Turkey/Greece Trip May 18, 2025 - Istanbul
Today is the first official day of our Biblical studies program. We started at the Roman hippodrome which is now a long public park like area. Three major monuments that remain from the time Constantine completed the hippodrome in 330 AD are an Egyptian obelisk, a masonry obelisk, and the bronze serpentine column that dates to 479 BC. Constantine brought the column from Delphi Greece.
Topkopi Palace was next on the agenda. It was the first Ottoman palace built by Mehmet the conqueror in 1459 after the Roman Empire fell. It has been repaired / refurbished / expanded many times in many eras. In the first courtyard is the Hagia Irene (Holy Peace), built around the same time as the Hagia Sophia. The only Byzantine church in Istanbul that has never been a mosque. The second ecumenical counsel was held here in 381 AD
After a brief visit to the Archeological Museum (70% of which is closed for renovation) we ended the day with a boat ride on the Bosporus - a 20 mile long strait that separates Europe from Asia. The sun was out and boat traffic was wild due to this being a holiday weekend in Turkey. The harbor was a crazy chaos of music / ship horns / thousands of people / call to prayers from all of the massive mosques near the harbor and the relentless auto traffic.
5am drive to the airport tomorrow for a flight to Cappadocia where we will study the area the Apostle Peter visited and mentions in his letters.
Have a blessed week! PB, Margery and Jacob
Istanbul Hippodrome: Walled Obelisk
