Day 8 - Sart/Sardis and Pamukkale

05.23.2011

Personal:

-Visited ancient Jewish Synagogue/Roman Bath Complex from the Roman/Byzantium period; white stones with crosses and Greek writings juxtaposed with the original red brick walls; large enough to hold 1000 people (large for Jewish community even at that time);

-Sardis – one of the cities where John wrote Revelations

-Temple of Artemis – only archeological site with columns still standing from earthquakes because it was covered in dirt; small 6^th c church behind the columns; marble blocks can weigh anywhere from 2-28 tons

-Lunch at a 4-star hotel with an incredible view; resort for residents of Izmir and surrounding cities

-Hotel in Pamukkale/Hierpolis – resort with a swimming pool, natural hot spring/thermal pool, “Dr. Fish” pedicures (which none of us got thank goodness), and spa; smelled like fish and sulfur the whole time haha; buffet dinner overlooking the city

Research:

-City of Sardis: from 7^th c BCE to 7^th c CE; major city for nearly 1500 years and retained name for 3000 years; “When Arabia was conquered by the Persians in the mid-6^th c BCE, Sardis became an important Persian administrative center…conquest by Alexander the Great in 334 BCE and became Hellenistic; 1^st c BCE – 4^th c CE Roman; Greco-Roman metropolis 4^th c – 7^th c CE; Modern town of Sardis (Sart) grew up after War of Independence in 1919-1922”

-Pamukkale – big MHP community according to how heavy the campaigning is in the area we drove through