Tyler's Blog - May Term Abroad Blogs - Wartburg College

May Term Blogs

Tyler's Blog

About Tyler
Major(s): Mathematics, Mathematics Education
Hometown: Cresco

5/23/06
Our last day in Turkey. We've all been living out of our suitcases for quite some time and have speent too many hours riding in a bumpy bus, but Turkey will be sorely missed. We had another great day in Istanbul. We walked some of the city walls of Constantinople, which seem impenetrable, but history proves otherwise. We visited a Byzantene church that was converted into a mosque and turned over to a museum. The mosaics inside were absolutely beautiful, and very different from any we'd seen before.

Today we visited the Hagia Sophia, perhaps the most amazing structure I've ever seen. When Mehmet the Conquerer conquered Constantinople, he converted the cathedral to a Mosque. It is interesting that the Muslims reused the buildings for their own worship centers (though, with such amazing buildings, it would take a fool not to). I guess it shows a respect for fellow "people of the book". The mosaics of the former christian church were covered over with islamic frescos, but decently preserved underneath. The seer size of everything was amazing. A true wonder to behold.

We also visited an archaeological museum that is the best I've ever seen. The second oldest record of Hebrew writing resides in the museum, along with cuneiform tablets, Egyptian sarcophagi, mummies, and a stone from a Jerusalem temple that Jesus no doubt once read.

Our flight leaves tomorrow morning. We will miss our guide, Yildirim, our bus driver Zafir, and this land called Turkey greatly.

5/22/06
In our recent travels we visited Pergamum, another city of the Book of Revelation. The drive up the mountainside to get to the acropolis was nothing short of perilous, but as Zach put it, we’ve become pretty numb to seeing our life flash before us (it’s a bit too short). The city is well preserved, and we were able to walk through a lengthy, sky lit tunnel, the corridors of a hospital, see the pillars still standing in many of the buildings, walk down the mountainside theatre, and marvel at the acropolis. Like many cities of the ancient world, Pergamum is missing many of the sculptures that were discovered here. They are in museums, and probably illegally in private homes around the area. None the less, the site was amazing. Because this sight was home to a healing center, Dr. Bouzard speculated that the city of Pergamum shared the same troubles as the Corinthians with relation to whether Christians were able to partake in the feasting following the animal sacrifices. Discussing Biblical passages that were highly relevant at these Biblical sites…how I will miss it.

We also visited Troia (Troy). Well, actually, there are many Troias (9 I think) with many candidates for the one that was spoofed by the ancient horse. The cool thing about Troia was being able to look at the ruins and see multiple levels from multiple devastations and rebuildings of the city.

We did lots and lots of driving yesterday, but that’s ok. Our long bus rides are over, and my stomach couldn’t be happier.

We’re back in Istanbul. The hotel that we are staying at has a brilliant view of the Sophia. We’re exploring the city today, including the spice bazaar and grand bazaar.

5/19/06
More and more ancient sites! We visited one of the largest all marble temples in the Greco-roman world at Dedima. The temple was never completed, but it was quite impressive nonetheless. It took well over half of our class to encircle one of the enormous, spiraling marble pilars at the temple. The place was also home to one of the ancient oracles. We also visited the ruins of an ancient seaport that is now miles away from the sea (due to silting from a river) and was home to a philosopher (who I can't recall just now).

We met up with some students from Roanoke college in Virginia that have stayed at the past two hotels with us. We did a little exploration of the city and shared in a Q & A session with an Islamic professor of philosophy. It was good to hear about Islam without a media filter, but I wish we could've had a more in-depth discussion.

Yesterday we visited the last home of the Virgin Mary. The site underwent some major reconstruction, but bears a small area for prayer. Though there wasn't all that much to see, the fact that we were in the place where the mother of Jesus once resided was fascinating and invoked a time for reflection.

Minutes after leaving her house, we arrived in the city of Ephesus, once home to over 250,000 people. Ephesus is really an amazing sight to behold. It is the most complete of any of the ancient cities we have seen thus far, and as I am told, is one of the best yet discovered. Sculpted rocks and columns stand everywhere. Roads inlaid with large stones that are smoother than the present day Turkish roads make up the streets. The facade to the famous library at Ephesus remains though the three story interior has fallen away. Across the street and just a tunnel away resides an ancient brothel which is marked by the oldest advertisement ever discovered just a few meters away. Ephesus is one of the cities mentioned in the Book of Revelation and in Paul's travels. One should read Acts 19 for the full effect, but we stood in the theatre were 25,000 people stood screaming "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" when the Apostle Paul was in town preaching and stirring things up. It is hard to imagine the great deal of motivation he must've had to be able to travel around proclaiming the gospel in times where the vast majority of people followed pagan beliefs.

Today we visited the ancient city of Sardis. We've seen many ruins of Roman bath houses, but at Sardis an effort was made to construct (with old and new pieces) what the ancient bath house may have looked like. Though it is the result of somebody's imagination, the landmark is no less impressive. The building was absolutely enormous and decked out with pillars and inscriptions. We also visited a temple of Artemis, a Jewish synogogue, and walked along a street filled with ancient shop remains.

