Day 13

Bob’s Sabbatical

Day 13, September 12, 2009

 

            We ended
up with a rainy day, and did not make it to our major destination,
Ephesus.  We have rescheduled Monday,
which was to be a “day of rest,” so it will only be partial day of rest.  Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 5:45 am to
board a boat to Patmos, and will return about 7:00 pm (that’s why they
scheduled the day of rest on Monday!).

            After
breakfast (not among the best we have had – they advertized “Tang” as the
juice, here where we have been passing groves of orange trees.  We headed to “Mary’s house,” a small chapel
that was built over the place some say Mary lived near Ephesus after Jesus’
crucifixion.  Our group of Roman
Catholics apparently persuaded St. George’s to add this to the schedule, and we
had a Mass at the Franciscan House next door. 

            Next was
the highlight of the day, The Basilica of St. John.  Tradition has it that John and Mary came
together to Ephesus.  John is said to
have written The Book of Revelation from this hillside.  The Basilica was built later to commemorate this,
as well as the site of his burial.  At
Christmas you will probably hear references to my visit here.  John’s prologue to his Gospel, “In the
beginning was the Word…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” took on
new meaning as we sat in silence in that place. 
One of the pictures is of a grape press (maybe we should make our own
wine at St. Paul’s?).  Another is of the
Baptistry.  Note that there are steps
down, and then up again.  The person
being baptized would enter from one side, be baptized, then step up into their
new life in Christ.

             We then went to lunch at a traditional Turkish
restaurant.  Most of us sat on pillows,
with small tables in front of us.  Food
kept coming and coming, all of it wonderful. 
There were at least nine courses, and two kinds of bread, as well as
what apparently is the only beer around, Efes. 
Pictured are: Steve Need, Dean of St. George’s, me, Philip, one of the
Priests from Toronto, and several of the Toronto group.

            By the
time we finished lunch, it had begun to pour down rain.  We waited about half an hour, and it became
clear that it was not going to let up, so instead of Ephesus, we were taken to
a leather place, where we were treated (?) to a fashion show, and an hour and a
half to shop.  Shopper that I am not, I
was more than a little frustrated.  After
my initial hesitancy to go to Ephesus, I was really excited about the trip,
only to be disappointed.  The weather is
supposed to clear, so hopefully we will have a good visit on Monday.

            This is
a very patriotic country.  We drove
through many small villages today, and there are Turkish flags everywhere.  I realized that I have not seen a mailbox in
front of any house or business.  I’ll
have to check into how people get/send mail.

            Off to
dinner, then early bed for early rise in the morning. If you do not hear from
me tomorrow, it will be because of the long day!  We will celebrate our Sunday Eucharist while
on the boat to Patmos. Know you are in my prayers - especially on a Sunday.

Peace,

 Bob