Byzantine Travel Journal: Epilogue

Well, we are back home, and this Byzantine journey is completed. Each place we went, at one time, was part of the Byzantine Empire (with perhaps the exception of Odessa), a Christian empire that abided for 1,120 years, and, as the kingdom of God should do, brought the gospel to pagan lands, redeemed and elevated culture and left a residue of churches as evidence of the faith of the people who resided and still reside there today.

Since this is my last entry of this travel journal and I like lists, I wanted to rank the places we visited in order of preference. We enjoyed every port and that a place is listed near the bottom here is not a suggestion it’s not a great place to visit. It’s just that some places are “more great” than others.

Theodosian Wall, Istanbul

1. Istanbul, Turkey. We spent 4 days touring and as much as we saw I think we could have spent 4 more days and still not seen everything. Hagia Sophia, the Theodosian Wall and an unplanned visit to Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, were highlights.

2. Athens, Greece. Walking the path of the Apostle Paul from the Ancient Agora up to the Areopagus and standing where he delivered his Mars Hill sermon was inspiring. The visit to the Byzantine & Christian Museum at the end of the day was a fitting end to the trip.

3. Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey. Walking through these extensive ruins gives one a great feel for what Apostles Paul and John would have seen in the first century. The tomb of John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” was also a highlight.

Areopagus, Athens

4. Cappadocia, Turkey. This has to be one of the strangest most fascinating places on earth. The frescos in caves inhabited by first century, and later Byzantine, Christians add the substance of history to the esthetic beauty of this place.

5. Sevastopol, Ukraine. The visit to Chersonesos where Vladimir I was baptized bumped Sevastopol up the list a few notches.

6. Nessebar, Bulgaria. There are a number of Byzantine era churches on this little peninsula, which, combined with interesting shops and restaurants, made this a wonderful day trip.

7. Odessa, Ukraine. Beautiful period architecture. We enjoyed the old city and Architectural Museum but would have enjoyed the museum more with air conditioning.

The Theatre, Ephesus

8. Volos, Greece. We didn’t get to visit the actual city of Volos, which may have been very nice. Meteora was fascinating (Byzantine monasteries on top of mountains), but we had to drive 2 hours to get there and that is all we saw in an 8-hour day.

9. Yalta, Ukraine. The scenery is terrific and the Yalta boardwalk is wonderful, but when you have temperatures of 95-100 degrees, the dearth of air conditioning detracts from the experience for us pampered Westerners. Old guys treading the boardwalk in nothing but Speedos and flip-flops is also a negative. Not a Kodak moment. That said, there is a huge potential in Yalta for Western tourism. GS

Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 16 (Athens)

From Areopagus looking to Parthenon

Today was a stellar day, which is unusual for last days of vacations. We tried to book a private tour guide for Athens because there was so much we wanted to see and only had the day. However, it was a religious holiday, and tour guides were scarce. As a result, it was going to cost us $650 for a guide and car service. So we decided to go it alone.

As it turned out, we saw everything we wanted to see, and, because it was a religious holiday, admission to every museum and site was free. We were able to walk everywhere, enjoyed a long lunch, wonderful lunch and did it all between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. It helps to have a wife who is a saint. She didn’t feel well all day but rather than sit it out in the hotel she came out and hung in there all day. We are both glad she did because we shared one of the great tourist days of our lives together.

Here was our itinerary: the Plaka and Monastiraki, Hadrian’s Library, Roman Aerides Market, Ancient Agora, Museum of Ancient Agora, Areopagus, Acropolis, Parthenon, lunch, Floumoussou Etairias Square (shopping), Hadrian’s Arch, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the National Garden, Byzantine & Christian Museum.

There were three highlights today. First was recreating Acts 17:16-34 by walking from the Ancient Agora (marketplace) up the path to the Areopagus and then walking up on to the Areopagus. The trip takes 15-20 minutes, which means Paul would have had some time to think about what he was going to say when he got there.

Parthenon, Athens, Greece

When he got there Paul didn’t just preach Jesus, he told these justices God did not dwell in temples made by man, a direct insult to their pagan religion.  As Paul was telling them this, they would have been able to look right up and see the Parthenon—their most cherished pagan temple. It was pretty gutsy of Paul to say such things to the men who had the power to put him to death.

