We proceeded to Sardis, in a gorgeous fertile area that reminded me of Oregon with its produce and lush green trees. There’s a temple to Artemis there that was later abandoned and a church added to the site. Before Artemis, people in this region worshiped Cybele, an ancient fertility goddess, and the remains of her temple are adjacent to Artemis’s. The two cults sort of merged, which is where I think a lot of folks get the idea that Artemis was all about fertility—which I don’t think she was by the first century. A couple of US universities and donors have also worked together to restore a fantastic synagogue site at Sardis, where we could still see mosaic floors.

We proceeded to Smyrna, which is modern-day Izmir—the largest city on the west coast of Turkey. Polycarp was martyred here, and Christians in ancient times were virtually destitute because the business guilds disallowed Christ-followers. Picture a layoff that never ends... The site is in the middle of the city and looked like an outside warehouse full of columns and arches stacked up and stored for future reconstruction. We’re staying at a hotel where the president of Turkey is also staying tonight, and we see security everywhere.

This morning we made a trek out to the city of Pergamum, where we wound our way up, up, up a narrow road (in a bus). A city on a hill, Pergamum has remaining arches from ancient aqueducts, the steepest theater from the ancient world, and remains from a temple dedicated to Zeus—which may be what Jesus was referring to when He spoke of a “synagogue of Satan.”

We ended our time in Thyatira, where Lydia—the first convert in Europe at Philippi—came from. We passed miles and miles of olive orchards, which I was told have been here for millennia. The only remains here post-date the New Testament by several hundred years and as with Smyrna and Philadelphia were in the middle of city blocks.

Turkey has surprised me in that it looks much like France and Greece, and I expected it to be more like the Middle East and barren. It’s lush and modern and I’ve seen only a handful of women with faces covered.

Tomorrow we’re scheduled to see Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. From there I’ll say goodbye to Gary as he returns home. I’m set to sail for Ephesus from Istanbul, and who knows when I’ll have access again.