Who is the Christ in Christmas?

Just some thoughts from reading Luke 2:

That baby, Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem so long ago, who was he? He was both "Christ the Lord" (vs. 11) and "the Lord's Christ" (vs. 26). The baby born to Mary was both the Divine Redeemer of the world and the God-appointed Leader of the saints for all time. Even in these two names we see both the deity and the humanity of Jesus. Glory to God in the highest!

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Cappodocia

So, it's taken me a while to finish out updating you on our trip. Brad and I spent our time doing various stuff over the last couple days, and then yesterday I was sick. Thus, slowness in doing the blog and email updating that's been needed.

The major point of our trip to Cappodocia was not to see some new city or explore ancient ruins. Brad had been told by a fellow-traveler that he'd met that he really should go to Cappodocia (particularly Göreme) if he visited Turkey. So, we did. We saw some interesting things, met some interesting people, and relaxed. It was a good time, and the scenery is definitely quite different. Above you can see the rock houses where people stay sometimes. They are quite interesting looking and not too uncomfortable apparently, even though they are a little cold.
One of the days, we went and visited the old Underground City in Derinkuyu. It goes down 8 different levels. Apparently it was an old Christian place of some sort.

On Friday we went to visit the city of Kayseri (below) where we were met by a new Turkish friend (he's a friend of a friend). We stayed there and enjoyed that city's excellent food, before heading on to Ankara. We stayed in Ankara for about two days and enjoyed a good time of fellowship with some American friends there.

Pamukkale and Hierapolis

Drinking from a hot spring... the redness comes from the iron content in the water.

After Ephesus Brad and I headed to the Pamukkale/Hierapolis area. Pamukkale is an area that has a number of hot springs and some of them contain the calcium that gets deposited on this hillside.
The Hierapolis section of the area are the remains of an ancient city. They are nearly as extensive as Ephesus and may well be more impressive than it someday. Below is an old olive oil press.
Above is me in the stadium in Hierapolis; it has survived the centuries quite well and is now being given a really good restoration. Because of how widespread the ruins are, it looks like it could someday pass Ephesus as the best ruins in the eastern Mediterranean (clearly a matter of opinion.
Finally, it seemed necessary to include this stunning picture of Brad, taken as we walked down the cliffs of Pamukkale shortly before the big storm began.

Related posts: Seven Churches Intro and Miletus; Sardis, Thyatira, Philadelphia, Smyrna; Colossae, Laodecia, Hierapolis; Pergamum; first trip to Ephesus; trip to Cappodocia

Selçuk/Ephesus

So, last Friday, Brad and I started our trip heading for Izmir. We ended up passing through there rather quickly and stayed the next two nights in Selcuk, which is the 6th settlement of Ephesus. The settlement that is of Biblical interest is the 3rd settlement, and it is the only one that is being worked on right now from what we were told. (By the way, most of the pictures are of Brad because I haven't gotten his pictures of me from him yet.)

The stadium at Ephesus, with Brad

Because we had so much time there, we ended up seeing most of the things of interest in the area. The first day we were there we saw the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. As you can see below, there's not much left of it... but it used to be big enough to fit a football field inside. (Portions of it got used to build a church eventually and then portions of that church got used to build a mosque even later. The rest of the Temple is supposed to be in the British Museum.)

The Biggest Remains of the Temple of Artemis

We also saw the Ephesus Museum and took an Ephesus tour. The ruins of Ephesus are quite impressive. It is definitely easier to have a mental picture of what was going on a couple of millenia ago after visiting. As excavations are continuing, the site should continue to get better.

The Agora in EphesusThe Temple of Hadrian

It is interesting that we were told that ancient temples were typically beautifully decorated on the outside but rather plain on the inside. Compare that with the ancient Jewish Temple.

A Main Street in Ephesus ending at the Library, mostly original

After we finished at Ephesus, we stopped by a pottery making place and enjoyed watching the master potter make some stuff and then looked at much of what they had made.

Related posts: Seven Churches Intro and Miletus; Sardis, Thyatira, Philadelphia, Smyrna; Colossae, Laodecia, Hierapolis; Pergamum; first trip to Hierapolis; trip to Cappodocia

Kapadokya

Well, Brad and I are now in Cappodocia, having arrived this morning.

Yesterday we saw Pamukkale/Hierapolis and that was good.

The picture below ıs the Ephesus library. I´m hoping to do a complete picture presentation of the trip once we get back.

Selcuk...

We're in Selcuk; we've managed to see the stuff that's here... Pictures may occur at a later (faster-internet connection) time. Tomorrow should be Ephesus and then head to Denizli. ttfn

Monday-Thursday

Many adventures:
Monday, Brad and I went and visited Topkapi Palace which is very well worth the admission price. The jewel collection is excellent; the gun and weapon collection is also outstanding. For additional pictures of that you will have to wait, although I may upload some to Facebook soon if you want to see them there.

Tuesday and Wednesday, we did a smaller variety of things. Tuesday was a very nice day, and Wednesday (and today) were very rainy. Thus, our plans occasionally got rearranged. The Grand Bazaar is one of the places that we went during that time.

Today we visited the Ayasofia (Hagia Sofia). It is BIG! :) I have a much greater appreciation for it now that I have been inside. The museum is very tastefully done and manages to show the history of the building quite well; thus the picture of me in some sort of "preaching seat" apparently from the Byzantine times... but I'm not sure. Very impressive place if you ever get a chance to visit.

Tomorrow, Brad and I are hoping to visit the Turkish Military Museum and then begin our trip south. Tentative schedule should be Izmir, Ephesus, Denizli, Goreme, and Ankara. We are planning to spend about 8-9 days on the trip. And I have no idea if I will post during the trip or not.
Till later...

Just a word or two about life

Since I know my loyal readers are waiting with bated breath to see what happens next in my life...

I unceremoniously (badly) failed this month of Turkish classes. The fact that we had covered a ton of material was very consoling, and I plan to retake the course in January most likely, since I think I can gain a lot by doing so.

And Brad arrived this morning... late as expected. But we did make it to our 10:30 meeting very close to on-time. Maybe the most exciting part of his coming was that I had to get up early enough to see the sunrise, as demonstrated by the pictures... it's been a while since I've done that. :) So, tomorrow begins our weeks of exploration of history and culture throughout Turkey. We've already added one new stop to the proposed itinerary for our trip which should start Friday.