Knitting Rebels

Recently we were in Trier, Germany (more on that someday) and here is something that we encountered:

Yes, it is exactly what it looks like: some hoodlum knitted an accessory for this statue and committed this act of vandalism.

Not just one statue, but several.

Random acts of knitting?? I’m told it is called Guerilla Knitting and there is no telling how far it could go.

Perhaps an entire tree covered with a knit sweater?!? Please, contact your local authorities before this gets out of hand!!

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Still Smiling in Smyrna

 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days.  Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.”

Sometime during day 5 of our Turkish adventure I stopped and thought, “Wow! None of my ‘worst case scenarios’ have come to pass!” I have been accused of having some paranoid leanings (but as I like to say – it is not paranoia if it is a legitimate fear) and before the trip I used God’s great gift of imagination to consider all that could go wrong. Top of the list were horrible stomach flu, broken bones, and subsequent trips to the emergency room. It almost drove me to purchase trip insurance but I decided to hedge my bets and save my money.

Anyhow, on day 5 we were in Smyrna and the whole family was happy and healthy! The weather was still perfect and the scenery was still wowing us all.

Smyrna was another site right in the middle of a city. It is surrounded by homes and businesses. Smyrna was one of the few sites where we weren’t the only visitors – there were several groups of children, presumably on a school field trip. (The other exception was Ephesus, which was crazy crowded.)

Smyrna was a fairly populous and prosperous city. The area that was excavated was likely the state Agora, which was a meeting place for the residents of the city. There was a place for shops and also a basilica. However, this basilica was not a building of religious significance but probably a building of political importance.

The Agora water fountain was still running.

An earthquake destroyed the city in the 2nd century AD. In the years since then the land was used for a cemetery and later for houses. These are some of the tombstones; others were considered to be of artistic value – it is easy to see that – and were put in a museum.

This carving was quite exquisite also.

It is likely that Paul started a church here because it was along a trade route and the gospel could easily spread from this area. Some “graffiti” with Christian messages was found during the excavation. From the message in Revelation it is clear that life wasn’t always going to be easy for the Christian church, but they had the promise of the victor’s crown.

 

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Magic Carpet Sales Pitch

Turkish rugs are in the same category as Polish pottery, German cuckoo clocks, and French croissants - a perfect souvenir from European travels. Bergamos, Turkey is the center of rug manufacturing so after we were finished seeing the Acropolis we went to a rug center. I was going to call it a factory, but that makes it sounds like it was some kind of noisy, dirty industrial complex, which it was not. Instead it was a place to demonstrate and educate tourists on the art of producing carpets and by the way, there were plenty of opportunities for purchase too.

 

First step in carpet production: these little guys. They’re eating mulberry leaves by the bushel so that they can build little cocoon homes and take a little metamorphic nap.

 

Then when they’ve vacated the premises some real estate investors come in, grab the properties, and flip them into something more useful – long strands of silk thread. Please note: no silkworms are harmed in the production of this thread. (Or so we were told…)

Making carpets is somewhat of a cottage industry. Carpet companies hire locals (probably mostly women) who do this in their homes.

 

We were invited to try it out for ourselves. The process is pretty simple – just take the thread and tie it onto the threads in back. When after a few rows are done trim them with scissors so they’re all the same length. It’s pretty much like the latch hook rug of a basset hound I made in 5th grade with slightly better materials and a more classic design.

After the how-to seminar was over, the real sales pitch demonstration began. We were wined and dined (really…the drink options were wine or apple tea, and we had local cheese and pide, which is commonly known as Turkish Pizza) while we heard about the virtures of Turkish carpets and the differences between wool and silk and cotton.

Release the hounds salesmen! The carpets were beautiful, and they had hundreds to choose from. After a bit of debate we did get a small carpet. Small as in bigger than a doormat but not by much. I couldn’t justify spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on something that we would walk on. I was assured that they were made for walking on and they would last for many, many years. That may be true, but a child with a glass of red kool-aid could do some pretty serious damage in a split second, especially since there was no mention of Dupont Stainmaster.

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Erdbeeren Season

We now interrupt this Turkey Travelogue to present a super-yummy recipe…

So I am WAY behind on blogging. Our trip to Turkey was more than a month ago and I’m not done posting about that, and since then we’ve been to Wittenburg, Disneyland and Berlin and have had the usual local adventures (both good and bad.) However, sometimes you’ve just got to stop and smell the roses and eat the strawberries, or whatever else is perfectly delicious, locally grown and at its agricultural peak.

This is one of those times. This season’s strawberries are out of this world and they are for sale all over town.

This is my favorite recipe for strawberries. Pair this with Breyer’s vanilla ice cream and juicy-sweet homegrown berries and it’s a little bit of perfection. Note: this is a traditional shortcake – dense and biscuit-y with just a little bit touch of sugar. No fluffy sponge cake here! This recipe came from my mother-in-law and I’ve made it many, many times but she still makes it best.

