To Cannakale Sept 23
We left Izmir and started our next leg of the journey. We travelled around the gulf of Izmir and on parellel to the Aegean Sea as we travel north. We continue through fertile lands for 150 miles and Ziya talks to us about marriages in Turkey.
Our first stop along the way was at Pergamon Acropolis. Named for Pergamom, the grandson of the legendary founder of Troy.
Pergamon was an important place in the ancient times. It was the treasury center, also center of arts and intellectuals. Parchment was invented here – thus the name Pergamon on good parchment paper today.
Christianity found a home here. The Egyptian gods Serapes and Isis converted to Christianity and the gospel was preached in the temples which were converted to churches. They were occupied until the 6th Century.
Pergamon shows the remains of a very large library. It is claimed to have had 200,000 scrolls (and the first parchment books). Mark Anthony later took all the library books to give to Cleopatra and over the ages every book has been lost – none remain.
The platform for the Temple of Zeus is also here but years ago the actual statue was taken to Berlin and is in a museum there.
There are bits of the temple to Trajan and also Hadrian. A large theatre is embedded into the side hill. It was capable of seating 8000 people. That odd perspective photo is the theatre seating from the top.
From here it was 50 miles to Philadelphia.
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