One man's rubble is another man's Smyrna

Sunday, October 1, 2023

October already? And it's Sunday? We miss church due to travels in the morning.

We exit the Old Port Hotel in Istanbul at 6:00 a.m. At the airport, an older American lady chooses self-check. She has no idea what she's doing and needs assistance. Several passengers behind us ask her to go to the regular desk. She pretends not to understand. A member of staff tries to explain and then pulls her aside. He waves us ahead, W zips our luggage through, and we're off to the security line and the airport lounge.

Look at the narrow sofa in the lounge. So comfy. The rain pounds the pavement outside the window. It's not a bad day to be inside.

It must be the day for weird travelers. Turkish Air has overbooked and the Chinese passenger without a seat refuses to rebook to the next flight, an hour later.

So we all stand in line, watching the buses parked outside to take us to the plane. The employees keep talking to each other and trying to persuade the recalcitrant traveler with money and the next flight out. She says no. Stubborn girl. So we all wait.

After an hour, the lady ahead of us in line explains what's going on. She has also refused the next flight and EU100, though she'd be departing now... and the rest of us would be long gone. W immediately heads to the counter to volunteer to change flights so the others can get on the plane rather than queuing without a solution.

Oh good. The attendants have started convincing a Turkish man to catch the next flight. He beats us into the air and to Ismir. How's that possible? Our flight has delayed so long that the pilot is stuck on the runway for an additional half-hour.

In Izmir, I catch a quick glimpse of a face carved into the hillside as the taxi speeds by on the highway.

Our hotel is a bit of a mess. W accidentally booked for one person, which sends the two brothers at the desk into a tizzy. They charge $40 extra to add me. We go up to the second floor (oops, that room is booked), then the third floor, hauling extra-heavy suitcases up 50+ steps. In the room, W repacks our two suitcases into three to make them easier to carry.

We look around as we leave the hotel. The stone buildings with their wood and iron shutters look beautiful as they age.

We walk out to see the ruins of the ancient city of Smyrna, perhaps built by Alexander the Great.

There's one mention by a secular writer that Alexander built Smyrna in response to his dream. That seems credible to archaeologists.

Isn't it strange that people constantly tear apart biblical history as speculation, with its thousands of manuscript fragments that affirm the same stories and collaborating witnesses? The biblical mention of Smyrna (Revelation 1 and 2) is absent on the information boards.

Facts are less important than what you choose to believe, even in science. I snap pictures as we walk up the hill and around several gates. They're closed. How do we get in? People stroll through the ruins below us.

Almost closing the loop around the archeological dig, we find the entry. For $5 we gain admission and start wandering.

We admire the arches and the 4 long galleries that made up the administrative area of Smyrna. There's a mix of stones - some cut, some raw shapes that are held together with mortar.

The tunnels are long.

Look at the beautiful stone arches in the ceilings!

Outside, tall columns mark the edges of the central rectangle.

The field, full of stone rubble to the untrained eye, contains a wealth of information for scholars.

Archaeologists stack and sort the stone carvings. Field workers have put numbers on the pieces, marking where things were found.

The capitals are varied. Some are almost whole while others are badly chipped or broken.

 It takes skill to carve rocks like this.

There's a casual indifference to the arrangement. Grass grows up around the capitals.

I like this pattern.

Imagine the skill and engineering to cut and place stones in these 4-way arches. How did they lever these heavy rocks into place?

From the edge of the columns, you see the supporting arches for what must have been the roof of a passageway.

There are drainage gutters.

We spot a fountain gushing clean water at the end of one gallery.

We read the placard when we get there: the source of this steady flow of clean water is "unknown."

Off to one side is an Ottoman graveyard. We are told the early Turks marked male tombstones with varied hat shapes.

After an hour or more of exploration, we leave the site  and land on "sewing street". There are Bernina, Singer, and Pfaff stores. Old men sit, smoke, and drink tea along many sidewalks.

Nearby is a market with everything you can imagine - food, clothing, kitchenware, hardware, and more. Costumes are a thing for weddings and special events. Some are medieval glitz.

Even kids can dress up.

Vendors along the street sell the poofy wedding dresses on "Barbies", like the ones in the shops.

We see less processed nuts and seeds for sale. Most have shells or hulls, unlike in Istanbul where nearly everything in the market is ready to eat or cook with.

About 3:00 we stop for a meal - I think the table spices are cumin and a paprika-tomato seasoning.

W and I order a bean salad, a regular kabab, and an iskender kofte which looks like flat burgers in tomato and yogurt sauce, with pita bread underneath. The meat is mixed lamb and beef. Indescribable - mmmmm.

After 5:00 we walk back to the hotel. W drags our shopping (a teapot, tea, a few treats for the grandkids, chocolates, and painted coasters) up the stairs to our room.

The shower is leaking onto the bathroom floor with the last person's water. (Ugh!) The toilet paper is out so we get another roll when we come back in late afternoon. There's one thin twin coverlet on the bed. We ask for another so that each of us can wrap up to sleep.

The sun goes down and the speakers outside our room turn up. The minaret speakers are twenty meters away, pointing right at our room = LOUD chanting. Oh well. Part of the adventure, right?

Read more:

*I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. Jeremiah 9:24

*Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5

*A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace. James 3:18

Moravian Prayer: Almighty God, bless us to be blessings unto your creation, your people, and your holy name. Help us to keep Sabbath this day, uniting with sisters and brothers throughout the world, honorably and peaceably. Amen.