Early morning slumber this morning was punctuated by squeals
and screams as fellow pilgrims Steve, Amy and Emma braved the cold waters of the
Dardanelles for an early morning dip. As the average sea temperature in Turkey
in April is only 10 degrees C, I imagine it was very cold. Putting my hand in
later was cold enough. Up, and off to a very interesting breakfast of cucumbers,
olives and tomatoes with cheese and bread. The only cereal in site was
something that vaguely resembled cocopops, and the tea… hmmmm well the less
said about that the better. Thank heavens for bottled water on the bus, which
we boarded after a quick pilgrim wi fi fix, destination Alexandria Troas.
There was very little to actually see at this site after we
had wound down a very narrow windy road, escorted by motor cycling security, in
fact of all the sites we had visited it looked the most limited, except for
some very beautiful poppies and daisy field flowers scattered everywhere
through the ruins. This had been the place that Paul had “escaped” to after he
caused such a stir in Ephesus and was imprisoned. It was high up on an escarpment
overlooking the sea…pretty but???
As this was the venue for Mass we literally joined the ants
and pulled up a hunk of rock for the celebration. Sam’s preaching today on
sonship was a bit of a struggle for the feminist consciousness in the
congregation, but it did not spoil the beautiful outdoor celebration shared with
the local wildlife, all of God’s creation especially the ants and the bees.
After Mass, Aret gave us a rundown on the town and I have to say our initial
understated response took on a whole new meaning. This had been a settlement
founded in 3rd century BCE in honour of Alexander the Great. It was
a flourishing city, bigger than Ephesus and the spot where we had Mass was
actually the temple to the goddess Athena. Apparently this ancient city also
fell into disrepair and disuse due to a receding harbour, discovered as a
result of most recent archaeological findings, although earlier tales had said
that it may have been an earthquake. Estimates say that if they managed to
excavate the entire site that it would take over 1000 years and it would reach
all the way down to the ocean. At one stage Aret placed a leaf from the ground on one of the excavated carvings and the leaf pattern matched the live leaf exactly. Makes the artisans pretty amazing and says something about the lack of speed of evolution I guess. So all in all it is a very impressive historical excavation
and one which we were fortunate enough to experience on our own.
Our second stop, via a very strange Bay Bayan at a Turkish
bathhouse, was Assos. We looked up toward the acropolis of Assos and saw the
remnants of a temple, again to the goddess Athena. The route to the acropolis
was lined with tiny village shops with shopkeepers plying their trade in handknitted scarves and the like. It had a very authentic country feel. The hill
was an enormous gradient, covered in very uneven cobblestones and there was the
option to catch a ride to the top or to walk. I owned the fact that it would
not have been kind to my knees and ankles and caught a ride up to the top. So glad
I did - the ankle is really struggling today. At the top the vista was amazing.
Unfortunately overcast had fallen a little and we could not see as far as we
had hoped, but I understand why the ancients built temples to the Gods in these
places and I also understand why this may have been a pivotal point in Paul’s journey.
Acts record that he was to meet Luke here, and rather than going by sea he went
by road… some road!
The final stop of the day was at Troja otherwise known as Troy...
home of the Trojan horse and Helen of Troy. There is not a great deal of
evidence exposed at the site, but what is exposed indicated that the settlement
in the area dates back to 3000BCE. Amazing. Now the whole Trojan Horse thing is
probably a total exaggeration, perhaps the stuff of myth, but it was certainly
fun watching people climbing into it and having a photoshoot. What was fantastic
was the evidence of the 9 different layers of troy, corresponding to
effectively 9 different cities and the carbon dating that has been undertaken
to determine the ages of the various levels.
It had been another long day and as we snoozed lightly on
the way back to the hotel for dinner, we knew that there would be no crashing
into bed tonight. Bags needed to be down stairs at 9.30 for a 10.30pm departure.
Destination ANZAC COVE, but more about that tomorrow.
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