Day 11

Bob’s Sabbatical

Day 11, September 10, 2009

 

            Woke
from really good sleep (no Mosque nearby to provide 4:00 a.m. call to
prayer).  After breakfast we had a
meeting to talk about Paul’s concept of law and Salvation.  I’ll spare you the details.  I did take notes, so ask me when I get back
if you want to know more.

            Today we
are headed for the ruins of another biblical town.  This one is Laodocia.  It is mentioned in Revelation 3:3ff as one of
the 7 Churches of Revelation.  There is
no mention of Paul ever having been there, but it is right in the middle of the
area he travelled, so one must think that he knew the town.  One of the pictures from the ruins is of  part of a column that has a cross carved
above a carving of a menorah, so there were Christians there sometime. 

            We left
Antalya, which is a city of some 1.5 million people.  It is on the Mediterranean Sea (I took a swim
last night).  It reminds me of Miami
Beach.  Hotels and Condos line the
shore.  As we drove out of town, we
spotted a McDonalds and a Starbucks – this place has arrived!

            We
climbed high into the mountains again. 
Paul would have walked downhill from where we are headed (but from
Ephesus, he had to get to the top first – we head for Ephesus tomorrow).  There is a winding valley that goes up
through the mountains, which is the way Paul would have gone.  Our bus was in low gear a good part of the
way.  Find Paul’s letter to Philemon
(just before Hebrews).  It is the
shortest letter in the New Testament, but shows Paul’s ability to write and get
something done.

            Ladocia
was first built in the Third Century B.C. 
It became a Roman city in 133 B.C. 
It was finally abandoned about 600 A.D. because of earthquakes that
damaged buildings.  It is only recently
been the focus of archeological restoration (one of our group was here 10 years
ago, and could not believe the difference). 
One of my pictures is of a team digging what
may have been a home along the main street (just after I took the picture we
were told not to take pictures of active digging because the team wants to be
the first to publish any new findings – I don’t think this picture will scoop
their story!)

            Tomorrow
we visit another ancient city, then head for Ephesus, stopping along the way at
the site of the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Seljuk.

Peace,

  Bob

I have uploaded, I hope, more pictures from days 9 and
10, along with Day 10 blog – real one