July 29 - August 19, 1996

Leaving San Francisco in the morning and arriving in Istanbul the afternoon of the next day is a sure-fired recipe for exhaustion, and we were delighted to have our culture shock lessened by the discovery of our names at the Istanbul airport (with a courier to take us to our guesthouse). The guesthouse was about 100 yards from the famed Hagia Sophia, and across the street from the Topkapi Palace (where the royalty used to hang out). It was also across the street from a small mosque, which alerted us to its presence every morning at 5 a.m. (the two minute call to prayer, loudly amplified, which happens 5 times a day). With a stroll through the old city that evening and a dinner on the town, we knew that we were in for superb Turkish food and serious hassling from locals trying to sell carpets or take you on tours. Poverty as seen in India was nonexistent: There were no beggars; no one seemed to be sleeping on the streets. I guess the family/Moslem structure of that society takes care of that.

The only music to be heard was distinctly non-Western. We were definitely in Asia minor. Even the pop music had few borrowings and references to our pop music. But like most of the rest of the world, people dress the same: blue jeans, T shirts, shorts. Men did not wear hats! I think I was one of the few that donned a hat (even of the fair-skinned tourists). Speaking of tourists, very few Americans were to be seen -- lots of Europeans and Turks. That's about it.

The Topkapi museum was interesting, mostly because of the harem. Up to 1000 women at a time were living here during its hey-day -- sort of an exotic prison for the most beautiful non-Muslims of the world. (It was against the law to make a Moslem woman a slave.) Phenomenal artistry apparent everywhere.

The most famous church in the world, Hagia Sophia, was the place that I was most looking forward to seeing, and the place that I found the most disappointing and depressing. Its most famous characteristic is its massive dome, which seems to be floating on other domes, all without obvious support. Well in the current effort to rid the building of five centuries of Islamic paintovers/plaster overs, there was a scaffolding from floor to dome for exactly half of the dome. So much for the appearance of freestanding. Then there was the awareness of the painful tragedies that that building has suffered during its 16 centuries of existence. The most exquisite church in the world for 1000 years, denuded, pillaged, and ransacked, and raped by Christian Crusaders of the 13th century, then more or less obliterated by fearful Moslems who were paranoid of the eyes in the mosaics. (They follow you as you walk around the building.) Much was covered or destroyed or allowed to fall into ruin. Fortunately, now it is a museum, and is under restoration to some of its former grandeur. Come back in 75 years.

We took a boat ride up the Bosphorus to the entrance of the Black Sea. It is awesome to think of the people who have sailed that way before us! The Blue Mosque (just across a park from Hagia Sophia) is stunning, although it reeked of moldy carpets. (Perhaps they had just washed them.)

The covered market was far more civilized than Jerusalem=s equivalent, and actually a lot of fun. We ended up buying two pillow covers there, also a large brass tray (which became a nuisance for the rest of the trip -- oh well, we're glad we have it). Needless to say, the buying process in that part of the world is an exercise in patience, poker-face bluffing, psychology, stubbornness, etc. One never accepts a price.

The highlight of Istanbul was the Kariye museum. This is a very fine Byzantine church (had been converted to mosque in the 15th century, of course) which has been completely restored. The frescoes and mosaics were breathtaking. It is the most impressive such example in the entire country. Well worth the $9 taxi fare to get there. ($9 is a lot in Istanbul!)

The bus to Cappadocia was a nightmare, a vision from a bad movie! The bus station is way out of town, about half the size of NY=s Port Authority, and easily 10 times as many people and buses. Furthermore, there are no posted schedules. Nobody really seems to know what's going on! We ended up on a bus in which virtually every male was smoking, windows were sealed shut, and there was no bathroom on board (as is true of all buses in Turkey). Agony.

Cappadocia, in the center of the country, feels ancient the way the Grand Canyon feels ancient. This had been the center of several trade routes, and had been the path of numerous invasions. Seeing the underground cities (some as many as 18 stories deep and housing up to 2000 people) was a profound experience (pardon the pun). For centuries, people lived under ground for about two months of the winter, and any time an invasion was imminent (for up to a year at a time). The Christians were able to hide their religion from the Moslems, and thus escape execution. Whole monasteries were carved into rocks that look like moonscapes. Phenomenal. We were on a two day package tour which was well-worth the time and effort.

From there we took another night bus, down to Antalya (arriving at 4:00 a.m. and having to sit in the bus station until 6:30 when the first bus left). This is a coastal town; one of the Apostle Paul's points of arrival. We then travelled through Myra (where Nicholas was bishop -- of Santa Claus fame, and where Paul stopped while sailing somewhere) and on to KaÕ (kaash). This is a very beautiful, simple, small coastal town. The south coast of Turkey is quite dramatic, with tall mountains plummeting down to the blue water of the Med. But it was also hot, humid, and still. Alas, few tourists! We ended up buying two rugs here.

