Today consisted of three short site visits and a LOT of driving. We left our hotel at 7:30 and drove to Sart, the modern village in and around the site of ancient Sardis (this is a city that we did NOT go to last semester). Sardis began its known history as the capital of the Anatolian kingdom of Lydia, which dominated western Turkey in the archaic period. It had close relations with the Greek cities on the coast, until it and they became part of the Persian Empire. Later, after Alexander the Great conquered Persia, it became rapidly Hellenized and was henceforth a Greek city. Part of various Hellenistic Kingdoms and then the Roman Empire, Sardis had a bishopric in the Byzantine period until it declined in the seventh century A.D.
The back of the Roman-era gymnasium
We started our visit to the site by visiting the surprisingly large Jewish synagogue, which just as surprisingly was just adjacent to the Greek gymnasium. Historical records tell us that the Seleucids, the Hellenistic dynasty that controlled the area for much of that period, settled many Jews as mercenaries in western Anatolia. That may have provided the core for this large and vital Diaspora community. The fact that their synagogue was right next to the gymnasium suggests a lot about both their acceptance in the community AND their own level of acculturation.
Layout of the synagogue, which could hold up to 1,000 worshipers
Fatih lecturing in the courtyard in front of the synagogue proper
The mosaic floor of the synagogue
As a result, we used the synagogue as the site of our devotional, which was based on Revelation 3:1–6. In that the passage, the Lord rebukes the early Christian church in Sardis for seeming alive but really being dead. Unlike the church in Pergamum, which was faltering because of external pressure and persecution, the church in Sardis may have been spiritually dead more because of cultural accomodation. Perhaps like the Jewish community they were heavily involved with “the world,” as represented by the gymnasium. This gave us a chance to talk about our own discipleship and how we can better be a true “and living” church body.
Group pic in the synagogue after our devotional
We then went into the remains of the massive Greek gymnasium. From the word gymnos, to exercise (naked, as the Greek custom was at the time), the gymnasium was more than an athletic center. Schools were held here, philosophers led discussions here, and it was a cultural center in many, many ways. As the video highlights clip showed, we have several former wrestlers in our group, who showed their stuff on the field where the ancient palaestra, or wrestling grounds, were. We got the obligatory group picture of course and then ran a few races for fun.
In the Roman era the Greek gymnasium was greatly expanded and used.
Group pic. "Give me some depth!" This means to spread out at different levels and not stand in tight, boring rows.
It was a gymnasium, right? Here we are having a foot race. I am in the red shirt
We then got back on the bus to drive to the other side of the site, quite a way off actually, to walk around through the ruins of the great temple of Artemis that was begun in the Hellenistic period and never quite finished.
Layout of the Artemis temple
A couple of hour bus ride got us to the modern Turkish town of Akhisar, which is built around ancient Thyatira, another of the seven churches of Asia mentioned in Revelation. While the church in John’s time consisted of a small band of Christians who probably just met in each other’s houses, in the Byzantine period there was a basilica here, whose ruins lie in the middle of the modern town.
Group pic in the remains of the basilica at Thyratira
The Magnum bar addiction is spreading!
After that we rode for several hours to Bursa, an important modern city in northeastern Turkey that was also the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, before its sultans took Constantinople. I have delayed today’s highlights video to this point, because a big chunk of it towards the end reveals the madness that sometimes overtakes us on thiese long bus rides: Party Bus!
We got into Bursa after the sun had set, but because of a tight schedule tomorrow, we went ahead and visited the city’s Grand Mosque and silk market tonight before heading to our hotel.
Our hotel in Selçuk (near Ephesus), where we stayed for two nights, had firewall protections that kept me from accessing Blogspot, YouTube, or other hosting services. So I apologize for the break in reporting on our Turkey trip. We are now in Bursa, in a rather old hotel but one with good internet, so I will try to catch up quickly. Sorry Moms and Dads out there!
We started the day early, leaving the hotel at 7:30, so that we could spend a lot of time at today’s sites, particularly the first, Ephesus. On the western cost of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), Ephesus was settled by Greeks early, during the Migratory Period (about 1050 B.C.). An important city-state through the Archaic and Classical period, it boasted a famous temple to Artemis, which in one of its last incarnation was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The earlier settlement was moved in the Hellenistic period to the site where the current ruins lie. This city became very important in the Roman period, becoming the fourth, or even the third, largest city in the Roman empire.
Group pic at the Bouleuterion, or Council Hall, that also served as the Odeon, or Music Concert Hall
Group pic at the Library of Celsus
Fatih and Eran in front of the Gate of Mazaeus and Mithridates
Here is a highlights video of clips from Ephesus:
Ephesus was the scene of important Christian missionary activity by the apostle Paul. According to Acts 19, Paul spent two years in the city, and he was so successful that local pagans became concerned about the rapid growth of Christianity, which threatened their livelihood. I recounted this mission as we were seated in the great theater of Ephesus, one of the largest in the world After me, my colleague Jared Ludlow outlined a riot in that very theater that occurred because of the anti-Christian sentiment that Paul’s success engendered. The students role played this scene after which we sang “True to the Faith” and “The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning.” A German couple, who happened to be Latter-day Saints, hurried into the theater when they heard us singing, and Jared and I revived what little German we still have to visit with them.
