SOME HISTORICAL SITES OF TURKEY

1. Gate to the city of Hierapolis.
2. Columns at Hierapolis.
3. This is where the thermal waters of Hierapolis (also known as "The Travertines of Pamukkale" in this area) come out of the ground and form this crystal formation all the way down the mountain side.
4. Columns along a road in Laodicea

5. Area of Ephesus

6. Ornate carving in Ephesus

7. More ornate carvings on this archway in Ephesus

8. Front of the Library in Ephesus

9. Amphitheater in Ephesus that held 24,000

We started the day at Hierapolis and saw the ruins there. There are many graves all with ornate above ground tombs. We also saw the sight where Phillip was murdered and buried. It is amazing to see how much work went into building all the structures. The aqueduct systems that got water to so many areas of the city and these systems were so ahead of their time. They continue to do excavation work here as they keep finding more areas of the city that are buried under the ground.

Next we went to Laodicea. I was a little surprised to find it is in the very early stages of being uncovered by archeologists. So there is not much there to see at this time but has so much written about it in the Bible.

Last we went to Ephesus and it was amazing. How big of an area it covered and how much of it is still to be uncovered that is still under ground. Everything was so ornate and the huge library and the incredible amphitheatre, as well as the senate chambers that was a covered amphitheatre type that held a couple of thousand as well. We set at the top of the amphitheatre and thought what it must have been like with 24,000 people there chanting and stomping their feet against Paul (Acts 19:26) and wanting to kill him. It was amazing even after all of these years how you could stand down on the floor and talk to someone at the very top like they were standing right next to you.

I have to say that as great as it was to see these three sights that we read about in the Bible it was also very sad to see all the people that mostly were there to see the ruins and the architecture and had no real idea the biblical history and importance that took place in each of these cities.