Ephesus

I wasn't planning to do any tourism here, but Steve had board meetings this afternoon, and ancient Ephesus was only ten minutes away...

After lunch three busloads of us took off for what was once the second largest city in the Roman Empire.

I felt guilty the whole time because my friend Liisa Eyerly has written a mystery novel set in first-century Ephesus. She had long been planning a research trip, but the week before departure came down with Covid. She's the one who should be here, not me. But Liisa, I thought of you and took lots of pictures!

The weather was threatening all afternoon. Our windshield was splattered with rain on the way, but it never actually rained while we were there.

The main business street leads down to the Celsus Library, originally a mausoleum in the early second century.

The library is the most impressive facade in the city.

But the most impressive structure is undoubtedly the amphitheater, which seats 25,000 people. It now gets used for concerts. (The acoustics are incredible!) But in the first century it was the scene of a riot when Saint Paul preached the gospel and Demetrius the silversmith drew thousands into the theater shouting, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" for two hours because he was worried about his loss of business selling images of Diana if too many people became Christians. Paul was arrested for starting the riot and hauled off to jail in the fortress at the top of the hill in the distance. At the time, that was across the harbor, safe from the crowd. But the harbor long ago silted up, and the Aegean is now several miles away in front of our hotel.

I saw this design scrawled in the pavement in a couple different places. It is a game board, but also purported to be an alternative to the fish as a secret symbol for Christ--overlapping Greek letters spelling ichthos--Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.

Of course, all tour buses have to show up at a shopping spot before the end. This porcelain shop had beautiful stuff I could neither afford nor fit in my luggage, What I would most have liked is one of these horn-shaped pieces. When the salesman put his phone in the small end, the music was amplified like an old-fashioned gramophone. Look, Ma! No batteries!

Tomorrow we head home. I'm looking forward to my own bed and my own (simple) food instead of the overwhelming choices we have had here. But I will miss the selection of Turkish sweets.

Izmir

ICETE (International Counsel for Evangelical Theological Education) hosts an international conference every three years. I don't usually travel with Steve when he consults for schools or teaches modular courses for a week or two, but I do come to ICETE because it brings together people he works with from all over the world. It's my chance to put faces with names that I hear all the time. It is also a wonderful opportunity to experience a little bit of heaven on earth. This time on the Aegean Sea.

We are more than 500 participants--the most ever. Word is getting out that this is the network to be a part of if you are interested in global theological education. We represent more than 80 countries and 200 organizations and training institutions. Worship is led by a lovely young Zimbabwean woman.

Conversations over meals and long coffee breaks are perhaps the most important part of the event. The selection at the Turkish buffet is overwhelming.

This morning we heard from a delegation representing 22 evangelical theological schools in Ukraine. They are all functioning as refugee centers these days and looking for ways to prepare Christian workers for the events around them. They worry about their faculties (without jobs) and their students, scattered in ministries they never anticipated. Sadly the the Euro-Asian Accrediting Association, a member of ICETE, has dissolved in the Ukrainian frustration with Russian schools and churches' failure to speak out against those who have instigated this war.

Click here, if you want to support these schools as they demonstrate the love of God to their neighbors in this terrible situation. Pray that they would know God's power and not be discouraged as the challenge is overwhelming.

These events always takes place in lovely hotels in the off season. 

"Off season" means better rates, but it also means it's too cool to take advantage of the water facilities of the resort even of it is a lot warmer than home. I love water slides although I fear most of my fellow conference-goers would be too dignified to join me anyway.

Istanbul

A quick travel turn-around. Covid postponements have stacked things up in 2022. We are in Turkey for meetings of the International Counsel for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE) with whom Steve is a senior consultant.

On layovers in Amsterdam I love to stop in the Rijksmuseum's exhibition space in the middle of the terminal. This time they featured 19th-c landscape art rather than the 16th- and 17th-c work they are so famous for.

We took only carry-on luggage this trip to avoid the baggage mess that has been such a problem in Amsterdam this summer for lack of baggage handlers.

Islam is on the rise in Turkey after decades of striving to be a secular country, which tended to define freedom of religion as freedom from religion. The city is full of mosques. We hear their calls to prayer from several directions, reminders to pray for this country.

Originally Constantinople, the Eastern capitol of the empire, Roman ruins are still scattered about the old parts of the city.

When we were here seven years ago for the same meetings, we skipped the Topkapi Palace since there was so much else to see. This time we lined up a tour via TripAdvisor. The towers at the first gate looked perfect for Rapunzel to let down her long golden hair.

The palace was home to the sultans from the 15th to the mid-19th centuries and was expanded and remodeled many times.

Like on the Danube, we found opulent ceilings.

This is the "family room" in the harem. Concubines served as maids to the wives, everyone competing to be recognized and desired by the sultan. Despite the opulence, it sounds like a miserable life to me.

The traditional tiles are most visible in the harem, the private family quarters. A common motif is Adam and Eve represented by the two trees in the center. Tulips, originally from Turkey, were common in the designs.

In my book Black Mountain, Teg travels to Istanbul. There she comments on the bean that the locals were accustomed to roast, grind and steep in hot water. "They made a strange dark beverage whose very aroma seemed to fill them with energy." In fact, coffee (from Ethiopia) didn't reach Turkey until about a decade after Teg's arrival in 1541, but I figured no one would mind a few liberties. This coffee roaster was in the palace kitchen museum.

See my regular blog for more about Teg's visit to Istanbul.

