Day 3: Pergamum

 The acropolis of Pergemum (modern Bergama) is a long way up, to say the least. Too steep for our bus, so we all piled into taxis. We had taken jackets, but the sun was hot.

The ruins of the Roman citadel were stunning.

The autumn leaves made a lovely accent.

A German tourist asked me to take his picture--after he climbed on to the top of this arch. I did NOT ask him to return the favor.

The site is known for this theater.

My perch on the top row gave new insight into the expression "the nose-bleed section." (A stumble would have caused bleeding from a lot more than just my nose!) One of our colleagues climbed down to the stage area. We could hear him quite clearly even when he spoke without raising his voice. When the call to prayer began, it reverberated from every direction of the valley, a reminder to pray for this land.

Having climbed to the top row, I didn't relish the idea of climbing back down to the middle aisle where we had entered without a railing, so I tried this tunnel behind.

Here's where it came out at the top.

The ancient city of Pergamum overflowed the citadel and filled the steep hillside. In the valley below, this Roman temple of Isis (called the Red Hall) is being restored. A church was built in the courtyard in the fourth century. Although we have seen churches in each of the seven cities, the churches to whom St. John wrote were people. Church buidings weren't legal before Constantine in the fourth century. And when they were legal, the temples no longer were.

This rotunda beside the Red Hall was not part of the tour, but we poked our noses inside and it was cool--literally on this hot day.

Lunch was at a carpet making co-op just outside of town. We sat on carpet-drapped benches and ate wonderful bread with cheese and some kind of meat spread while they showed us their wares--cotton, wool and silk in different patterns from every village. I told Steve he was lucky we didn't still live in Indianapolis or I would have spent several thousand dollars. He promised me years ago that we could tear up the carpeting and refinish the hardwood floors when I finished the needlepoint chair covers for the dining room. Except by the time I finished, we had sold the house and moved to Birch Island. Hmm. The carpeting at BI is approaching twenty years old...

We did stop to pray for France on this terrible day. Our flight home is through Paris. Hopefully there will not be travel problems by then.