I took a picture looking up to the Parthenon from the top of the Areopagus so you could get the idea of the view the justices would have had while Paul was saying these things about their pagan religion. This is the sort of thing you realize when you see a place instead of just read about it. It’s a great reason to travel.

The second highlight was they Byzantine & Christian Museum. If there is a better museum in the world covering Byzantine life and art I can’t imagine what it is. If you have any interest in the Byzantines, this museum is a must-see.

The third and most important highlight was being able to share this day with my best friend and love-of-my-life. Most great things are better shared, and that is certainly true of travel. It’s even better when that person is learned, fun and loves Jesus, all of which is true of my wife. GS

Ancient Agora, Athens
Path from Agora to Areopagus

Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 15 (Ephesus)

2010 © Gregory Scott

My first reaction to Ephesus was one of surprise over the expanse of the ruins and the size of the city. The pictures I took don’t accurately show the size, nor do other pictures I’d seen before coming here.

Ephesus was the second largest city in the world in the 1st century A.D. Only Rome was larger. The population of Ephesus at that time was about 250,000. Additionally, Ephesus was located on the Aegean Sea and was a busy port city. It was a New York City, Los Angeles, London of its day. It was no ordinary city.

The Apostle Paul chose to spend 3 years of his ministry here in Ephesus.  When he got there he entered the synagogue and spent three months “reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 19:8). Paul was intent on taking the Gospel to the whole world and yet he ended up parking it here for three years.

2010 © Gregory Scott

John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”, chose to live here, and he died here. This is a photograph of his tomb.

I believe Paul and John chose Ephesus because they were strategic. They chose one of the largest cities in the world with one of the busiest ports in the world because there the kingdom of God had the best opportunity for growth. More people, more opportunity for the Gospel to spread.

As you can see from the photograph, the theater is huge. It held 44,000 people. I’m not sure we have any hard evidence that John or Paul preached there (although I heard some tour guides saying that today), but I believe it is likely. Paul and John were evangelistic. Paul was always looking for a good crowd to which to preach the Gospel.

What I took away from my visit to Ephesus was an appreciation for how strategic God is. We over-spiritualize so many things. The flag of the kingdom of God was planted in an empire famous for building roads and establishing trade routes throughout the known world. Those roads and trade routes would become the means by which the Gospel would spread throughout the world.

The tomb the disciple John (author of the gospel and Revelation) in Ephesus was also a highlight. Justinian built a beautiful church around John’s tomb in the 6th century. The church sits on the highest point in the area looking down over the ruins below of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Every time one looked down from the church in the 6th century one would have been reminded of Christianity’s victory over paganism in the Roman Empire. It is still a reminder today that while paganism has seen its death, the kingdom of God continues to spread throughout the world as people continue to turn to and worship King Jesus. GS

Ancient Agora (Marketplace), Ephesus
View from Church of St. John to ruins of Temple of Artemis (lone column in distance)

Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 13 (Volos)

2010 © Gregory Scott

Today we made our first stop in Greece.  Volos, Greece.  We didn’t stay there long but instead hopped on a bus early in the morning and headed 2 hours into the interior of Greece to a place called Meteora.

The Greek countryside, at least the part we saw, is abundantly populated with mountains separated by large flat plains, carved up into geometrically portioned plots that are cultivated with various crops. There is very little wasted land, though the people one would expect were necessary to work the land seemed scarce.

The absence of people living in the country surprised me because I thought, apparently wrongly, that a people with such a long and rich history of advanced civilization (3,000 years) would have densely populated the country by now. It was only later I learned the population of Greece is only about 11,000,000 and that one third live in Athens.

Meteora is a group of monasteries built precariously on the top of mountains. I don’t know whether to call them mountains or rocks because their odd shapes resemble large stone stakes driven into the ground. The monasteries are perched on top of them.

2010 © Gregory Scott

The pictures I took really do not do them justice; one can’t appreciate the height of the mountains or the precariousness of the structures on top of them. I’ve provided links to other photos that are actually better.

