Friday, June 3

On Thursday, after touring the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, we had lunch where we celebrated Courtney's birthday (note the cake in the photo).

After lunch, we went to the Spice Market where we sampled Turkish delight, among other things. We then boarded the van to travel to a small church called Chora (meaning something like "in the country" because the church was originally built outside Constantinople's city walls).

Chora contains many beautiful mosaics depicting the lives of Jesus and his mother. The photos of the mosaics on the left depict first, Jesus and his mother and second, Theodore Metochites (who restored the church in the 14th century) presenting the church to Christ.

After Chora, we returned to the hotel and said goodby to Ersin, our wonderful guide who has been with us throughout Turkey.

Today was a free day and we all did some shopping and explored Istanbul. We are getting ready to fly back to the US in the morning. We leave for the airport at 6:20 am. It will be sad to leave Istanbul but I am sure that everyone is looking forward to getting back home.

On Thursday, we explored Istanbul together. We visited the Blue Mosque, built in 1616 by Sultan Ahmet. It sits across from Hagia Sophia, built in the sixth century as a church and converted into a mosque in 1453. In 1923, it was turned into a museum by Attaturk.

Wednesday, June 1

Today we drove from Canakkale to Istanbul. We arrived early in the afternoon and toured Topkapi Palace, the former palace of the Ottoman Emperor.

The photos include a shot of the students, a picture of the Mosque of Sulieman and the New Mosque from Tokapi and a view of the convergence of three bodies of water: the Golden Horn (left), the Bosphoros (center), and the Sea of Marmara (right).

Tuesday, May 31

After Sardis, we traveled to Izmir for the night. This morning, we traveled north to the ancient site of Pergamum. We visited the acropolis where we viewed, among other things, the temple of the emperor Trajan and the remarkable theater. Afterwards, we descended from the acropolis and explored the sanctuary of Asclepius, the god of healing.

We then drove to Canakkale where we will spend the night. Tomorrow morning, we drive to Istanbul.

Tuesday, May 31

On Monday morning, we left Pamukkale for Sardis, the former capital of the Lydian empire and an important city in Hellenistic and Roman times. There we viewed an ancient synagogue and the ruins of the temple of Artemis.

Tuesday, May 31

After Aphrodisias, we continued west to Pamukkale, the site of the ancient city of Hieropolis. Pamukkale is particularly interesting because the spring at Hieropolis contains a large amount of calcium that has built up over the millenia that the water has flowed over the mountainside. The result is a white cliff face of calcium carbonate. We were able to walk up from the bottom of the mountainside to the site barefoot (since shoes damage the site).

Tuesday, May 31

It has been a busy couple of days. On Sunday, we traveled from Kusadasi west to Aphrodisias, a city famous for its sculpture. Pictured are one of the reliefs from the Sebastion (temple to the Roman emperors), the entrance to the temple of Aphrodite, and the stadium.

Saturday (May 28)

Besides Ephesus, we traveled south along the coast to Didyma. At Didyma was the temple of Apollo, an ancient oracle that rivaled Delphi in importance. A storm was rolling in when we viewed the site and it provided a particularly dramatic backdrop.

Saturday (May 28)

Today, we visited the ancient site of Ephesus. Ephesus was one of the largest cities in the Roman world and it has been excavated extensively.



























We also visited the site of the ancient temple of Artemis, outside of Ephesus. This temple was considered one of the wonders of the ancient word. Unfortunately, almost nothing is left of it. The column in the photo below shows what remains of the ancient temple. Behind it is a medieval mosque and the ruins of St. John's Basilica, built in the 6th century.

Saturday (May 28)

Yesterday, we traveled from Patmos to Samos by ferry. When we arrived at Samos, we piled into two taxis and crossed the island to the port that would take us to Kusadasi (pronounced KuSHAdasi). We arrived at Kusadasi in the early evening, bought our Turkish visas, and went through passport control. Our Turkish guide was waiting for us (he will be with us throughout the rest of the trip). We then settled into our hotel.

The photos show us leaving Patmos, the city of Samos on the island of Samos, and our arrival in Turkey.

Thursday (May 26)

At Patmos, we are staying at a hotel that is covered with flowers (see the photo to the left). Patmos is significant to the study of early Christianity because the author of the Book of Revelation (John) wrote his work on this island in the last decade of the first century. He addressed seven churches in Asia Minor (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea). We will visit some of these sites in the coming days.

Today we visited the Monastery whose patron is the author of the Book of Revelation, known in the Greek church as St. John the Theologian. The monastery affords a magnificent view of the island.

Thursday (May 26)

We are on the final leg of out Greece tour. Yesterday afternoon, we boarded a ferry at Piraeus (south of Athens) and set sail for Patmos, on the other side of the Aegean. On the map on the right, Patmos is the speck south of Samos (off the coast of Turkey). Tomorrow, we will get on a ferry again to travel to Samos and then board another boat to Kusadasi. At Kusadasi, we will begin the Turkish portion of the class.






The photos on the left show us on the ferry leaving Piraeus.

May 23 (Monday)

Today we went to Delphi, about 2 1/2 hours out of Athens. Delphi, situated on the slopes of Mt. Parnassus, was the home of the most famous oracle of the classical world. It was also thought to be the omphalos (navel) of the world.

The photos at the right include the sphinx (in the museum) and several views of the temple of Apollo and the valley below.

After our tour we had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the valley.

Following Eleusis, we boarded the bus to travel to Corinth.

After touring Corinth, we ended our afternoon with a seafood lunch on the water in Piraeus.

May 22 (Sunday)

We began the day with a trip to Eleusis, the ancient site of Greek mysteries outside of Athens. In the photo, the students are standing at the entrance to the underworld (Hades).

Coming down from the Acropolis, we visited the Theater of Dionysus and the beautiful new Acropolis museum.

From the Areopagus, we headed up the Acropolis to visit the Parthenon and the Erechtheion.

May 21 (Saturday)

This morning, Courtney joined us. We were all delighted to welcome her. Almost as soon as she arrived, we jumped on the bus to the Areopagus aka Mars Hill (above) next to the Acropolis. From there, we headed up the Acropolis to visit the Parthenon and the Erechtheion. Following that, we descended the Acropolis to visit the Theater of Dionysus and the new Acropolis museum.