Day bus to Ephesus (actually Selçuk, since Ephesus is merely an archeological site). This was truly spectacular beyond expectation. Ephesus is the largest ancient city in the world. At the time the Apostle Paul caused a riot in the 20,000 seat amphitheater, there were 800,000 residents, and this was considered the most important port in the world. It also had the finest library and the most sophisticated architecture. Paul was jailed for this riot (actually incited by the silversmiths who felt that he was destroying their business -- no need for silver gods). The jail is at the top of the facing hill. It was from this that he wrote many of his letters, including the 16th chapter of Romans.

Of course, when he was in Ephesus, he was visiting John, the beloved disciple. When the world was divvied up for evangelizing, after Jesus' death, John was given Asia minor; so he settled in Ephesus with the Virgin Mary. John's anti-semitism in his writings is a direct result of the law of the day. Jews were exempt from having to bow to the local gods. (Ephesus was the center of the Temple of Artemis.) But gentiles were not exempt. Consequently, gentiles that converted to Christianity had it much harder than did the Jews. This is the basis of John's sentiments towards Jews, and really makes his gospel more understandable.

Mary died, supposedly, around the year 67 AD. You can see the area where she is assumed to have lived and died (at the top of a hill 5 kilometers from Ephesus). A very moving spot. Also, the first Basilica of the Virgin Mary is on the edge of Ephesus. This is proof that she lived here, as Christian churches were only named after local inhabitants for the first few centuries of Christianity. This was QUITE a building, let me tell you!

John's basilica and grave are in Selçuk overlooking the water. At one point, it was the largest in the world. What a phenomenal place and deeply moving ambience. Truly a magical part of the world.

Sometime during the persecution of Domitian (81-96 AD), John was exiled to Patmos because Christianity became outlawed. We also went from Ephesus to Patmos, where we spent 5 days. We opted against island hopping (even though I was dying to see Santorini). We went up to the monastery at the top of the island (looks like a fortress because it needed strong protection from pirate raids) and found an English-speaking monk who was able to help us find a room nearby. We had an ideal set-up with a very sweet older lady (who could only speak Greek and Italian) who served us breakfast every day and took care of our needs. The room had a kitchen and was story-book Greek! No roads here, only passageways with steps going from one place to another. Fantastic. Very relaxing. Needless to say, the cave of the Apocalypse, where John had his vision of the end of the world, is THE place to see on the island. (Other than that, there are only beeches and solitude and wind.) It was a moving place (the cave that is), but not as stirring, to me, as the general ambience around that area (many pine trees, only on that one piece of the island). The aforementioned monastery has an incredible collection of treasures, not to mention ancient frescoes. Also a very evocative place. We had WILD dreams the entire time we were on Patmos. I can understand why John did too! Bought two icons here.

Incidently, John's vision was addressed to the seven churches, most of which were in Asia minor -- Turkey being the true cradle of Christianity and the first place where Christians were called Christians. To the church at Philadelphia, he talks about them being neither hot nor cold, only leukwarm.... Well, there is a large and famous hot spring next to Philadelphia (Pammukale) where there is, indeed, hot and cold water in abundance (the only such place in Asia minor). They would have known exactly what he was talking about!

Feeling rested, we took off for Athens by night boat. Another pain! No cabins. Everyone sleeping in the floor. Gross. Went straight to a hotel we=d already booked and set out in the midday heat to explore the Acropolis. (You know what they say about mad dogs and Englishmen.) Oy veh, it was hot! Athens was a let down after Turkey, although we had been lead to expect it to be worse. Not quite as polluted as I'd expected. We stayed in a quiet area (pedestrian traffic only) and had air conditioning (our first). Bliss.

Took off for Delphi the next day. And although the setting was really quite stunning (the navel of the world, so thought Zeus), the combination of the heat and the fact that these ruins REALLY paled in comparison to Ephesus made us decide to leave two hours later on a bus to Meteora.

Meteora is a small place in Thessaly (north central Greece) where numerous monasteries were built on top of 1000 foot high rock mounds. We=d never seen anything quite like this before. The next day, we went in all five monasteries that were open. They were all very Byzantine, ancient structures with incredible frescoes and icons. The convents had a much better feel than then monasteries. (It was about half and half.) Walked about 10 miles that day (and boy was it hot).

Back to Athens for more museum-seeing and strolling around. Back in our same hotel, we were around the corner from the Anglican church, where we decided to go on Sunday morning. We were non-plussed that the epistle lesson for the day began: AMen of Athens... It was Paul's famous sermon from the Aereopagus (next to the Acropolis) called his sermon about the Unknown God. Amazing, eh? So, right after the service, we headed up there to the very spot he preached from.

That's about it, except we were really glad to get home.