Istanbul or Constantinople?

As lovers of history, especially the period of the Roman civilizations, a few days in Turkey allowed us the chance to immerse ourselves in many ancient ruins including those of the Romans. In Istanbul, the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia had us craning our necks to take in the enormous heights of the intricately painted domes while the palaces of the Sultans left us awe struck with their mosaic tiles and Hereke rugs.





Cappadocia awarded us one of the most unique stops with its underground cave cities and fairy chimney rock formations which locals used as homes and monasteries. Our hotel transformed some of these formations into upscale “Flintstone’s Bedrock” rooms giving us the chance to put on our Fred & Wilma hats.





We managed to visit 5 of the 7 cities from the Revelation churches including a revisit to Ephesus, and while we enjoyed all of them, we were both most touched by Laodicea. The verse about God spitting out this city because of its lukewarmness kept playing in our minds as we strolled along the chariot rutted road where the Apostle Paul most likely walked before referencing these people in a letter to the Colossians.




Other highlights included looking at the different layers of the ancient city of Troy as well as paying our respects to the fallen soldiers from WWI at the Dardanelles. What better way for history to come alive than to visit the sights of the actual events!