Note: On November 2nd, 32 pilgrims from various parts of the United States embarked on a 15 day pilgrimage to Turkey in order to visit the sites of the New Testament and early Christianity. The following is the first installment of my reflections on the trip.
Turkey is the modern day nation that was formerly known at Asia Minor in the ancient world. The earliest settlers of the area were the Hittites, a group of people mentioned several times in the Old Testament who were expert ceramic and pottery makers. We had the opportunity to see the remains of their civilization and see people today still making pottery in the same way. As time went by the Greeks came to dominate the region after the invasions of Alexander the Great, at which time the area developed a Greek name - Anatolia. It was during this time that many of the great cities of the area were founded: Antioch, Smyrna, Byzantium, and many others. Many of these cities were founded on already existing settlements, as we saw in many of the archaeological digs we visited. For example, the city of Troy, the site of the famous war romanticized by Homer's two epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, had nine different city layers that have been discovered.
Eventually the Romans came to dominate the region as they conquered the entire Mediterranean region, and it was their legacy that still remains throughout modern day Turkey. We saw well preserved amphitheatres, baths, an ancient cistern, roads, and the remains of shops, temples, agoras, gymnasia, and other important buildings. The genius of Roman architects still astounds us today.
It was during the time of Roman occupation that Christianity came to birth in the region. In Antioch, Christians were first given their name, and the city boasts of St. Peter's founding of their Christian heritage, as well as the site of St. Ignatius of Antioch's ministry and the great church father St. John Chrysostom. In Antioch we saw the cave church of St. Peter, and we had Mass at the church of St. Ignatius, the site of the present day Catholic community in Antioch. While there we met three men from Austria who were themselves on a pilgrimage: they were walking from Austria to Bethlehem, hoping to arrive on Christmas. Their witness was a powerful affirmation of faith for us.
Many ancient sites of the Christian church still exist: the remains of the basilica of St. John in Ephesus, the cave churches and monasteries in Cappadocia, the Hagia Sophia Church and council building where the two councils of Nicaea were held, and the great Hagia Sophia basilica in Istanbul. These sites came into existence when Christianity was legalized by the Roman empire and then nurtured during the Byzantine empire. With the coming of the Crusades and the loss of the area to the Ottoman Empire in the 15th Century, the Christian community became smaller, yet continues to exist even to this day in present day Turkey. Islam brought with it many developments to the region: magnificent mosques, palaces of the sultans, and an array of academic centers. Many of these sites remain as well.
My intent in this post was to provide a general overview of our trip, its scope and breadth. In subsequent posts I will provide some of my own learnings and reflections on what we experienced. Enjoy the pictures along the way! These four pictures are as follows from left to right: the Hagia Sophia Church in ancient Nicaea, a Roman Council chamber in Ephesus, the cave church of St. Peter in Antioch, and our pilgrim community celebrating Mass in a cave church in Cappadocia.
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