Photos inside the churches were not allowed, although some tourists took that more as a suggestion than a prohibition. I’d blame it on a language barrier except that a drawing of a camera with an X marked over it pretty much communicates the idea in any language.

In any event, I can only describe for you the ornate carvings and paintings that covered every square inch of the walls and ceilings. Of the churches we’ve seen on this trip, the paintings in these two basilicas (the basilicas at St. Stephen and St. Barbara) were unique in their emphasis on and graphic depiction of the fate of Christian martyrs.

The paintings portrayed torture, dismemberment and beheadings of Christians throughout history in a graphic, gory detail that leaves a clear imprint on one’s mind and imagination.  I suspect this was the intent. I’ve always wondered why American clergy don’t remind their congregations more of the sacrifices of the martyrs. Their sacrifice has done more to advance the kingdom of God on earth than a multitude of sermons and teachings. GS

Byzantine Travel Journal: Day 12 (Bosphorus Strait)

2010 © Gregory Scott

This morning we reentered the Bosphorus at its northern-most point, where it meets the Black Sea. The rest of the day we cruised down the Bosphorus Strait, past Rumeli Castle, the Golden Horn and Istanbul, through the Sea of Marmara and into the Dardanelles. As the sun was setting, we entered the Aegean Sea.

The castles we passed at the entrance to the Bosphorus, as we neared Istanbul, and as we exited the Dardanelles whispered tales of past battles and sieges.

There is the tale of the Fourth Crusade, on its surface one of the most bizarre twists in history, where the Crusaders left home intending to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem and in 1204 A.D. conquered Christian Constantinople instead.

It started when the Crusaders were unable to pay the Venetians for ships Venetians built for the Crusader’s journey.  To resolve their debt, the Crusaders agreed to help retake a city formerly held by the Venetians. That led to the Crusaders agreeing to help put recently deposed Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelus back on the throne in Constantinople.  In exchange the Crusaders were promised money and men to help fight the Muslims in Jerusalem, as well as an agreement to reunite the Eastern Church with Rome (under Papal authority).

Isaac and his son Alexius were reinstalled on the throne.  However, when Alexius could not keep his promise to pay the Crusaders, they took Constantinople by force and ruled there from 1204 A.D. to 1261 A.D, when the Byzantines regained control of the city.

Then was the siege of Constantinople in 1453, when Mehmet II breached the walls, ending over 1,100 years of Byzantine rule and bringing the city under Muslim rule. The last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI, could have fled Constantinople before the siege. By that time, many had already left anticipating the arrival of the Ottoman Turks.

But Constantine stayed, and was last seen up on the walls fighting the Muslim invaders, where he presumably died.  His choice of a courageous death over an expedient exit is a fitting symbol for the closing chapter of the great city of Constantinople.

2010 © Gregory Scott

By 1915, the Ottoman Turks still held the Bosphorus and the adjacent lands, though their empire was crumbling. The allied forces of Great Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand decided to attack the Turks at the Gallipoli peninsula (2nd photograph) in the Dardenelles in the hopes of taking control of the Bosphorus and opening up a route for the Russians to maneuver their navy out of the Black Sea.

The Gallipoli campaign was fought at a tremendous loss of life on both sides. It quickly devolved into trench warfare. In ten months of fighting, more than 100,000 men were killed and 200,000 were wounded. The allies, realizing the futility of the battle, eventually withdrew from the peninsula.

Though the Turks won the battle, they were on the losing side of the war, which delivered the deciding blow to the Ottoman Empire. One of the Turkish heroes of Gallipoli, Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk), would become the founder of Turkey and, in an attempt to break with the Ottoman past, move the capital to Ankara from Istanbul.

2010 © Gregory Scott

I’m often surprised at the hawkishness of my Christian friends. Perhaps it’s just an American thing. But, if one of the promises of the kingdom of God is the end of war (Isaiah 2:4), I would think Christians should be slow to counsel war. I’m not arguing for pacifism. Pacifism is a naïve response to a fallen world.

And, when Christians are engaged in warfare, they should be known as the bravest among men, given the eternal benefits of Kingdom citizenship. I’m just suggesting that as citizens of the kingdom of God, perhaps we should be more often confused with pacifists than hawks. GS