Sunday, June 27, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Turkey: Volumes 2 and 3
Turkey, continued...
Day 2: Izmir and Ephesus
Our day in Ephesus was definitely one of my favorite days thus far on our trip, even though it required a 5:15 am wakeup call to catch our flight. The plane was delayed a little over an hour (which felt silly, since the flight itself was only 45 minutes), so my neighbor Mary and I struck up a conversation with a young Turkish businessman who was seated next to us. He talked to us all about the culture, some about the politics, and his own story, which involved going to college in the States and eventually become the product manager for G.E. over all Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It was refreshing to get a perspective on Turkey through the lens of a modern local, albeit a somewhat westernized one.
We landed in the city of Izmir, also known as Smyrna. We began by looking at the archaeological museum, which featured sculptures of Artemis from her temple in Ephesus. Then, we traveled to the Basilica of St. John, where John the Apostle was supposedly buried. Its original structure was restored by Justinian and Theodora. After lunch, we drove to the New Testament site of Ephesus. Of all of the ancient sites I have seen (and I have seen in excess of thirty by now), it is my favorite so far. Incredibly well-preserved and restored, the city rolls out before you in bleached white marble, complete with streets, pillars, the shells of buildings. Among the more notable things that we saw included: the ‘audio’ (which functioned as the meeting place for the city council AND a theater – perfect blend of my two passions); the Ephesian theater from Acts 19, where Paul and his companions faced a religiously ecstatic mob; the ancient Library of Celsus, which was the second largest library in Antiquity; and the church where Nestorius was condemned in the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. So many incredible sites and buildings all in such a comparatively small area! Finding 'actual sites' is a rare thing, so whenever we visit irrefutable Biblical sites, it is always exciting.
Part 3: Istanbul
Have you ever heard someone compared to a “whirling dervish”? I had heard the expression a few times, but had never really had a full grasp of what exactly it meant to be a dervish. I knew it was religious and involved spinning. But I didn’t know that they were based in Turkey, and I had no idea that I would witness one of their ceremonies.
We began our day on quite a different note from the dervishes. I may have mentioned to some of you before that we were scheduled to meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch in Turkey. Bartholomew I is the close to the equivalent of the pope in the Eastern Orthodox church, and last year’s group had told us exciting stories about their meeting with him last year. Unfortunately, it was not to be – he left on an unexpected meeting to Finland. I was very disappointed, but we were still given a tour of the Patriarchate, which was beautiful. The room (we really only spent time in the main area of the church), seemed that it had sprung straight from Timothy Ware’s pages. Covered in gold and icons, incense still hung about the air. I must admit, my Protestant sensibilities still revolted a little bit against the extreme decoration, thought not quite as badly as if I had had no education about the tradition before. The thought crossed my mind, though – what did Jesus think of all of these solemn depictions of him? Even more so, what did and does God think of our art, our own small creations?
After the Patriarchate, we toured the Chora Museum, a former monastery. It boasted many impressive, story-telling mosaics. However, it was also oppressively hot, so the minutes began to stretch. After the Chora, we headed to the Grand Bazaar for a few hours of shopping, one of my favorite things to do when I'm abroad.
We finished the day by attending what I can only call a piece of theater. The whirling dervishes are Sufi Muslims and religious followers of the poet/philosopher Rumi. The program described the dervishes as mystical dancers who stand between the material and cosmic worlds. The dance is part of a sacred ceremony in which the dervish rotates in a precise rhythm, one hand open to God and one hand cupped downward towards earth. The purpose of the ritual whirling is for the dervish to empty himself of all distracting thoughts, placing him in trance to reach a form of nirvana; released from his body he conquers dizziness. The dervishes have long shared their dance in public settings. Now, it is a popular tourist attraction. After twenty minutes of Sufi music, the dervishes enter and begin their dance. It is slow, somber, mesmerizing, a religious practice and experience as performance. Sometimes I felt terribly intrusive, other times curious, other times just sleepy.
After the dervishes, we headed back to our hotel to pack for our bus ride to Greece!
