Day 5:  Nyssa, Nevsehir, Cappadocia, and Gorem and Zelve Valleys

After spending the night in a hotel shaped like the cave houses we visited today, we traveled in the footsteps of St. Basil the Great and his brother Gregory of Nanzieanzan, which was so appropriate.  Cappadocia is a beautiful area in Turkey where Christianity had a stronghold until 1924 when Christians were forced to relocate.  It has been very difficult today walking in and around these areas, which were among the first to have the Faith, and now are so desolately empty without Christianity.  This whole area is famous because ancient people carved their homes into the porous volcanic rock, which is all over the valleys and makes for impressive geologic formations.  We started our day by celebrating Mass at the only cave church in which any kind of worship was allowed in, the Church of St. Mary, out of more than 3650 cave churches in the area.  The carved decorations on the inside are said to be from the 7^th century. 

Then we traveled to the Gorem Valley which has over 365 cave churches. we saw 4 of them and the large 7 story monastery that was there.  The beauty of these churches was overwhelming.  The frescoes appeared to have been painted yesterday -- what was left of them -- and the spirit of Christianity echoed in what is now a place of tourism.  The most impressive in my opinion was the Apple Church, so named because of the nearby apple orchards.  The inside was decorated with glorious frescoes of the apostles, prophets, and what was left of Theotokos (literally, “God-bearer,” refers to the Madonna with Child).  It has been very difficult for all of us to see these dead churches, as they have no one to worship in them, only visitors who gawk and stare of days gone by. 

From there we traveled a very short distance to the mostly residential caves of the Zelve Valley.  Here we saw what was left of the Church of the Deer, “As a deer longs for running streams so my soul longs for you, O my God.”  This area was hit very hard by the iconoclasts and the Churches in the Zelve Valley have only pictures of animals and decoration.  (Iconoclasm was a heresy in the 8^th and 9^th centuries in which people smashed pictures and images of Christ and other religious depictions.)  We looked at a church which is now a mosque and saw yet another monastery.  Many of the guys went through a tunnel that connected valley 1 and 2 of the Zelve, the tunnel is not lighted and they spent about 5 mins in the dark before coming through to the Light.  From here we went and ate and sat again on the bus for a very long bus ride, between naps and jokes Fr. Peter Damien tried to lecture about what we had seen and some shared reflections on the day.  We pulled into our hotel in Konya for a well-deserved rest and good night.

Day 6:  Antioch in Pisidia

The night in Konya has been the hardest so far.  Since it is winter here the people use coal to heat their homes, and business and the smell of diesel fuel and coal filled the hazy air.  We literally could not see more than a few city blocks in front of the bus because of the smog and lack of wind. 

We began this morning on our way to Antioch in Pisidia, the site of Paul’s first recorded preaching and also the home of the Whirling Dervishes religious sect.  This Mosque with the blue tiled dome was interesting, but I wish we could have seen the Sufis dance.  They spin around, with one raised hand believing that in it they receive God’s love, and their other hand is extended, believing that it spreads the Love of the God to the world.  I personally wasn’t that interested in the museum, but it was interesting to see.

After this stop we headed to Antioch of Pisidia.  When we arrived we were amazed at the sight that lay before us.  Paved streets, columns and roman shops, and a reasonably well-preserved amphitheater to boot.  We made our way the Basilica of St. Paul where we celebrated Mass.  It was built in fifth century on the sight of an older synagogue that he preached in, and the first named for St. Paul.  It was cold, and I don’t mean a little cold… it was freezing!  As mass began the wind picked up and we all froze, especially Fr. Peter Damien who was celebrating mass and couldn’t wear his coat under his vestments.  There is not much left of the Church here, just some of the outer walls of the apse, and parts of the portico.  It is so very striking to think that Paul walked these very stones and listened to the shopkeepers hawk their wares, and here we were standing there.  Today several of us were late returning to the bus because our guide, Orhan, forgot to give us a return to the bus time and 10 or 15 of us were caught up walking the streets and touching the ancient stones and just visiting and reflecting. 

Next we had a wonderful lunch of salad, fish, and ice cream in a building reminiscent of the 12^th century version of camel rest stops on a trade route that went all the way to China.  They were built to hold caravans for the night.  I guess that every  group has its quirks and private jokes so I won’t tell you who we threatened to leave as a tip for a meal, or who we have tried to sell to every little kid that offered us flowers.  Needless to say spirits are high and we are really enjoying each others company.  Everyone seems to be doing well, despite a few cases of a stomach bug, and we have finally readjusted from the jet lag.  So far, so good.

Day 7:  Perga, Aspendos, Antalya

We began today with an early morning mass and went to Perga, the third largest ancient site in Turkey.  It was tremendous.  The site had the street and an agora, or market place, reconstructed and part of the main fountain.  We posed on the fountain as the picture showed the original statues would have been.  We walked the streets and looked at the ancient mosaics and met some of the children and their mothers who were selling handicrafts.  We then went to eat our lunch kabobs, grilled fish, or a casserole.  After lunch a kid was playing soccer and Fr. Peter Damien decided he should play as well.  Father won, but we think it was by scaring the poor boy silly. 

And then it was on to the best preserved amphitheater in Turkey: Aspendos.  The acoustics are so good that you can be heard at the top of the seating area from the bottom were the stage was.  It is I, Tony, who sang a song and was asked for an encore.  No really, it’s the truth.  Fr. McIlhone has a recording.  The amphitheater is used every summer for live classical music concerts and no change in the seating is required. 

From here we went to the Museum of Antalya.  Housed inside are many of the reconstructed statues from Perga and the theater of Aspendos, in addition they have a collection of Icons..  They are spectacular.  We spent a lot of time here.  It must be lonely to be an icon with no home, to be reduced to being simply a work of art.  The surprising thing about the museum is that throughout the descriptions it would refer to pieces of art “stolen” by museums in the United States, or that this piece was “liberated” from its “captivity” in a museum in the US.  I found it strange.  But the piece that effected us the most I think was the bas relief in marble of the Archangel Gabriel.  Although it wasn’t completely intact, it was a beautiful work of art that spoke to the Christian presence that is no longer felt here.  From here it was back to the hotel for some relaxation and an evening off.  Today is Joe’s Birthday and we are celebrating it tonight.  Several of us decided to go for a swim in the Mediterranean; we discovered why no one else was.  It was very cold – and I mean very cold.  Other tourists who were swimming were doing so in wet suits, but we had to swim in the sea and drank of the water and froze ourselves in the process.  Until my next turn, Ciao.

          -- Tony.