Day 11: Safe arrival in Turkey, Sardis, and Izmir (Smyrta)

We left Jerusalem at 1 AM this morning to head to Tel Aviv to make our 5 AM flight to Istanbul and then on to Izmir. It was a long morning, with not much time for sleeping, but eventually, we all made it off the plane and collected our bags safely! We met up with our Turkish guide, Gigi, and immediately headed to visit Sardis, one of the seven churches of Revelation and a 90-minute drive from Izmir. Sardis was the capital of the Kingdom of Lydia, whose last king, Croesus, was so rich it gave rise to the expression “as rich as Croesus. Eventually, the acropolis at Sardis, despite being practically impregnable, was infultrated by the Persians and taken over and used as their capital in the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Sardis was then conquered by Alexander the Great and by the 2nd century BC it was under Roman control. Sardis is mentioned in Revelation as being a church with a reputation for being alive, but Jesus said it was in fact dead spiritually. The majority of the site of Sardis is not open to visitors because major excavation is still taking place, especially up at the acropolis, or high city. In addition, the modern-day village of Sart sits on the site, so anything the village covers will remain hidden for now.  What we were able to see from the lower city was quite impressive!  Dominating the skyline is the ancient Gymnasium and Bathhouse, a large complex that was built in the center of the city in the 2nd century AD. Right next door to the bathhouse was a large Synagogue,  one of the largest ancient synagogues excavated. It’s location in the center of the city plus it’s size are evidence of the strength and wealth of the Jewish community in Sardis at the time, around the 3rd Century AD. Also on the site you can see the remains of the shopping district, which signs on them noting what each was for back in the Roman time, which we know based on carvings and artifacts found on-site. Though much of these ruins had been scattered through earthquake, war, and time, what was left has been rebuilt and fortified so we can see what the city might have looked like at the time.  The ruins of Sardis are certainly impressive, and from what we were told, this is just the tip of the iceberg of what we will see here in Turkey!

After leaving Sardis, we headed back to Izmir, Turkey’s 3rd largest city and the site of the ancient city of Smyrta. We will have time to visit sites throughout Izmir over the next few days as our hotel is located here, so today the only site in town we visited was the St. Polycarp Church, built in the early 1600s to honor Polycarp, the patron saint of Izmir who was the bishop of Smyrta from 115-156 AD. Polycarp was martyred for his faith in 156 AD by being burned at the stake with a group of 11 others from Philadelphia. This ornate and beautiful church is no longer used for regular services, and special arrangements have to be made to view the interior, so we feel lucky that we were able to walk around inside.

Tomorrow should be another busy day, so we are making tonight an early night so everyone can catch up on their rest. We pray that Lorie, Lanny, Debbie and Ruth made it home safely, and they are greatly missed already!  God bless!

Categories: Holy Land.