Turkey celebrates a national holiday today. The Turks celebrate today as the day that Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) started the war for Turkish independence. There is a great deal of national pride here, and Ataturk's following is almost religious. His face adorns many buildings, statues, and even the inside of our bus. I don't know if we'll be able to join in any of the celebration tonight or not.

5/18/06
It has been quite awhile since we've seen internet. We've explored so much! We've spent quite a bit of time on the coast. Antalya was a modern city with ancient ruins in its midst. A bunch of us had the opportunity to take a boat ride on the Mediterranean sea. We also visited the only two cities that Alexander the great was unable to conquer. We've had numerous opportunities to explore tels (artificial hills where ancient cities once resided) and look through pottery shards, glass, and very rare old coins. In addition to our own browsing of these sites, we have browsed museums filled with amazing stone sculptures. We have visited a number of ancient theatres, including one in Aspendos that is still in use. We've seen so many sites that it is really hard to process it all.

We spent two days on the Greek island of Rhodes. It was absolutely beautiful! We had some down time to enjoy the beach and crystal clear waters. The ruins on Rhodes were beautiful as well, but the Greeks have taken a slightly different approach to the ruins. Rather than simply excavating them and leaving them as they are, the Greeks are rebuilding some of the buildings with old and new materials to recreate the full effect for the visitors. It is good to see this type of represenation also. With many of the sites we have visited there are so many blocks on the ground that it is hard to imagine what everything would've looked like. We got to sample some Greek food while we were there. Yay for gyros! Unfortunately, the US dollar is a little weak compared to the Euro, so Rhodes got expensive.

The people of Rhodes gave us new perspective on events in Turkish history that we studied. The Greeks and Turks have long been in close relations, thought not always positive. It is interesting to hear both sides. It is also to hear the Greek perspective on American politics. In general, the Greeks were very friendly and open.

We've spent more time exploring early churches and deciphering the iconography. The quality of art in these churches is phenomenal. Many have scenes from the Old and New Testaments throughout the church.

We're entering the last week of our trip. We're all a bit tired but excited for all that still lies ahead. Tonight we are going to meet up with a group of college students from a Lutheran school in Virginia that are staying at our hotel and chill out for awhile.

5/8/06
Another amazing few days in Turkey! The group is all doing well, though a couple of us got sick from the food last night. We bid farewell to Ankara on Saturday morning and traveled south into Cappadocia. The landscape is gorgeous and was shaped by volcanic activity milleniums ago. We toured an underground city built and used in the 12th century or so as a hideout for the locals during times of war and such. By city I mean city. The place was an enormous labrynth! It is easy to see how people could live down there for an extended period of time, though I don't know if I'd like it much without decent lighting. We also got to sample the Maraº icecream and the vendor played tricks with its amazing elasticity and stickiness by twirling it around and stealing it and the cone out of my hands with his stirring stick.

We visited a Turkish rug manufacturing and sale house and learned about how the amazing rugs are created and just how much they sell for. The rugs we saw ranged from $100 to over $50,000 and take from months to years to create.

In Cappadocia we've had the chance to tour homes and churches carved out of the semi-soft volcanic rock. Some homes of this style are still in use today! The churches are amazing, particularly the beautiful artwork inside. They range from the 10th-13th centuries and many have been vandalized, but what remains is absolutely amazing. We've had a good time debating what the various images in the churches represent and climbing through crevices to explore the rooms of these buildings. We saw many of these while hiking through a beautiful valley carved out by a river yesterday. We have had beautiful weather for most everything.

Today we explored more churches and stone homes. We found an old millstone and clay pot that laid in the abandoned homes. We also viewed "fairy chimneys" which were formed by volcanic rock and leave an interesting look on the landscape. We observed first-hand how the Cappadocian ceramics are made and had the chance to shop around for pieces to take home. We also sample some Cappadocian wine and more Turkish cuisine. I enjoyed our stop at the Karavanseri (stop on the old caravan trade routes) that dated back over a millenium.

The past day and night we've been seeing a lot of filming crews as a commercial or scene from a movie is being produced at our hotel. I tried running to the bathroom last night and all of the signs had been replaced with hospital themed ones for the movie setting so I was extremely confused. Bouzard said he saw a beautiful woman that he's seen in Turkish advertisements, so who knows.

It is hard to take it all in at once. We have been experiencing so much from the early church as well as the unique and hospitable Turkish culture. Though we are all keeping journals it is hard to put all of our experiences into words. It is certainly an experience that will never be forgotten!

5/5/06
Oh wow! That is about all I can say at this point. On Thursday we visited a museum in Ankara with slates of paintings taken from cave walls up to Greco-Roman bronze casts and everything in between! There was an amazing variety of items at the museum and the intricacy of the items removed makes me wish more and more that we were going on a real archaeological dig here. While at the museum, a group of elementary students congregated near us to watch us and test their English skills. It made us wonder who and what was really on exhibit there! They were extremely polite and asked some of our names and where we were from before we departed.

