Experience Turkey 2015: Spring Break Trip

I had a break from school from March 14-21 for a spring break. After much deliberation on where to go, I settled on having a personal adventure to travel by myself to the Greek islands of Patmos (where St. John was exiled and wrote the Book of Revelation), Rhodes (where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world), and Kos (where Hippocrates was born and raised). To get to these islands I needed to fly to Bodrum, Turkey and take a ferry from there, which is fine as Bodrum was one of the places in Turkey that I wanted to go. It is where the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus used to be, which is one of the 7 Wonders of the ancient world. I guess this trip is centered around ancient places, including two of the 7 Wonders of the ancient world with a portion of the Bible mixed in.

The Marina of Bodrum

I left on Saturday morning and had all of Saturday to tour Bodrum. It is right on the water with a huge harbor hosting many different boats, yachts, ferries, fishing boats, tour boats, etc. There is a huge variety of restaurants right on the marina as well. I was able to find the Mausoleum very easily as the city has put up signs to direct tourists to the major attractions. I was in awe upon arriving to the Mausoleum. It has always been my dream to visit the places where the 7 wonders of the ancient world once stood. This was my first Wonder to see, and so I was a bit overwhelmed with excitement. The entire outline of the building is still well intact and you are allowed to climb down and wander among the ruins of the Mausoleum. This allows you to get a better view of the burial chamber where king Mausolus' ashes would have been kept. They also had an adjoining museum that held the remaining pieces of the Mausoleum, including some of the relief work with carvings showing hunts and famous battles.

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

Some of the existing sculptures that would have been all around the mausoleum.

The burial chamber of Mausolus.

I then ventured to find the large theater that overlooks the town of Bodrum. In pictures, these theaters always look large, but to see them in person really gives you an idea of just how many people once sat in these seats watching plays. It also provides a wonderful view of the marina and St. Peter's castle. While standing in the middle, reciting my confirmation verse (Romans 8:38-39), I could hear my voice echo and carry itself over the empty rows. The "S" sound especially traveled around for a while before echoing back to me. I was amazed at how the architects could accomplish these great acoustics when now, even with our great technology, we still build music halls that have horrible acoustics. Maybe we should all just perform our concerts in these ancient theaters.

Next I found the remaining gate into the ancient town of Halicarnassus built by Mausolus. While I was taking pictures, locals would walk through the gate to and from their various activities. It always amazes me to see the local people interact with these ancient sites and see that they still use the ruins for the exact same purpose that they were designed to be used. To live in such a historical place would be amazing!

Lastly, I went to the Castle of St. Peter located right on the harbor. It was built over the course of many years by knights from different countries and finally was conquered by the Ottomans. It was damaged during WWI, but was restored and is now used as a museum for sunken ships found throughout the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. It contains the oldest known shipwreck dating from the Bronze Period, which had a coin with Nefertiti's inscription on it from Egypt along with pottery and jewelry. I believe that it is one of the only coins that remain with Nefertiti's name on it, because after her and her husband, Akhenaten, ruled, people tried to completely erase them from Egyptian history as they introduced the idea of one god instead of many gods. So it's amazing that we found a coin in the Mediterranean with her name on it. The museum is quite incredible and the castle is stunning. It has a dungeon that you could venture into as well as just exploring all the nooks throughout the castle. Just wandering about the castle feels like you are a knight defending the city from attacks.