Sunrise at Assos, Turkey. Adramyttian Harbor near our hotel.
Saturday, January 10 ; Pergamum, Adramyttian
The steepest (and most treacherous) theater in the Roman Empire is at Pergamum. We learned a little about the ancient healing practices of the Asclepius there. Once you pass the physical exam you get a room, have access to the library, hear voices while walking in a dark tunnel, bathe, and play games. Don’t take photos of the military base next to the site or you will be sick and walk through another long tunnel. The largest and best preserved red brick building in Turkey is called the Red Basilica. A basilica is not necessarily a church building. Our hotel was down the steep seaward side of a hill at the water’s edge (would there be another “don’t get too close warning”?) known as the Adramyttian Gulf. The small hamlet has old stone houses that now serve as inns and restaurants. The sunset on the water was beautiful.
Sunday, January 11; Assos, Alexandria Troas, Apollo Smintheon, Troy
On our last full day in Turkey we were at the acropolis of Assos led by the retired guard who worked for the archaeologist. While Paul walked from Assos to Alexandria Troas, we took a bus. Maybe that is why Paul had the vision of a man in Macedonia calling for help. Rats!, there was time to only drive past Apollo Smintheon. Troy was at one time believed to be mythical, but Heinrich Schliemann’s excavation proved Homer’s account in the “Iliad” to be accurate (which set in motion most modern archaeology). It is not true that, upon identifying Troy, Schliemann said, “don’t look a gift-horse in the mouth.”
Monday, January 12; Çanakkale, Gallipoli, Alexandroupolis, Kavala (Neapolis)
Early in the morning our bus boarded the first ferry of the day to cross the Dardanelles at Çanakkale. As we drove toward Greece’s border we listened to the history of the massive slaughter in the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I. The hand-off came in two parts. Before the border we changed buses. At the border we checked out, crossed the river border (the Meric River in Turkey, the Evros River in Greek). Now prepared for Greece, our first stop was Alexandroupolis where we discussed the island of Samothrace, exchanged money to Euros, and ate lunch (gyros). After arriving in Kavala (ancient Neapolis) we hiked a portion of the Egnatian Way, the ancient Roman road that Paul walked to Philippi.
Tuesday, January 13; Kavala (Neapolis), Philippi
Most of the Kavala museum we wanted to see was closed for renovation. The Church of St. Nicholas has a mural commemorating Paul’s arrival in Europe. Walking led us past the Kamares aqueduct, rebuilt by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century. Suleiman also built the walls that currently surround Old City Jerusalem. The ancient harbor is now used to dry-dock small ships for repair. Philippi has well preserved ruins (is that an oxymoron?). The Baptistry of Lydia is near the Gangitis River where Paul would have met with the Jewish ladies. The theater was converted to accommodate gladiatorial combat in the 2nd century A.D. The remains in the agora span several centuries demonstrating use and reuse of the space. The hole-in-the-ground identified as the jail is just beyond the Egnatian Way. The acropolis provides a grand view of the ancient Roman city and the (even older) battlefield where Cassius and Brutus were defeated by Octavian and Marc Antony, setting the course for the Roman Empire.
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