In the Footsteps of Paul

We had a wonderful experience during the week before Easter—we walked in Paul’s footsteps in many cities near the Aegean. Some of the sites we visited are listed in the New Testament: Hierapolis, Leodicea, Miletos, and of course Ephesus. We also visited the massive ruins at Pergamon, Priene, and Aphrodisias. Turkey has about 3,000 ancient ruins, of which only 160 sites have been restored. Ephesus is the premiere Greco-Roman ruin of the ancient world, but there are many others nearly as large and in wonderful condition. Some ruins, like Aphrodisias, are not very frequently visited by tourists. We felt greatly blessed to wander around these amazing places.

It was a wonderful experience to walk the streets where Paul lived for two years and to stand on the stage of the theater (shown in the last picture) where the ancient Ephesians railed against him. The huge temple of Diana in Ephesus is no longer standing, except for a single pillar. We knew there were many Hitite and other ancient ruins in Turkey, but we were amazed at the number of beautiful Greek and Roman ruins here, too. We were grateful to receive permission for this inspiring trip! We're grateful Senior Missionaries have some free time and the opporunity to visit some not-too-distant places. Turkey is wonderful!