Photos are coming soon... bandwidth isn't handling them very well here.
Day 2: Izmir and Ephesus
Our day in Ephesus was definitely one of my favorite days thus far on our trip, even though it required a 5:15 am wakeup call to catch our flight. The plane was delayed a little over an hour (which felt silly, since the flight itself was only 45 minutes), so my neighbor Mary and I struck up a conversation with a young Turkish businessman who was seated next to us. He talked to us all about the culture, some about the politics, and his own story, which involved going to college in the States and eventually become the product manager for G.E. over all Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It was refreshing to get a perspective on Turkey through the lens of a modern local, albeit a somewhat westernized one.
We landed in the city of Izmir, also known as Smyrna. We began by looking at the archaeological museum, which featured sculptures of Artemis from her temple in Ephesus. Then, we traveled to the Basilica of St. John, where John the Apostle was supposedly buried. Its original structure was restored by Justinian and Theodora. After lunch, we drove to the New Testament site of Ephesus. Of all of the ancient sites I have seen (and I have seen in excess of thirty by now), it is my favorite so far. Incredibly well-preserved and restored, the city rolls out before you in bleached white marble, complete with streets, pillars, the shells of buildings. Among the more notable things that we saw included: the ‘audio’ (which functioned as the meeting place for the city council AND a theater – perfect blend of my two passions); the Ephesian theater from Acts 19, where Paul and his companions faced a religiously ecstatic mob; the ancient Library of Celsus, which was the second largest library in Antiquity; and the church where Nestorius was condemned in the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. So many incredible sites and buildings all in such a comparatively small area! Finding 'actual sites' is a rare thing, so whenever we visit irrefutable Biblical sites, it is always exciting.
Part 3: Istanbul
Have you ever heard someone compared to a “whirling dervish”? I had heard the expression a few times, but had never really had a full grasp of what exactly it meant to be a dervish. I knew it was religious and involved spinning. But I didn’t know that they were based in Turkey, and I had no idea that I would witness one of their ceremonies.
We began our day on quite a different note from the dervishes. I may have mentioned to some of you before that we were scheduled to meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch in Turkey. Bartholomew I is the close to the equivalent of the pope in the Eastern Orthodox church, and last year’s group had told us exciting stories about their meeting with him last year. Unfortunately, it was not to be – he left on an unexpected meeting to Finland. I was very disappointed, but we were still given a tour of the Patriarchate, which was beautiful. The room (we really only spent time in the main area of the church), seemed that it had sprung straight from Timothy Ware’s pages. Covered in gold and icons, incense still hung about the air. I must admit, my Protestant sensibilities still revolted a little bit against the extreme decoration, thought not quite as badly as if I had had no education about the tradition before. The thought crossed my mind, though – what did Jesus think of all of these solemn depictions of him? Even more so, what did and does God think of our art, our own small creations?
After the Patriarchate, we toured the Chora Museum, a former monastery. It boasted many impressive, story-telling mosaics. However, it was also oppressively hot, so the minutes began to stretch. After the Chora, we headed to the Grand Bazaar for a few hours of shopping, one of my favorite things to do when I'm abroad.
We finished the day by attending what I can only call a piece of theater. The whirling dervishes are Sufi Muslims and religious followers of the poet/philosopher Rumi. The program described the dervishes as mystical dancers who stand between the material and cosmic worlds. The dance is part of a sacred ceremony in which the dervish rotates in a precise rhythm, one hand open to God and one hand cupped downward towards earth. The purpose of the ritual whirling is for the dervish to empty himself of all distracting thoughts, placing him in trance to reach a form of nirvana; released from his body he conquers dizziness. The dervishes have long shared their dance in public settings. Now, it is a popular tourist attraction. After twenty minutes of Sufi music, the dervishes enter and begin their dance. It is slow, somber, mesmerizing, a religious practice and experience as performance. Sometimes I felt terribly intrusive, other times curious, other times just sleepy.
After the dervishes, we headed back to our hotel to pack for our bus ride to Greece!