At the far end of the palace complex (which housed about 5000 people) were pleasure palaces overlooking the Bosporus and Sea of Marmare.

Looking north to the Bosporus with Europe on the left and Asia on the right. At one point the Ottoman Empire stretched from Vienna to Egypt over three continents.

Before returning to our hotel for naps, we enjoyed an outdoor lunch of Turkish meatballs (Steve) and mushroom screwers (LeAnne). And to think it is well below freezing at home right now.

Danube Cruise bonus: Ceilings

We are home, staring at our own plain white ceilings. I thought it would be fun to collect some of the more interesting ceilings we have seen in one place. The lighting made this one in Smetana Hall of the Municipal House in Prague one of my favorites. 

All of Municipal House was in the Art Nouveau style. This is the ceiling of the confectionary. I longed for a pastry and a cup of tea there.

The Egyptian room nearby was completely different.

Alphonse Mucha painted this dome in the Mayor's Hall above the main entrance of Municipal House ans designed all the rest of the decoration of the room.

The Spanish synagogue in Prague imitates a Moorish style popular at the beginning of the 20th century. In light of modern Moorish/Jewish relations, I found it rather ironic.

The Estates Opera House, Prague, where we saw Mozart's Cote Fan Tutti. (Hmm. Circles and ovals make great ceilings!) Here I was as entranced by the layers of balconies as I was the ceiling.

The vaulting of St. Vita Cathedral, Prague Castle.

Chapel of Mirrors in the National Library, Prague, with an organ Mozart played and an incredible young soprano.

Golden Hall in the Musikverein, Vienna. This one was a bit much for me.

Sala Terrena in the Mozart House, Vienna, where we heard the string quartet in early 18th-c dress.

St. Peter's, Vienna, where we heard the wonderful organ concert. I loved the soft colors.

These last three are in the very Hapsburg Museum of Fine Art in Vienna.

I think my favorite would be either the first in Smetana Hall (Prague) or St. Peter's, Vienna. How about you? (I am not considering replacing any of my plain white ceilings at home. Just sayin'.

Danube Cruise bonus: the boat

My daughter remonstrated with me for not showing more of the boat itself. Of course, we are already home and I can't go back and take pictures.

The Amadeus Queen was a lovely small boat, holding a little over 100. (At least, we 100 were the only passengers this voyage.) The rooms were a lot smaller than on our Iceland cruise, but perfectly adequate. (Our Iceland suite was over-the-top luxurious.)

A couple times, housekeeping left us little gifts.

Dining was four-course meals twice a day. You chose from a couple appetizer options and several main course options, including vegetarian. You could always pass, but portions were tiny and I loved trying things. The scale at home shows only a couple pounds gain, which hopefully will soon be gone.

What silverware to use? Oh, yeah, take from the outside and work your way in.

We spent a lot of time in the forward lounge.

That's where our 6 PM on-board concerts were just before dinner.

There was a smaller lounge in the back with a tiny pool, but from there you couldn't see where you were going, so I never sat there.

We met on the upper deck the night we left Budapest with the lights. I did a lot of walking there (between rain showers) on the last day. We went through several locks which sometimes included low bridges. I was instructed to sit down when we went under this one. The man at the front rail opted to duck.

The captain drives from this little building. When we passed under one of those bridges, it could be lowered so the roof was on level with the bar chairs.

I'm a geek who gets a kick out of long hallways.

Sorry I didn't take more pictures to specifically show the boat. Here is the website where you can find more. We would highly recommend this line as well as Earthbound Expeditions.

Danube Cruise Day 10: Cruising

The schedule for today (our last day) had a walking tour in Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart. The problem is that Salzburg is not on the Danube. It's a one-and-a-half hour (plus rest stop) bus ride from Linz. The boat would continue upstream to Passau, Germany, also a couple hours from Salzburg. 

And it was a dark drizzly day.

We've been to Salzburg before (albeit decades ago), so we and about 20 others opted to stay on the boat for a relaxing day. Very good decision. Although the rain held off for their walking tour, it rained during their free time in Salzburg and poured on the way to Passau, making a two-hour bus trip into a four-hour trip.

Meanwhile on the boat, we sat in the lounge, or walked on the upper deck between showers, and enjoyed mysterious views of the hills through the fog. I loved walking on the top with 360-degree views. The first time I went up (when no one else was there) it was all I could do not to twirl around and sing, "The hills are alive!" 

I got in my desired 10,000 steps just doing laps around the deck. We have done a lot of walking tours, but mostly rambling or gentle walking. It felt good to stretch my legs--almost like hiking on the bike path along the shore.

Here are some of my favorite pictures. They made me want to come home and watch the beginning of Sound of Music with all those shots of Austria.

This one was taken during lunch through the window with great drops of rain clinging to it, hence the blurs.

Our last on-board concert Michael and Natsuki played Mozart's Mirror Duet. That is the music on the horizontal music stand between them. They both start from the upper left hand corner from their perspective and play at the same time.

Here's what the music looks like.

It was delightful as was every one of our on-board concerts. The whole experience was beyond our expectations. We would definitely do a classical music oriented tour like this again.

Now we are home. We had to have our luggage outside the door by 4:30 AM Tuesday in order to make the 5 AM bus to Munich for our flight. A whole group of us said our good-byes at the airport, wondering if we will meet again on another music adventure.

Concert content:

October 24/Salzburg Day - Amadeus Queen

• Mozart: Mirror Duet for Two Violins
• JS Bach: Concerto in D minor for Two Violins