church around AD 500.










Higher calling.




These were pillars of the community:














Aphrodisias also has a massive circus still in original layout--much more complete than the Circus Maximus in Rome.





Wait. Click on the picture to make out the greatest athlete in the stadium.




A rocky past, but the grass is greener on the other side of the colonnade.

Hierapolis

Stoicism was begun here. Found today by the town of Pamukkale, Hierapolis was a thriving Hellenistic city.

Most importantly for us, St. Philip was crucified and buried here.

Walking through the extensive ruins of the city, one is first struck by the massive mineral pools that were held to hold healing healthiness. Cascading off the southeast side of the hilltop city, which was otherwise ringed round by the city wall, they still are impressive today.










Formed mostly from calcium, they are very white.












And somewhat blue:













And all very pretty:













Continuing into the center of the city, you find the well-preserved theater.












Where's the show?




From the city you had to go even further up the hill to the site of Philip's grave, where a massive eight sided church had been built.






It's hard to spot the 8 sides from the ruins.




Philip's body (which was later taken to Constantinople, and then to Dodici Apostles a few blocks from my home in Rome), was buried under the main altar.










Right about where that green shrub is growing.



We prayed there at the site of the tomb and then started the hike down to the north end of the city.










Taking us past the Agora.




And into the sunset:










Time to head home.




Or actually, to our nearby hotel. Which also had a very hot mineral pool. Which nicely complemented the indoor pool which followed it. And the delicious dinner after. Which commemorated well today's celebration of the Triumph of the Cross.