Photos are coming soon... bandwidth isn't handling them very well here.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Turkey: Volume 1
Part 1: Istanbul
Hey guys! Again, I warned you, my internet has been somewhat spotty in Greece. We only have it in certain places in our hotels, so I'm behind on updating, but I wanted to give you guys the details of what went on when we were in Turkey! Here is what happened on our first day, which was a tour around Istanbul.
After our final exam at Jerusalem University College was over, the team scattered to shop, pack, clean, and read Timothy Ware’s The Orthodox Church. We had a 1200 word paper due the morning we were to arrive in Istanbul. The next day, we left on the bus at 3:30 pm to head to Ben-Gurion Airport, to catch our 2-hour flight to Turkey.
When we arrived, we met our Turkish tour guide, Oz. He informed us that our schedule tomorrow would be stuffed full: The Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the ancient city cistern, and the world-famous Istanbul archaeological museum. Our hotel was lacking in the air conditioning department, so it was a sweltering first night. We got to sleep in some (8 am!), and then trekked off to see The Jewel of Christendom.
Istanbul is a true city between. Most of it is in Asia, but another section is across a bridge in Europe. Although most of the city is located in Asia, it was much more European than I was expecting. Even so, call to prayer echoed from the city’s thousand minarets in the early blue of the morning. For those of you unfamiliar with Turkey’s most recent history, Turkey is a secular republic with a 99% Muslim population. Their politics, culture, and worldview are caught between the Middle East, Europe (the government badly wants to be a part of the European Union, but the EU is very reluctant), and Central Asia. The juxtaposition of an Islamic stronghold with European interests produces interesting results. But even more interesting is that Istanbul was originally Constantinople – the capital of the Roman Empire. Constantine was the first emperor to convert to Christianity and establish it as the state religion of Rome. As the focus of the empire moved east, Constantine moved east with it, and established his new capital at Byzantium, which came to be called Constantinople after his death. Constantinople was the center of Christianity for hundreds of years. Justinian, a later emperor, built the Hagia Sophia.
The Hagia Sophia is beautiful, but one cannot help noticing the wear and age of its magnificence. After Constantinople was conquered and overrun by the Ottomans in 1453, Islam swept over the area, and the Hagia was turned into a mosque. Walking into the church, one of the first things you notice is the magnificent mosaic of Mary and the Christ Child, but massive discs proclaiming the name of Allah and his prophet in curls of gold Arabic. Arabic writing covers much of the walls. It was only after recent restoration that archaeologists peeled away the layers of plaster to reveal the magnificent frescoes and mosaics of Biblical scenes and characters beneath. Four huge Seraphim are guard the high corners of the Hagia’s main dome. Images of Jesus, John the Baptist, Mary, and various saints follow Magnificent purple, gray, and white marble pillars line the rooms. Even now, though debilitated and ancient, it retains majesty.
Our next stop was the Blue Mosque, which named for its fantastic blue tiling on the inside. It has six minarets, a rarity in the world. After it was built, a seventh minaret was added to the mosque at Mecca, in order to equalize the order of importance. After the Mosque, we headed over to a massive and ancient Basilica Cistern, originally a sunken palace which was turned into a cistern by Justinian to provide water to the palace. Eerie, lit by red lights, fantastic columns and "Medusa Head" bases. Finally, we went to the archaeological museum. It was large and well-stocked. The sculptures were amazing - it made me re-think my choice to take painting instead of sculpture in the fall.
elveda!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Galilee of the Gentiles
Okay, I know I am quite a few days behind on my blogging - it's mostly because we have fairly limited access in Turkey. I just wanted to give a quick run-down on our days in Galilee before I continued into stories about Istanbul, Izmir and Ephesus. And already, tomorrow, we leave for hour eight-hour bus ride to Greece!