Friday brought us to Hatuºus, capital of the ancient Hittite empire. The Hittites are a remarkable civilization, dating back over 3,700 years! They are mentioned in the Bible, as well as in Egyptian and European historical documents. Hatuºas was once a city of 10-30,000 people, filled with temples (nicknamed the city of a thousand gods),living and social areas, and everything else a town could expect to have. As we were walking on the ruins of the oldest known library, I was just taken aback to think how ancient this all was compared to everything in the U.S. (well, barring dinosaurs from our discussion). We were standing in Mesopotemia, where the origin of human life is often thought to have taken place.

The Hatuºas showed an Egyptian influence in its Hieroglyphics, as well as its own unique style through massive statues and intricate reliefs. We had the opportunity to see Hittite tools and the like in the museum in Ankara the day before, but were also able to find pottery shards on the ground at Hatuºas dating back to the middle of the second millenium before Chist. We traversed through a 70 meter tunnel created by the Hittites, the oldest tunnel in existance. We were all just in awe of everything that we saw, and I think we all could've used some extra time there!

Friday evening we met with some friends of Sinem's (Sinem is a Turkish student who attends Wartburg and helped us prepare for this trip). We enjoyed dinner with them at a Duner Kebab restaurant before relaxing in a Nargile bar (both establishments are defining parts of Turkish culture). It was the most enjoyable evening thus far! The students shared their perspectives on life in Turkey and attitudes towards the U.S. They also voiced a great deal of concern about the War in Iraq and that Americans weren't seeing the effect the war was having on the people of Iraq and in the surrounding areas (such as Turkey). It was amazing to see how much Turkish culture has been influenced by American fast food, movies, music and policies; however, in looking at life in American, I have never observed any influence from Turkey, which is unfortunate considering the unique culture that Turkey as to offer.

We have another long drive ahead of us before we visit the undergound cities at Cappadocia, as well as other historical sites. We are all fighting tiredness, but in general having a phenomenal time.

5/3/06
Day 3 on our trip brings us out of the bustling city of Istanbul, over the Sea of Marma, through Nicea and into the happening city of Bursa. We started with an enormous breakfast that had various pastries, cereals, cheeses, vegetables and squeeze your own orange juice. Probably one of the best ways to sample turkish cuisine!

The countryside was beautiful! Olive trees stretched out for miles, as well as apricot and walnut orchards. Driving out in these parts required navigating around tractors and cattle, but thankfully not automobiles and people so much! We took a ferry ride across the sea of Marma, and I got to sample some delicious Turkish chocolate with nuts. Others tried Turkish Tea, but it is not exactly to my liking.

We stopped in the city of Nicea, which is where the Nicean council met and came up with a proclomation of faith we now call the Nicean Creed. We visited the ancient building where the council met. It is unbelievable to think that the Nicean Creed was written right there! Laurie commented that people make a big deal about visiting Elvis's graceland residence, but how much cooler is it that this place where a proclomation of faith was conceptionalized still exists! We also saw the walls of the city, which the guide informed us were only 800 years old in their newest points, making it sound like the 13th century is no big deal.

We visited two different mosques in Bursa and visited the silk bazaar. The architecture of these mammoth monuments is amazing. When we arrived at the hotel I joined others in going to a Turkish hamam (bath). It's basically an enormous pool heated by natural hot springs where people bathe and relax. A few people enjoyed getting massages and scrubbing from the staff, but I decided to save a few Lyra and still had a good time.

Gule Gule! (pronouced goo-leh goo-leh and means bye bye) Until next time I have internet!

5/2/06
Arrived in Turkey at 11:00 am local time Tuesday after a very long day of travel. Most of the students left wartburg at 2:00 Monday morning, so we're all pretty tired. I can't believe that I am in Turkey. It is beyond fascinating to me how structures that were built hundreds and thousands of years ago still stand here. We did a brief tour of the city via boat this afternoon. It was a fairly dreary day, but an enjoyable ride nonetheless. We saw the ancient walls of constantinople, the bridges that join Europe to Asia, palaces of former sultans, a school of jelly fish and the enormous stone fort that was built in four months by Mehmet to cut Constantinople off from the trading routes. I am glad we had our "history class" stuff before the trip so that we can see and experiene what we read and heard about in class in a more relaxed way.

The history of this city is almost as thick as the traffic, which has been making everyone jump. We are staying in a beautiful hotel and I was told that the place where we eat dinner tonight overlooks the bosphorus straight and the city of Istanbul.

Tiredness aside, we're all safe and off to a great start!

4/3/06
Excitement is mounting as my May term experience in Turkey draws closer. We have been doing a weekly class to acclimate us to the Turkish culture and learn about the various historical sites that we will be visiting. I have discovered through this course that Turkey is one of the world’s best kept secrets, and had never realized all of the history, culture and beauty that Turkey has to offer. I'm especially looking forward to see the enormous calcite walls of the Pamukkale, the ancient underground cities in Cappadocia and city built into the mountain wall at Termesso. I am also looking forward to delving into the world of Islam in the Turkish secular state. The plane won’t depart soon enough!