Maxine and Ray's trip 2022

The Asclepion was located on the plains far below the Acropolis of Pergamum. It was a medical center, although more like a "spa" with wellness practices, mental healing etc. It had sleeping accomodations, (called incubators), a theatre which is still visible, and spring fed healing waters. It added to the city's reputation as a center of learning and science. Prospective patients were interviewed near this column. Notice the snakes on the column, as a symbol of healing. This originated with the story of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, whose cult used snakes in their healing rituals. In addition the shedding of the snakes skin was seen as a symbol of renewal and healing. Despite the professed intent, if people looked too sick, they were not admitted to the center! They didn't want to tarnish their good reputation!   Patients would walk down this private tunnel with excellent acoustics, and anonymous positive psychotherapy messages would be whispered to them as the...

We had a very interesting visit to the ruins at Pergamum, Turkey. For those of you who are interested in biblical history, I'll give you a little background. John wrote letters to the seven churches of Asia in the book of Revelation, which are all located in present day Turkey, and all have archeological excavations under state control.  Three of these cities were Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum, which are relatively close together (by modern roads and cars) We visited Ephesus last week, which is the most famous. Ephesus had been warned not to abandon their love of Christ and become complacent and less devoted.  Our cruise ship docked at Izmir, which is the site of ancient Smyrna, and now is the third largest city in Turkey. John had commended the citizens of Smyrna for their faithfulness, and despite material poverty, they showed rich spiritual wealth.  The next was Pergamum. It was ruled by Lydians and Persians, but fell to Alexander the Great in 334 BC. It then passed on...

Our second visit to Istanbul meant we were able to visit the Spice Market. It is similar to the Grand Bazaar, but smaller, and with more food and spices, and less jewelry, leather etc. There is a vast array of spices, tea concoctions, and just about every way you can imagine nuts (walnuts, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds) , sugar, phyllo pastry, and every form of turkish delight can  be combined. All the merchants are happy to tempt you with free samples of their products! It is a lovely colorful place to stroll, and the merchants are pretty low pressure. The picture above is phyllo dough and nut pastry combinations. Many are made with honey. The arched ceiling of the Spice Market is quite pretty A large variety of teas for enjoyment, and medicinal purposes. Handmade soaps are the blocks on the right. Lots of colorful teas and spices.  

Our second visit to Istanbul in a couple of weeks allowed us to see a few of the less prominent sights. This is the  small but beautiful Rustem Pasa Mosque, built between 1561 and 1563.  The small tower with the gilded crown is a feature of every mosque, and is placed so that worshippers who come to pray will always face toward the tower since it is the direction of Mecca. The Iman who leads the prayers and worship service stands in the tower above the worshippers. During worship, men are in the main area, and women are segregated behind a partition on one side., or sometimes in a balcony overlooking the main floor. This mosque  is known for it's beautiful cobalt and turquoise tile work. The Turks invented the turquoise glaze by grinding turquoise stones and mixing them into the tile glaze before firing. The darker blue is cobalt oxide, and the red a combination of iron and other minerals. The name of the color turquoise actually cones from the the French who described th...

The last Greek Island that we visited was Lesbos. as you can see from the top photo, there is a peninsula on the left. It has a large Roman castle ruin on the top that is currently being restored, and is not open for visitation. The island has been continuously inhabited for thousands of years. It mainly produces olive oil from the olive orchards lining the hills around the island. Lesbos is  Greece's third largest Island. In the last few years they have had many challenges due to the influx of Syrian refugees, and others seeking refugee status.  The island has an interesting history that produced the term Lesbian. Lesbos was the birthplace of the woman poet Sappho in the 6th century BC. She wrote poems concerning women's beauty and praising women, evolving into the description of a a woman who loved women being described as a Sapphist or Lesbian. Eventually the term Lesbian dominated, and has continued to the present time. During this Greek period, homosexuality was accepted,...

Today we visited the island of Mykonos which has a a very nice horseshoe shaped harbor. It is known for it's hundreds of small private chapels scattered around the island, such as the one below. All are white, with either red or blue domes. In fact, it is illegal to paint the houses any color but white, since the second world war, when the houses were whitewashed with limestone to kill germs, sue to an outbreak of infectious diseases. The wooden trim may be painted other colors, but the most frequently seen is blue trim.  The windmills of  Mykonos are also very famous. They used to be used to grind grain which was then used to produce a very hard bread to sell to passing sailors. The island is  very dry, and not very mountainous. Fishing used to be a major industry, but now most food and water is imported. Mykonos has the largest tax revenue from tourism of any location is Greece, so now Tourism drives the economy for abut 7 months of year.  There are many expensive ...

We woke up this morning to the beautiful view of the island of Santorini, with the village of Thira perched on a cliff 900 feet above the harbor. On our last visit here 43 years ago, we walked the 550 steps up the visible zig zag path from the harbor to the village at the top. Now it is an easy 5 minute cable car ride! The most important feature of Santorini is that the harbor is the caldera of a submerged volcano that erupted in 1,650 BC, destroying all inhabitants, and depositing up to 90 feet of ash and debris over the island. It is felt that the destruction of Santorini was related to the myth of Atlantis, since it was very culturally and technically sophisticated and was an advanced trading center  with access to goods from the far east.  The interior of the island that was the volcano emptied its magma and the collapsed, creating the new sea area. The excavation of the Minoan port city of Akrotiri began in 1967 when water eroded the dirt, and remnants of a wall emerged. ...

Our visit to the Greek island of Rhodes started by going to the top of the island to visit an early Christian monastery. This stone excavation is and early baptismal pool in the shape of a cross, and it is quite rate to find one still intact. This icon of the Virgin Mary is apparently quite famous. The chapel of the monastery. This is the entrance to the restored Grand Masters Palace which was the home of the knights of Saint John, who ruled here for 300 years. During the 1930's, Mussolini occupied Rhodes. The Italians used the base of the old Palace and added two more floors, with elaborate mosaic floors all moved from the Greek Island of Cos. The turret with the zigzag top is from the Mussolini period.  The medieval street called the Avenue of the Knights is still intact, and commercial development has been prohibited, so it feels like walking back in time. Dates above doorways (ie1492) are still visible.  This Medusa is and example of the mosaic floor which was moved from C...