In Isaiah and Matthew, the writers reference Galilee as "Galilee of the Gentiles." The phrase comes from a couple different sources. First, the location of the incredibly fertile and central Jezreel Valley brought the trade routes of various empires through Galilee, increasing the influence of the Gentiles and incurring a blend of cultures, worldviews, and religion. We focused a lot of our study on the Jezreel, its routes and mountains, and the stories which crisscrossed haphazardly over its soil. Among the most beautiful overlooks of the Jezreel Valley included the town of Nazareth.
The place that we stayed was called Ein Gev - and, literally, it was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (or, "the Kennerit," as the locals call it). It's about the size of your average lake, nothing remarkable. In the evenings after every field study, we would rush down to the waves, laughing and diving and trying to stand on each others' shoulders as the sun soaked the sky with color. The light, the air, the water - it swelled one's heart to a wonderfully painful size. Galilee was one of the few places where we could truly say, He was here. This is where it began.
One of my favorite moments was when my friend Arielle came to our resort and spent time with me and our mutual friend Sally. We sat talking, sipping drinks by the shore, while she discussed the modern situation of the country as the military buzzed overhead.
We visited so many places in Galilee: Capernaum, Bethsaida (where four of the disciples were from), Gergesa (where the drowning of the pigs is remembered), Caesarea (where Peter met Cornelius and Paul left for Rome), the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, rode on a boat on the sea (tourist trap...), the Golan Heights overlooking Syria, and so much more. One of my favorite places was Arbel - this is a huge cliff overlooking the stretch of Galilee, which we climbed down. We played in the caves below, where Jewish rebels had hid from Herod. I have it all down in my journals!
My father has been encouraging me to be thinking and working through the things I am learning. Sometimes, I feel I am so full of learning that I don't have room for understanding. I hope that during our eight hour bus drive tomorrow, I can work through the poetry, pictures, and impressions that I have been collecting, sort them by color and sound, and find the meaning.
In Isaiah and Matthew, the writers reference Galilee as "Galilee of the Gentiles." The phrase comes from a couple different sources. First, the location of the incredibly fertile and central Jezreel Valley brought the trade routes of various empires through Galilee, increasing the influence of the Gentiles and incurring a blend of cultures, worldviews, and religion. We focused a lot of our study on the Jezreel, its routes and mountains, and the stories which crisscrossed haphazardly over its soil. Among the most beautiful overlooks of the Jezreel Valley included the town of Nazareth.
The place that we stayed was called Ein Gev - and, literally, it was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (or, "the Kennerit," as the locals call it). It's about the size of your average lake, nothing remarkable. In the evenings after every field study, we would rush down to the waves, laughing and diving and trying to stand on each others' shoulders as the sun soaked the sky with color. The light, the air, the water - it swelled one's heart to a wonderfully painful size. Galilee was one of the few places where we could truly say, He was here. This is where it began.
One of my favorite moments was when my friend Arielle came to our resort and spent time with me and our mutual friend Sally. We sat talking, sipping drinks by the shore, while she discussed the modern situation of the country as the military buzzed overhead.
We visited so many places in Galilee: Capernaum, Bethsaida (where four of the disciples were from), Gergesa (where the drowning of the pigs is remembered), Caesarea (where Peter met Cornelius and Paul left for Rome), the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, rode on a boat on the sea (tourist trap...), the Golan Heights overlooking Syria, and so much more. One of my favorite places was Arbel - this is a huge cliff overlooking the stretch of Galilee, which we climbed down. We played in the caves below, where Jewish rebels had hid from Herod. I have it all down in my journals!
My father has been encouraging me to be thinking and working through the things I am learning. Sometimes, I feel I am so full of learning that I don't have room for understanding. I hope that during our eight hour bus drive tomorrow, I can work through the poetry, pictures, and impressions that I have been collecting, sort them by color and sound, and find the meaning.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
On Our Way Out
Hello everyone - sorry for the lack of posts lately! We just spent the past four days in Galilee, and we didn't have internet. Then, we had our final exam, and I'm working on a paper about the Eastern Orthodox Church. We leave for the airport at 3:30 pm today. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish soon and update you guys on everything that happened in Galilee. It was incredibly beautiful! Please pray for safe, simple travel.
- B
- B
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