Can You Dig It?

In my early years in seminary, it struck me that one had to be a bit of an artist and have an imagination to understand and interpret what one is reading in the Bible and the history of the times. After having experienced just a tiny portion of this country of Turkey and a fairly large portion of Istanbul I am coming to understand a bit of how historians and archeologists must allow the mind to soar in order to comprehend the past and its relation to the present.

The other day in Ephesus, we stood at the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. All there is, is an indentation of the earth, and a couple of the huge pillars from the Temple. Certainly the pillars had toppled, along with everything else in the Temple, and those couple pillars are all that remains. But there are picture guides which gives one an idea of what that great structure must have been like. (I stand in awe now of the archiologists who not only painstakingly unearth the site but help us modern people imagine what it had been like. Also at one point, Ephesus was a seaside city. Today the sea is a mile away. Imagine that!

                   Istanbul by Night

We swept back into Istanbul to catch our train out for Thessaloniki, Greece. We met my old friends Ken & Betty who have been in the country for about 25 years and they know Istanbul quite well. Somewhere hidden away, down around the Spice Bazaar are some steps that takes one up to a restaurant which itself overlooks the main section of the marketplace of the Spice Bazaar. Great meal. Great views and good friends. Afterwards we wander the restaurant to see the various rooms. No one seems to mind, and the restraurant itself is a bit of a time capsule. One room contains several paintings of old Istanbul. Istanbul of the Byzantine Era and then later. I notice that Topkapi Palace is right on the shore of the Sea of Marmara in the picture. No doubt it was. The other day Makaila and I walked that area and outside the palace walls today are train tracks, a four lane highway and a pedestrian sidewalk and then a sea wall. My point? Land is being reclaimed from the sea in order to make the city, like all cities near water or swamps or forests. The pictures of romantc sailing vessels in the harbor of old Istanbul now are huge ocean going vessels which, if they are going to the Black Sea, must wait outside Istanbul in order to proceed single file up the Bosphorus. It is impressive.

We took the modern light rail system along the sea shore, across the Golata Bridge into the old section which runs by the great Aya Sophia, Topkapi and Blue Mosque. Everywhere you look, you see era upon era upon another era of time. The old living areas near the monuments are being rebuilt for tourist hotels. The ancient Byzantine edifices had to give way to the sweep of history when Islam came through. One of the new structures near the Blue Mosque told the story of what was found underneath as the earth movers started digging. The billboard told of the "Latin Invasion".... and I wondered what that was and quickly decided that it was referring to the Crusades, the last Crusade, I believe, which sacked the city. (I'm sure any historian/acheologists reading this blog will quickly correct me if I am wrong.)

But, something I had not thought about was this, concerning the unearthing of history...when we see an archeological dig.....the archeologist has to decide which of the multiple eras/layers to uncover and expose and therefore which story is to be told.

The same holds true for a traveler such as myself. This is a whirlwind tour. I have only seen a tiny portion of this wonderful country  of Turkey. I am no expert, I don't speak the language but I have seen a bit more than most who are reading this and trust that my insights are sufficient to convey the proud history and graciousness which has been shown to me and Makaila. I doubt I will get the opportunity to visit this city and country again. I hope I have given a few of you readers a small picture of this place and it's good to know that I have given someone my shoes. At least something of mine remains behind.

Peace,  Bob