Day 12 – Wednesday, September 21: Ben Gurion Airport or Turkey Extension
For those who were not doing the Turkey extension, they arrived safely back to the States where they went through Passport Control and boarded their domestic flights home. For those us us traveling to Turkey, we woke up early (1:30 a.m.) for our 7 a.m. flight to Istanbul and then to Izmir (ancient Smyrna). We made our connections without any difficulty, although we did a lot of walking through the brand-new airports in Istanbul and Izmir. The weather that greeted us in Turkey was perfect, with sun and highs in the 70s.
Pergamum
Once we landed in Izmir, we boarded our bus and drove about 1.5 hours to Pergamum, the third of seven “Churches of Revelation” mentioned in Revelation 2-3.. At the site, we took the cable car to the acropolis. What an amazing view from here! We saw many temples (Trajan Athena, Demeter, etc.). We also saw the altar of Zeus, most likely referred to in Revelation as the “throne of Satan.” Most impressive was the theater. It was the steepest in the Greek and Roman world and could hold 10,000. A few of us carefully climbed down the steps and back.
“Early this morning 11 of us flew to Turkey for the optional extension. Upon arriving, we visited Pergamum, one of the seven churches. It is a unique site with the steepest theaters in the Roman world.”
Asclepion
At the base of Pergamum is the site of Asclepion. It was dedicated to the Asclepius, the healing god. Here we saw the colonnaded street, many pillars, the theater, and the “hospital” where the physically and mentally sick were treated.
About 6:30 we began our drive back to our hotel in Izmir for a late dinner and overnight.
Day 13 – Thursday, September 22: Izmir / Thyatira / Sardis / Philadelphia / Pamukkale
