Day 2: Philadelphia, Sardis, Thyatira

A busy day visiting three ancient cities. 

See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. 

Philadelphia, the only one of the seven cities about which Jesus had nothing bad to say, is the modern city of Alasahir. All that remains to be seen is the Byzantine Church of Saint John, but at its front door stands this mosque. Praying for an open door.

At Sardis, this woman was selling tea for 1L (about 30 cents.)

I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, 

This Gymnasium has been reconstructed. It made me wish for a sort of ancient Conor Prairie Living History Museum where I could walk through a Roman town as it was instead of seeing only foundations.

The simpler capital on the left is a modern representation. The one on the right is an original found in the ruble.

This synagogue is right next door to the gymnasium, the Roman athletic school and baths.

Beautiful bits of mosaic in the synagogue. Not sure how much is reconstructed.

Ancient Sardis must have been huge. We had to get back in the bus to go from the area of the gymnasium and synagoguge to get to this area where a small fourth-century church stood in the corner behind a major pagan temple. The original Lydian fortress of Sardis topped the mountain you see in the distance until the Persians put it under siege. Getting in seemed hopeless until a Lydian soldier lost his hat over the side and scrambled down to retrieve it, thus revealing the only way up the steep mountain.

Thyatira is also a thriving modern city, which rather gets in the way of excavating. This sixth century church sits under a garden in the heart of the modern town of Akhisar. Sheila Fabiano was wondering if they still did anything with purple. (This was the home town of Lydia who met Paul in Philippi.) The sun was setting by the time we got here, so hard to get any good pictures.