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• Turkey Trip

Litchfield Hills Bible Church

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Turkey Trip

On June 22, fourteen of us boarded a Delta flight for Istanbul and a 10-day tour of the Seven Churches of the Revelation. 

We spent 3 days in Istanbul (historic Constantinople), with tours of the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and the historic Egyptian Spice Market, and cruised the Bosphorus, among otherthings. We enjoyed a long stroll down the long pedestrian promenade (Istiklal Caddesi), and watched young Turks cheering on their national soccer team.

We then drove by the Gallipoli peninsula, stopping to see the famous war zone and the beach where the Anzacs landed. Moving on, we saw Troy and the famous Trojan Horse, finally lodging on the waters of the Aegean at Assos, where Paul once stood. We ate a delightful dinner right on the waterfront, in front of our boutique hotel.

We visited amazing Pergamum, getting our first taste of the many ruins in Turkey (which has more ruins of antiquity than any other area!). Bypassing Thyatira, due to other pressing issues, we spent the evening at a great hotel in Izmir (historic Smyrna, the 3rd largest city of Turkey. Again, we were right on the shores of the Aegean.

Next, we visited Sardis, Philadelphia, and Hierapolis, followed next morning by Aphrodisias, before landing once again on the Aegean, this time at Kusadasi. where we held a brief service on Sunday evening. From there, we visited spectacular sites at Miletus and Ephesus, and even got in a little shopping and swimming, before leaving the next (final) day, logging 24 hours from wakeup to final destination at home!

All 14 of us thought this to be a wonderful, exciting, and very instructive trip. We learned (and, unlearned) many things about Turkey, in the process. The Turks were warm and very friendly, and made us welcome everywhere. We were surprised that the idea of a closed Muslim society was inaccurate. The many young people we saw dressed much like Americans. We saw only a handful of women wearing Burqas and the calls to prayers seemed to be ignored. The people are respectul of each other and calm and generous both in the shops and the streets and highways. 

Turkey is a surprisingly beautiful country; the weather was warm (well, even hot -- 100 plus the last 3 days), but dry and quite pleasant. The food was outstanding and heavily oriented to vegetables. The kabops were quite different from the American style, and were very delicious.

Spiritually, we found our common experiences and the viewing of the magnificent ruins and the thrill of being were much of Acts was "acted out" to be spiritually refreshing and thought-provoking. To see the time, effort and expense from pagan, Christian, and Muslim culture over the centuries and to realize that the end result (for similar reasons, in each culture) was simply dust and magnificent ruins, caused us to rethink values and goals. We realized we, too, need to remember and not neglect our first love - the Lord Jesus Christ.

I would strongly encourage Christians to take a similar tour; it is even more worthwhile, in many respects, than a visit to the Holy Land. Certainly, it approaches that spiritual journey. Anyone wishing more information or advice can contact me (Pastor Bill Allen) at bill@lhbcbill.com. I'll be happy to help.