Shortcake

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar

3 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease an 8x8x2″ pan. In a mixing bowl, sift dry ingredients together. With a pastry blender, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in milk all at once. Mix with a fork until flour is moistened. (Resist the temptation to add more milk! I promise 3/4 cup is enough!) Spoon dough into pan and press with fingers to fit. Sprinkle the top with sugar.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden.

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Pergamos, Part I (I hope!)

To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live – where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city – where Satan lives.

Nevertheless, I have a few things against you. You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. Likewise you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolations. Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.

Pergamos is also known as Pergamum or Bergama. Our guide commented that although the site itself is nice, the locals aren’t doing much to encourage visitors – namely with high entrance fees and sub-standard hotel options. (Wi-fi only available in the lobby? Egads!)

The site has two locations. The lower part is the former site of the Asclepion Healing Center.  The upper part was the Acropolis.

The healing center was renowned in its time for medical care for all sorts of ailments. This sanctuary gave people the opportunity to bathe in a sacred spring for its healing powers. Medical experts also helped people work through their personal issues by acting them out on a large stage, for a small fee, of course. If they didn’t receive complete healing they were encouraged to make a larger contribution to the sanctuary for better care. Many who were healed made sacrifices in thanksgiving.

People also used these tunnels to work through their issues. And I thought the healthcare maze in the U.S. was maddening! Sometimes voices would direct them to tasks needed for healing, such as monetary contributions. Perhaps that is more effective than direct mail campaigns or telemarketing.

 

There were many snake motifs carved on the stones here. This is because just as in modern times, the symbol for the medical arts is the snake.

We did not see any real snakes, thankfully. We did not see any turtles either, but we did see a few lizards.

There was a Christian church here (hence the letter in Revelation) as evidenced by Christian symbols.

 

After lunch we headed to the Acropolis at the top of the hill.

Thankfully this ancient city was accessible by modern transportation – this gondola.

A fine welcoming committee greeted us at the top. Their tagline: Cheaper than Wal-Mart, Better than TJ Maxx. If they had mentioned Target I might have done some shopping.

There was a game of chance at the top of the Acropolis. No, not a casino – but this column in the middle of a well. The challenge is to throw a coin onto the middle. One 7-year old in our group did it on his first shot! We lost a few pennies trying.

This temple was at the top of the hill. Pergamos was known for its extensive library, and was said to have invented papyrus.

The theater is one of the steepest in the ancient world. It could seat 10,000 people!

What a view! This lake is now used as a water treatment plant - not terribly glamorous but still beautiful.

While travelling in Turkey, our guide pointed out all of the olive groves and vineyards. He said, “The soil is so fertile here there is a saying: if you plant a shoe in the ground you will get a shoe tree.” When we saw this tree I thought, “Wow, I guess someone planted a kleenex here!”

The real story behind this tree is that there is a local legend that when you make a wish you should tie a tissue or paper to a tree branch. When you return to the tree if the kleenex is gone your wish will come true. We thought about taking a bunch of the tissues off the tree so that when people came back they’d be happy to see their wish was coming true. On the other hand that might be cruel, so we left them alone.

If you look carefully you can see the old aqueduct on the hills below. That is some quality construction.

It may seem that this temple (the Temple of Zeus, seen in the background where the large trees are) is missing something. In the late 1800′s German archeologists and engineers received permission to take this back to Germany. Today it is exhibited in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. That is a city we hope to visit soon – hence the “Part I – I hope” in the title of this post.

Spoiler alert: this is not the last that I will be writing about Pergamon…If I am ever at home long enough to get caught up on all the blog posts I intend to do!

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Thyatira – Ruins and Reptiles

“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’

To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations — that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give that one the morning star. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Thyatira was another small site, surrounded by modern buildings. It seemed a bit ironic – amazing history right next to a cafe and snack shop – but I suppose that isn’t too different from ancient downtown Thyatira. For those observant enough to notice my new shoes – they are from LLBean and were perfectly comfortable from the start. I am loving them! Hopefully they will last through the summer without too much permastink.

Thyatira was known for their arts, including the dying of cloth. One cloth-dyer specifically mentioned in the Bible (see Acts 16:14) was Lydia. The geographical area was also known as Lydia. What a coincidence!

Had this not been a historical preservation site, I’m sure the kids would have had the time of their lives. Wouldn’t it be fun to run and jump over all this rubble? Or maybe hide and seek?

There was no running and jumping, but there were turtles! Dozens of them all around the site. While the adults learned interesting facts and history, the kids were on turtle patrol.

 

We should have done a rematch of the tortise vs the hare with the kids standing in for the hare. I’m sure the kids would have won…unless they were distracted by finding another turtle.

 

After the turtle torture was done, it was time for more hand santizer, a little bit of shopping, and then back on our way!

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