This day starts at a place called Sardis. Sardis was one of the seven cities that John wrote to in the Book of Revelation. Our first stop, of course, is to the restrooms.
I'm the monitor! :)
Right outside the restrooms is this woman selling scarves. Beautiful scarves.
Our next stop - the Temple of Artemis.Construction began on this temple in 300 B.C., but expansions and renovations continued for many centuries. This temple was the fourth largest Ionic temple in the world and one of the seven largest of all Greek temples. The southeast portion of this temple was eventually turned into a Byzantine church.
The man in the center there is our boss, Eran Hayet. He came with us to Turkey in Winter of 2012.
In the lower part of Sardis there is a gymnasium - really amazing!!
There are some beautiful, original tiles on the standing walls:
And always a favorite of mine - mosaics:
Thyatira was our next site. Thyatira is also one of the Seven Churches that John wrote to in the Book of Revelation. It was famous as a center for producing purple dye.
After Paul saw the “man of Macedonia” in a vision, he sailed from Troas and traveled to Philippi in Macedonia. In Philippi he met a wealthy woman named Lydia (who was originally from Thyatira), and he baptized her and her entire household. Lydia was “a seller of purple”, meaning she owned a successful business manufacturing and selling purple cloth—a trade she probably learned growing up in Thyatira. The ruin is in the middle of modern-day Ahkisar in northwestern Turkey.
We walked down this lovely street on our way to the ruin:
These are a few shots of the site itself:
This is a view of the streets surrounding the site:
We made a drive to a place called Bursa.
It was famous because of its hot springs and baths. It was also an important international trade center for silk and other imported products on the caravan route from Asia.
The largest mosque in Bursa is called the Ulu Cami (a phrase that means “Grand Mosque” in Turkish and is pronounced “U-lu JA-mee”). The building is rectangular and has 20 domes arranged in rows of 5 and supported by 12 massive columns. Outside the mosque are 2 thick minarets. Inside the mosque is a large fountain used for ritual washings before prayer, as well as almost 200 examples of beautiful calligraphy on the walls, columns, and large plates, written by famous Seljuk calligraphers.
This is a place to wash before entering the mosque. Also, notice the thick minaret to the left:
Different scenes inside. Look at all the beautiful calligraphy:
This niche is called the Mihrab and faces Mecca - the direction that Muslims face when they pray.
Just to the right of the mihrab is the minbar - where the Imam stands preach. The cute guy in front is NOT the Imam. :)
The Grand Mosque is next to the Bursa Silk market. It was once a caravansary and the shops & restaurants are within the old rooms and lofts of that caravansary. I've gotten some beautiful scarves here.
This is one of the entrances:
Courtyard:
Stairs going up to the upper level:
awesome - wish I was there!
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