Today we
went to go see where Satan has his throne. We left Izmir early in the morning
and headed to Pergamum. The ancient city of Pergamum was located on top of hill
that over looked a great valley. From this valley, one could see the temple of
Pergamum from many miles away. On the top of the hill was the Trajan Temple,
dedicated to the Emperor. Here at Pergamum, the ruins were so were so well
crafted, it was stunning. The stones used to build this temple and a few of the
other building in the city were taken from the Mamorus Sea, near Istanbul, over
two hundred kilometers away! This is an unbelievable feat! The stones used for
the Acropolis in Athens were taken from a quarry sixteen kilometers away, which
was an amazing accomplishment, the dedication of the people of Pergamum to the
gods is really evident. Slightly down the hill was the temple of Zeus. The
ruins are no longer on site, but in a museum in Berlin, but the remains of the
foundation is still on site. This temple would have been massive, with an unbelievably
large alter dedicated to Zeus in it. This temple and alter could have been seen
throughout the valley. All the people living and traveling through the area
would have seen it and known about it. In the second chapter of the book of Revelations,
there is a letter to the church of Pergamum. In 2:13, Pergamum is said to be
the city where Satan lives and has his throne. The temple and alter to Zeus is
where Satan lives and his throne respectively. It was large symbol to the all
who passed by the prominence of the pagan gods, and the separation from the
true God that the people of Pergamum had. It was and interesting experience to
walk around the ruins of these temples with the words of Revelation on my mind.
We went
down the mountain to the ancient Asclepion, the ancient center of medicine for
the city and one of the first “hospitals” in the loose sense of the word. As we
entered the grounds, we passed an inscription that said “Death is not allowed
here.” A good saying for a place of healing, but really a bad saying because it
meant that they turned away those that they did not believe they could save. It
was interesting how much belief in the gods and mythological stories influence
this early practice of medicine. It was very interesting to find out that some
of the earliest forms of psychological treatment were performed here. It was
interesting to learn that those preforming the healing thought that comedy
shows, listening to music, and the sound of running water could all help in the
heling process. This caused them to build a theater and have streams flowing
through the complex. It was a very interesting site, especially sense I have
thought about going into the medical field myself.
We returned
to Izmir and found out that we had a surprise of a free afternoon. As a group
we walked through the Grand Bazaar. I was overwhelmed by the amount of people
and junk that was being sold. It seemed
that every other store was selling the same thing. One store would be selling
jewelry, probably knockoffs and low quality, the next would be selling a random
collection of knock off clothes, then there would be another jewelry store. I
was so surprised by the sheer volume of stuff and people in the tight streets.
My favorite sign of the Bazaar was “Genuine Fake Watches.” We continued to
explore the city, and got ice cream and walked down ot the sea. The coast line
was absolutely beautiful. There was a nice little park along the breakwater. It
was beautiful. It was nice just to be able to sit down, eat ice cream, and
relax in the sun by the sea. It was exactly what we all needed after five long
weeks of constant travel, learning and new experiences.
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