Daily Archives: June 2, 2007

Arrival in Istanbul on Saturday

Posted on June 2, 2007 | 1 comment

Our flight from Antalya to Istanbul was delayed by a little over an hour. We felt right at home! Istanbul was formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople. This is where Europe meets Asia. We enjoyed a boat ride along the Bosphorus, vital waterway linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The Asian side was known as Bythinia in Roman times. Peter addressed his epistles to the saints in various parts of modern Turkey (1 Peter 1:1). We made a short visit to the Grand Bazaar. This bazaar is made up of 4,000 little shops. The prices are not that great and one must be able to bargain or else be ripped off.

This photo shows the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. Here is located the Suleymaniye Mosque, the Hagai Sophia, and Topkapi Palace.

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Posted in Bible Study, New Testament, Travel, Turkey

First time here?

Posted on June 2, 2007 | Leave a comment

If you are visiting the blog for the first time be sure that you click on May 2007 (to the right) or Previous Entries (at the bottom of the page) to see the early part of the tour.

Perga and Attalia in Pamphylia

Posted on June 2, 2007 | 1 comment

Friday we visited the historic ruins of ancient Pamphylia: Antalya (biblical Attalia, Acts 14:25) and Perge. Antalya is the modern name for Attalia which served as the port of entry from Egypt and Syria to the interior of Asia. From here Paul sailed back to Antioch (Acts 14:25). Our visit included the harbor, and Hadrian’s Gate, The photo below is of the harbor in Antalya (biblical Attalia).

We enjoyed the visit to Perga very much. There are impressive Hellenistic and Roman ruins. Most of the Roman structures date to the second century A.D. This is where John Mark turned back from the work (Acts 13:13-14; 15:37-39). On his return from the first journey, Paul spent some time preaching here (Acts 14:25).

The museum in Antalya is one of the nicest regional museums I have visited. Many of the artifacts, especially the statuary, are from the second century Roman city of Perga. Here is a photo of an Imperial Priest. A knowledge of the Roman Cult is important when one begins to study the book of Revelation. These were the men who gave the certificates to those who had worshiped the Emperor.