Teaching about Paul's mission in Ephesus
Jared teaching about the anti-Christian riot in this very theater
Steve Harper teaching
Steve's class getting ready to role play the riot
Group pic!
Recreating Map 31 from our Bibles (though I got the angle wrong)
Ephesus has another important New Testament connection, this one with the apostle John. Early Christian tradition relates that John moved to the Ephesus area, perhaps bringing Mary, the mother of Jesus, with him. The Gospel of John and the letters attributed to him might have been written here. The Book of Revelation was written on the island of Patmos nearby off the coast, where John was relegated by either local or imperial officials. Ephesus is one of the Seven Churches of Asia that the Lord addressed in that revelation.
In addition to the message to Ephesus contained in Revelation 2:1–7, the two beasts mentioned in Revelation 13 may well have been connected with the imperial cult that was rampant in Asia Minor in the latter half of the first century when John received the revelation. In connection with this, we visited the site of the massive Temple of Domitian that had been built in Ephesus. All that remains of this massive testament to megalomania is the gigantic platform that had been built for it.
Diagram giving some sense of the size of the Domitian Temple and its supporting platform
Like the Trajan Temple in Pergamum and the Temple of Herod in Jerusalem, the Domitian Temple was built on a massive platform
All that remains of the temple on top of the platform, however, are the stone foundations
On the way out of the site, we also visited the Church of Mary, which had been built partly for the Third Ecumenical Council that was held in Ephesus in A.D. 431. We talked about the role of Mary, historically in the traditional Christian churches but also in LDS culture and scripture (e.g. 1 Nephi 11, Mosiah 3, and Alma 8). As devotionals sometimes do, they go in the direction that the spirit dictates, which is not always what we plan. After testifying that Mary was the greatest witness of her Son—no one knew better of his divine conception and miraculous birth, and she stood there at the foot of the cross when he died to save us all—I ended up doing one of my “soft feminist” lectures, emphasizing the importance of having female models and examples in the scriptures, using the example of how I feel about my daughter. And as I veered to a broader discussion of parenting, I also shared how precious each child is, using the example of Samuel and his autism.
The different Mary churches that have occupied the site
Group pic in the apse of the Mary Church
Huntsman's guilty pleasure: white Magnum bars
Hellenistic and Roman Ephesus was later abandoned when the harbor silted up. In the Byzantine period the bishopric, and hence the entire city, later relocated farther inland on a nearby hill. There we visited the remains of the massive Basilica of St. John the Theologian (or St. John the Divine). Early Christian tradition had John and even Mary move and die at Ephesus. So at the supposed grave of John, we talked about the writings attributed to him, his role, his mission, and the LDS take on his continuing mission.
The gate of Byzantine Ephesus
The Church of St. John the Theologian was one of the largest in the Byzantine Empire
We then drove south to the wonderful little Greek city of Priene. We had planned to take the students to Miletus, the last place that Paul stopped as he returned to Jerusalem after his final recorded missionary journey. But at the end of the winter rainy season, it was too swampy for a good visit. So we climbed the hill to explore this great little site instead. It has a beautiful little theater, a small Christian basilica, a gorgeous temple to Athena under the looming cliffs that gives a great view across the plain to Miletus, and an interesting, square Bouleuterion (council hall). In the theater Jared taught about Paul’s final visit with and warning to the elders of Ephesus who had come to Miletus to bid him farewell. He talked about “farewells” and reunions, how important it was that wed stayed true to our faith. I shared a few experiences after that as well, talking about saying goodbye to my father a few days before he died. The last time I was in Priene was in 2004, just weeks after we buried Dad. We then sang, “Oh What Songs of the Heart,” which is a beautiful song about reunions in the next life.
Plan of Priene
Steps leading up to Priene
With Eran at the temple to Athena at Priene
Class pic in the Bouleuterion
Here is a video highlights montage from Assos:
Kent Jackson sitting on the episcopal chair in the later Byzantine basilica
In the small theater of Priene
Eating Turkish goat milk ice cream at a rest stop
The view from my balcony at the Hotel Sürmeil off of Ephesus Bay in Selçuk
Today consisted of three short site visits and a LOT of driving. We left our hotel at 7:30 and drove to Sart, the modern village in and around the site of ancient Sardis (this is a city that we did NOT go to last semester). Sardis began its known history as the capital of the Anatolian kingdom of Lydia, which dominated western Turkey in the archaic period. It had close relations with the Greek cities on the coast, until it and they became part of the Persian Empire. Later, after Alexander the Great conquered Persia, it became rapidly Hellenized and was henceforth a Greek city. Part of various Hellenistic Kingdoms and then the Roman Empire, Sardis had a bishopric in the Byzantine period until it declined in the seventh century A.D. 
